Conference Program

Our clinical program is regularly updated with the latest information. Check back often for the most up-to-date details.

SUNDAY 17 AUGUST 2025

Grand Hall 2

  • This presentation will go over the new treatments for geographic atrophy (GA) and how we should be managing people with GA now that treatments are becoming available.

    Learning Objectives:

    By the end of this presentation, attendees should be able to:

    • Discuss the new approved treatments for geographic atrophy.

    • Identify geographic atrophy in the clinic.

    • Determine which GA patients might be best suited to consider treatment.

  • The talk will explain how I came to enjoy a career in research and present highlights of those activities in the UK, but mainly in Australia that have culminated in the award of the H. Barry Collin Research Medal.

    Learning Objectives:

    By the end of this presentation, attendees should be able to:

    • Understand the development of silicone hydrogels and their physiological impact.

    • Measure contact lens discomfort.

    • Understand the interaction between meibomian glands and contact lenses.

    • Interpret prevalence estimates for dry eye disease and assess limitations associated with its diagnosis.

  • Topic to be confirmed

Grand Hall 2 & 3

  • Topic to be confirmed

    Speaker to be confirmed

  • This presentation will explore the history of optometry, from its humble beginnings as spectacle-makers to its current status as a profession with strong academic roots and integration into the modern healthcare system. We will explore the optometric journey to the profession it is today in both the United States and Australia – where have we been, how far have we come, and where our profession will take us in the future.

    Learning Objectives:

    • Discuss the history of the optometric profession from its early beginnings.

    • Discuss the scope of expansion of optometry in the United States and Australia.

  • Topic to be confirmed

    Speaker to be confirmed

Concurrent Sessions

Experience a full day of insightful sessions with six concurrent streams running throughout the event. Alongside three engaging lectures, our three sponsored workshops will be repeated at multiple intervals, giving you more opportunities to engage and learn. Customise your schedule and make the most of this dynamic learning experience.

Studio 3

Workshops:

Session Times

13:30 - 14:30

14:30 - 15:30

16:00 - 17:00

  • Topic to be confirmed

    Speaker to be confirmed

Grand Hall 3

  • Topic to be confirmed

  • Anisocoria is a condition characterized by unequal pupil size. The aetiology of anisocoria is complex, ranging from benign to potentially life-threatening causes. Potential aetiologies of anisocoria include systemic drug use, topical ophthalmic drug use, headaches, trauma, ophthalmologic diseases, and autonomic ganglion pathology.

    In this presentation, a practical approach to help develop the differential diagnosis of anisocoria will be discussed. 

    Learning Objectives:

    By the end of this presentation, attendees should be able to:

    • Identify the aetiology of anisocoria.  

    • Describe the evaluation of a patient with anisocoria.

    • Outline the treatment and management options available for anisocoria to improve outcomes for patients affected by anisocoria.

  • This educational session, Bausch & Lomb's Professional Services Manager, Simon Hanna, will present on advanced and proven scientific contact lens technologies including research from the TFOS DEWS II study to improve ocular surface homeostasis and dry eye disease.

    Learning Objectives:

    • Analyse market research insights into contact lens dropout rates and the experience of patients using newer technologies in multifocal contact lenses. 

    • Discuss the benefits of osmoprotectants in the packaging solution of contact lenses with respect to the metabolic activity of corneal epithelial cells and the response of pro-inflammatory cytokines in contact lens wear.

    • Discuss the homeostatic benefits electrolytes in contact lenses with respect to corneal protection and homeostatic benefits.

Studio 4

BOC Workshops: Are your patients at pains undergoing a visual field test?

Speaker - Robin Lanesman

Session Times

13:30 - 14:30

14:30 - 15:30

16:00 - 17:00

  • Try out our VF2000 NEO Virtual Reality portable visual field tester and be highly impressed. The Virtual Reality VF2000 NEO portable visual field device with active eye tracking improves every aspect of patient testing from patient experience and clinical results to practice efficiency without compromising accuracy. The VF2000 NEO is revolutionary, able to efficiently run visual field protocols and a variety of added vision tests in rich, full-colour 4K-resolution. It replaces the bulky conventional visual field testers of the past and greatly surpasses their capabilities.

    Learning Objectives:

    • Discuss the benefits, efficiency and accuracy of virtual reality visual field testing in contrast to old methods using a bowl perimeter.

    • Use the VF2000 NEO and its testing protocols including vision screening, colour vision, motility, and stereopsis.

  • Item description

Studio 1&2

  • Topic to be confirmed

    Speaker to be confirmed

  • Details to be confirmed

  • As an optometrist, maintaining professional boundaries while fostering patient trust can be challenging. This interactive session will provide practical guidance on navigating day-to-day  ethical dilemmas in optometry practice using real-world examples.

    Topics include:

    • Professional obligations regarding patient consent, particularly for children and adults with cognitive impairments.

    • Managing inappropriate patient behaviour, including personal comments , gift-giving, and romantic advances.

    • Ethical considerations when accessing patient records, and discussing cases informally with friends.

    • An overview of mandatory reporting responsibilities.   

    Through interactive case discussions, this session will equip optometrists with practical strategies to uphold ethical standards while navigating real-world dilemmas in patient and professional interactions.

    Learning Objectives:

    By the end of this presentation, attendees should be able to:  

    • Recognise ethical dilemmas in clinical practice

    • Apply a structured approach to ethical decision-making

Workshops

Our three sponsored workshops will be repeated at multiple intervals, ensuring you have multiple opportunities to attend your preferred sessions at a time that suits you.

Studio 5

VEI Workshops:

Session Times

13:30 - 14:30

14:30 - 15:30

16:00 - 17:00

MONDAY 18 AUGUST 2025

Grand Hall 2

  • This presentation will discuss how oral therapeutics have been used by optometrists in New Zealand for over 10 years, including the legislation and uptake by optometrists. Some of the more frequently prescribed medications will be discussed, accompanied by cases and considerations regarding the prescribing of these medications with a particular emphasis on safety.

    Learning Objectives:

    By the end of this presentation, attendees should be able to:

    • Determine which ocular conditions may benefit from oral medications

    • Select tests to support diagnosis and differential diagnosis of these conditions

    • Describe the safety aspects regarding the prescribing of these medications

    • Liaise with other health specialists regarding the management of these conditions

  • Optometrists are regularly required to complete forms for patients with specific driving needs and to understand whether or not the relevant vision standard is met. This presentation will cover the visual requirements for the main occupations which have vision standards screened within the community.

    Learning Objectives:

    By the end of this presentation, attendees should be able to:

    • Identify occupations with formal vision standards.

    • Explain the vision standards for specific occupations. 

    • Demonstrate the application of visual acuity, visual field and colour vision tests relating to vision standards.

    • Analyse the limitations and challenges relating to occupational vision screening.

  • This session will present children’s binocular vision conditions that commonly present to optometrists in everyday practice. It will be based around discussion between the 2 presenters, with audience polling, and opportunity for audience interactivity.

    Learning Objectives:

    By the end of this presentation, attendees should be able to:

    • Apply an evidence-based framework to accommodation-vergence disorders in children.

    • Apply an evidence-based framework to strabismus and amblyopia in children, including use of eye drops in assessment, diagnosis and management.

Workshops

Our three sponsored workshops will be repeated at multiple intervals, ensuring you have multiple opportunities to attend your preferred sessions at a time that suits you.

Studio 3

Workshops:

Session Times

9:00 - 10:00

10:45 - 11:45

11:45 - 12:45

Grand Hall 2 & 3

  • Topic to be confirmed

    Speaker to be confirmed

  • Topic to be confirmed

Concurrent Sessions

Experience a full day of insightful sessions with six concurrent streams running throughout the event. Alongside three engaging lectures, our three sponsored workshops will be repeated at multiple intervals, giving you more opportunities to engage and learn. Customise your schedule and make the most of this dynamic learning experience.

Grand Hall 3

  • Patients present with a variety of lumps and bumps associated with ocular and periocular tissues. This interactive presentation will review the various periocular lesions focusing on differentiating the benign from the malignant, the various differentials, and current treatment and management options.

    Learning Objectives:

    By the end of this presentation, attendees should be able to:

    • Describe the difference between a benign versus malignant lesion.

    • Describe the various benign eyelid lesions, their management and treatment and educate the patient about their condition.

    • Describe the various malignant eyelid lesions, their management and treatment and educate the patient about their condition.

  • The optometric management of geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is rapidly changing with the recent approval of treatments for GA first overseas and one recently in Australia. This session will cover updates that have been made to the Optometry Australia (OA) Clinical Practice Guide for AMD for how we should now manage patients with GA. It will also include an extended, interactive discussion of numerous case series to understand the practical implications of these updates.

    Learning Objectives:

    • By the end of this presentation, attendees should be able to:

    • Discuss the changes that have been made to the OA Clinical Practice Guide for AMD for managing patients with GA

    • Discuss findings from recent treatment trials for GA and its clinical implications

    • Evaluate how different imaging modalities can be used to characterise and monitor the disease in patients with GA and their limitations

Studio 4

BOC Workshops: Are your patients at pains undergoing a visual field test?

Speaker - Robin Lanesman

Session Times

9:00 - 10:00

10:45 - 11:45

11:45 - 12:45

  • Try out our VF2000 NEO Virtual Reality portable visual field tester and be highly impressed. The Virtual Reality VF2000 NEO portable visual field device with active eye tracking improves every aspect of patient testing from patient experience and clinical results to practice efficiency without compromising accuracy. The VF2000 NEO is revolutionary, able to efficiently run visual field protocols and a variety of added vision tests in rich, full-colour 4K-resolution. It replaces the bulky conventional visual field testers of the past and greatly surpasses their capabilities.

    Learning Objectives:

    • Discuss the benefits, efficiency and accuracy of virtual reality visual field testing in contrast to old methods using a bowl perimeter.

    • Use the VF2000 NEO and its testing protocols including vision screening, colour vision, motility, and stereopsis.

Studio 1&2

  • Topic to be confirmed

    Speaker to be confirmed

  • Topic to be confirmed

    Speaker to be confirmed

  • Topic to be confirmed

    Speaker to be confirmed

Studio 5

VEI Workshops:

Session Times

9:00 - 10:00

10:45 - 11:45

11:45 - 12:45