Part 2The Board of Optometrical
Registration
5Constitution of
board
(1)
There shall be constituted a board, to be called
the Board of Optometrical Registration, which shall have and may exercise and
discharge the powers, authorities, duties and functions conferred and imposed
upon the board by or under this Act.
(2)
The board shall consist of seven members who
shall be appointed by the Governor. Of the members so appointed:
(a)
two shall be registered optometrists nominated by
the Australian Optometrical Association (New South Wales
Division),
(b)
one shall be a registered optometrist nominated
by the Opticians and Optometrists Association of New South
Wales,
(c)
one shall be a barrister or solicitor nominated
by the Minister,
(d)
one shall be a legally qualified medical
practitioner nominated by the New South Wales Branch of the Australian Medical
Association,
(e)
one shall be a person, being a registered
optometrist or entitled to be so registered, nominated by the University of
New South Wales,
(f)
one shall be an officer of the Department of
Health nominated by the Minister.
(3)
One of the members referred to in paragraph (a)
or (b) of subsection (2) shall in and by his or her appointment be the
chairperson of the board.
(4)
The members of the board shall, subject to this
Act, hold office for such term, not exceeding 3 years, as is specified in the
instrument of their respective appointments and shall be eligible for
re-appointment.
(5)
The provisions of the Public Service Act
1902, or of any Act amending that Act, shall not apply to
any appointment of members of the board, and such members shall not in their
capacity as members of the board be subject to the provisions of any such
Act.
(6)
A member of the board is entitled to be paid such
remuneration (including travelling and subsistence allowances) as the Minister
may from time to time determine in respect of him or
her.
(7)
The chairperson shall preside at all meetings of
the board at which he or she is present.
In the absence of the chairperson from any
meeting of the board the members present shall elect one of their number to
preside at the meeting.
(8)
Four members of the board shall form a quorum,
and any meeting of the board at which a quorum is present shall be competent
to transact any business of the board.
(9)
If for any reason any nomination referred to in
paragraph (a), (b), (d) or (e) of subsection (2) is not made the Governor may
make the appointment and the person appointed shall be deemed to have been
validly nominated.
(10)
The person appointed under paragraph (f) of
subsection (2) may appoint a deputy to act on his or her behalf at any meeting
of the board at which he or she is unable to attend, and a deputy so appointed
shall be entitled so to act and, while so acting, shall be deemed to be a
member of the board.
s 5: Subst 1955 No 7,
sec 2 (5) (a). Am 1963 No 34, sec 2 (1) (d); 1972 No 63, Sch; 1982 No 138, Sch
1.
6Vacation of
office
A member shall be deemed to have vacated his or
her office if he or she:
(a)
dies,
(b)
resigns his or her office by writing under his or
her hand addressed to the Governor,
(c)
becomes a mentally ill person, a protected person
or an incapable person within the meaning of the Mental Health Act
1958, as amended by subsequent Acts,
(d)
is convicted in New South Wales of an indictable
offence or if he or she is convicted elsewhere than in New South Wales of an
offence which, if committed in New South Wales, would be an indictable
offence,
(e)
is absent without leave of the board from four
consecutive meetings of the board,
(f)
is removed from office by the Governor,
or
(g)
ceases to hold the qualification by virtue of
which he or she was appointed as a member.
s 6: Subst 1955 No 7,
sec 2 (5) (a). Am 1963 No 34, sec 2 (1) (e); 1999 No 94, Sch 4.142 [1]
[2].
7Vacancies—appointment of
members
Where a vacancy occurs in the office of a member
of the board the Governor may appoint a person to the vacant office. The
person so appointed shall have the like prescribed qualification and
nomination (if any) as that of the member whose office has become vacant and
shall, subject to this Part, hold office for the residue of his or her
predecessor’s term of office, but shall be eligible for
re-appointment.
s 7: Subst 1955 No 7,
sec 2 (5) (a).
8Proceedings of
board
All acts and proceedings of the board shall be
valid, notwithstanding any vacancy in the board or any irregularity in the
appointment, nomination, or continuance in office of any member of the board,
and notwithstanding that any person not qualified or ceasing to be qualified
may have acted as a member of the board.
s 8: Am 1955 No 7,
sec 2 (5) (b).
9Removal from
office
The Governor may remove any member of the board
for neglect of duty, incompetency, dishonourable conduct, or other cause
deemed sufficient by the Governor.
s 9: Am 1955 No 7,
sec 2 (5) (c).
10Incorporation and style of
board
The Board shall be a body corporate with
perpetual succession and common seal and may sue and be sued in its corporate
name.
The corporate name of the Board shall be
“The Board of Optometrical Registration”.
Part 3Register
11Keeping of
register
There shall be a register of optometrists, to be
compiled in the manner and form prescribed by the regulations and kept in the
custody of the registrar.
12Staff
A registrar and such other staff as may be
necessary to enable the board to exercise and perform its powers, authorities,
duties and functions are to be employed under the Health
Administration Act 1982 by the Corporation.
s 12: Subst 1990 No
12, Sch 1.
13Register
(1)
The registrar shall, on payment of the prescribed
fee, enter in the register the full names and addresses, date and description
of qualifications in respect of which registration is granted, and all other
prescribed particulars of all persons registered under this Act, shall
transmit in the month of January each year a list of the names and addresses
entered in the register to the Minister, and shall cause a copy of such list
to be printed and published by the Government Printer.
(2)
Every registered optometrist shall, in or before
the month of October in each year, pay to the registrar a roll fee of such
amount as may be prescribed for the following year.
(3)
If any registered optometrist does not pay the
prescribed roll fee before the thirty-first day of October in any year the
board shall notify him or her by letter addressed to him or her at the address
appearing in the register, that if the fee be not paid within one month after
the posting of the letter, his or her name will be removed from the
register.
If any registered optometrist who has been so
notified fails to pay such fee within the time specified in the letter, the
board shall remove his or her name from the register.
(4)
If the name of any registered optometrist is
removed from the register under this section, the board shall, upon
application in the prescribed form, restore his or her name to the register
upon payment of such fees as are prescribed by the regulations made under this
Act.
The regulations may provide for the waiver of
such part of the fees as the board may, in a particular case, deem
proper.
(5)
Together with the roll fee the registered
optometrist shall furnish particulars of his or her address for entry in the
register.
(6)
Where the name of any person has been removed
from the register, and until the name has been restored thereto, such person
shall be deemed not to be a registered optometrist.
s 13: Am 1945 No 36,
sec 2 (b); 1946 No 54, sec 20 (1); 1957 No 20, sec 4 (1); 1963 No 34, sec 3
(a); 1969 No 57, sec 2 (b); 1984 No 153, Sch 10.
14Powers and duties of
board
(1)
The board shall do all acts or duties which may
be necessary or expedient for the due and proper carrying out of the
provisions of this Act.
(2)
(3)
The board may issue and cancel certificates of
registration.
s 14: Am 1963 No 34,
sec 3 (b).
14ARemoval of names of deceased
and other optometrists
The board shall cause to be removed from the
register the names of:
(a)
every deceased registered
optometrist,
(b)
every registered optometrist who has ceased to
possess or does not possess the qualifications in respect of which he or she
was registered, and
(c)
every registered optometrist who has become a
mentally ill person, a protected person or an incapable person within the
meaning of the Mental Health Act 1958, as amended by
subsequent Acts.
s 14A: Ins 1963 No
34, sec 3 (c).
15Removal of name on account of
misconduct
(1)
Where a registered optometrist:
(a)
has been convicted, either in New South Wales of
an indictable offence, or elsewhere of an offence which, if committed in New
South Wales, would be an indictable offence, or
(b)
has been adjudged by the board, after inquiry as
hereinafter provided, to have been guilty of misconduct in any professional
respect,
the board may reprimand or caution such person or may
remove his or her name from the register or suspend his or her registration
for such period as the board shall think fit.
(2)
Without limiting the meaning of the expression
“misconduct in any professional respect” in this section, a
registered optometrist shall be deemed guilty of such misconduct who:
(a)
save in such cases or in such circumstances as
are prescribed, practises optometry in a name other than his or her own except
whilst he or she is acting as the duly appointed locum tenens of another
registered optometrist,
(b)
allows the use of his or her name in connection
with the practice of optometry at premises at which he or she or his or her
duly appointed locum tenens is not in regular attendance for the purpose of
practice and supervision during the hours in which such premises are open for
the practice of optometry,
(c)
advertises, or otherwise solicits for
optometrical business, in contravention of the
regulations,
(d)
(e)
is an habitual drunkard or is habitually addicted
to any deleterious drug.
(3)
For the purposes of this section, no person shall
be deemed to be a duly appointed locum tenens unless:
(a)
he or she is appointed in writing by a registered
optometrist,
(b)
he or she is a registered optometrist at the time
of taking up his or her duties, and
(c)
he or she is employed only during the temporary
absence of his or her employer and for a period not exceeding twelve months or
for such further period as the board may in any particular case
permit.
A registered optometrist who is engaged in the
practice of optometry as a member of a partnership shall, subject to the
foregoing provisions of this subsection, be entitled to appoint his or her
partner or one of his or her partners as his or her locum
tenens.
(4)
In the case of a conviction as aforesaid, no
person shall have his or her name removed from the register or have his or her
registration suspended on account thereof if such offence does not, either
from its trivial nature or from the circumstances under which it was
committed, render such person unfit in the public interest to practise
optometry.
(5)
In making any such inquiry, the board shall sit
as in open court, and the person charged shall be afforded an opportunity of
defence either in person or by counsel.
(6)
Whenever the registration of an optometrist is
suspended under the provisions of this section, the registrar shall enter in
the register a memorandum of that fact and of the date and cause
thereof.
s 15: Am 1931 No 16,
sec 2 (a); 1945 No 36, sec 2 (c). Subst 1963 No 34, sec 3 (d). Am 1969 No 57,
sec 2 (c); 1999 No 94, Sch 4.142 [2].
15AWritten statements of
decisions
(1)
If the board decides under section 15 to
reprimand or caution a person, to remove a person’s name from the
register or to suspend the person’s registration, the board shall,
within one month of its decision, provide the person, and such other persons
as it considers appropriate, with a written statement of its
decision.
(2)
If the board makes a decision in relation to a
person under any provision of this Act, other than section 15, the person may
request in writing that the board provide the person with a written statement
of the decision.
(3)
Any such request shall be made within 60 days
after the decision to which it relates.
(4)
The board shall provide a written statement of
the decision within one month of receipt of such a
request.
(5)
A written statement of a decision shall:
(a)
set out any findings on material questions of
fact,
(b)
refer to any evidence or other material on which
the findings were based, and
(c)
give the reasons for the
decision.
(6)
Despite any other provision of this section, the
board is not required to include confidential information in any such
statement, and if a statement would be false or misleading if it did not
include the confidential information, the board is not required to provide the
statement.
(7)
If, because of subsection (6), confidential
information is not included in a written statement of a decision or such a
statement is not provided to a person, the board shall, within one month of a
decision under section 15 or receipt of a request under subsection (2), give
notice in writing to the person to whom the board is required (or would, but
for subsection (6), be required) to provide the statement, indicating
that:
(a)
the confidential information is not included,
or
(b)
the statement will not be
provided,
as appropriate, and giving the reasons why the
confidential information is not included or the statement will not be
provided.
(8)
In this section:
confidential information means
information that:
(a)
has not previously been published or made
available to the public when a written statement of a decision to which it is
or may be relevant is being prepared,
(b)
relates to the personal or business affairs of a
person, other than a person to whom the board is required (or would, but for
subsection (6), be required) to provide a written statement of a decision,
and
(c)
is information:
(i)
that was supplied in
confidence,
(ii)
the publication of which would reveal a trade
secret,
(iii)
that was provided in compliance with a duty
imposed by an enactment, or
(iv)
the provision of which by the board would be in
breach of any enactment.
(9)
Nothing in this section affects the power of a
court to make an order for the discovery of documents or to require the giving
of evidence or the production of documents to a court.
s 15A: Ins 1987 No
275, Sch 1.
15BNotification of complaints to,
and their investigation by, the Health Care Complaints
Commission
(1)
The board must notify the Health Care Complaints
Commission of any complaint made to it concerning the practice of optometry by
a registered optometrist. The complaint is to be notified as soon as
practicable after the complaint is made.
(2)
The board may, instead of making inquiry under
section 15, refer the matter that would otherwise be the subject of inquiry
for investigation by the Health Care Complaints Commission under the Health Care Complaints Act
1993.
(3)
Such an investigation by the Health Care
Complaints Commission is taken, for the purposes of this Act, to be an inquiry
made by the board but does not prevent the board from making any further or
additional inquiry.
s 15B: Ins 1993 No
105, Sch 3.
16Registration of name
removed
(1)
Where the board directs the removal from the
register of the name of any person, the name of that person shall not be again
entered in the register except by direction of the board or by order of a
district court.
(2)
The board may direct the registrar to restore to
the register any name removed therefrom without fee, or on payment of such
fee, not exceeding the registration fee, as the board may direct, and the
registrar shall restore the same accordingly.
17Power of board to examine
witnesses
(1)
The board may examine any person upon oath or
take a solemn declaration from any person for the purposes of this
Act.
(2)
If any person wilfully makes any false statement
upon such examination or in such declaration he or she shall be guilty of
perjury.
(3)
If any person wilfully utters or attempts to
utter or put off as true before the board any false, forged, or counterfeit
certificate, diploma, letter, testimonial, or other document or writing he or
she shall be guilty of an offence, and shall on summary conviction be liable
to a fine not exceeding 1 penalty unit or to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding twelve months.
s 17: Am 1992 No 112,
Sch 1.
18Offences and
penalties
All informations for offences against this Act
shall be laid by the registrar or some other person appointed by the board for
that purpose. All such penalties may be recovered in a summary manner before a
Local Court constituted by a Magistrate sitting alone.
s 18: Am 1963 No 34,
sec 3 (e); 1999 No 31, Sch 4.66.
19Qualifications for
registration
(1)
Subject to the provisions of this Act, any person
who proves to the satisfaction of the board that he or she is of good
character and has attained the age of twenty-one years shall, upon payment of
the prescribed fee, be entitled to be registered as an optometrist if he or
she:
(a)
is the holder of a degree of Bachelor of Science
(Optometrical Science) or Bachelor of Optometry granted by the University of
New South Wales,
(b)
is an Associate of the Sydney Technical College
in Optometry,
(c)
is the holder of a recognised certificate,
or
(d)
is the holder of a certificate under subsection
(2) declaring him or her to be an approved person for the purposes of this
paragraph.
(2)
Where:
(a)
a person possesses qualifications with respect to
optometry but would not be entitled to be registered under this Act by virtue
of those qualifications alone,
(b)
he or she obtains further qualifications
by:
(i)
undertaking, in a manner satisfactory to the
board, such courses of training with respect to optometry,
and
(ii)
passing such examinations with respect to
optometry,
as the board may prescribe in respect of him or her,
and
(c)
the board is satisfied that, by virtue of the
qualifications referred to in paragraph (a), together with the further
qualifications referred to in paragraph (b) (other than subparagraph (i) or
(ii), as the case may be, of that paragraph if he or she has been exempted
therefrom under subsection (3)), he or she possesses the requisite knowledge
and skill for the efficient practice of optometry in New South
Wales,
the board may issue to him or her a certificate
declaring him or her to be an approved person for the purposes of paragraph
(d) of subsection (1).
(3)
The board may, if in the special circumstances of
the case it thinks fit to do so, exempt a person referred to in paragraph (a)
of subsection (2) from the provisions of either subparagraph (i) or
subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of that subsection, but not
both.
(4)
The board may direct the removal from the
register of the name of a person registered under this Act by virtue of his or
her being the holder of a certificate under subsection (2) if the board is of
the opinion that he or she was not entitled to be issued with such a
certificate.
s 19: Am 1931 No 16,
sec 2 (b); 1945 No 36, sec 2 (d). Subst 1963 No 34, sec 3 (f). Am 1969 No 57,
sec 2 (d).
19AProvisional
registration
(1)
Where:
(a)
a person has applied to be registered under this
Act,
(b)
he or she is entitled to be so registered,
and
(c)
his or her application for registration has not
been dealt with by the board,
the chairperson of the board or, in his or her absence
from the City of Sydney, any other member of the board authorised generally by
the board to grant certificates of provisional registration, may, upon payment
of the prescribed fee, grant to that person a certificate of provisional
registration.
(2)
Where, on an application made by any person for a
certificate of provisional registration under this subsection, the board, the
chairperson of the board or, in his or her absence from the City of Sydney,
any other member of the board authorised generally by the board to grant
certificates of provisional registration is satisfied:
(a)
that that person is justly entitled:
(i)
to a degree referred to in paragraph (a) of
subsection (1) of section 19 that is to be granted to him or her by the
University of New South Wales, or
(ii)
to a recognised certificate that is to be granted
to him or her by a university, college, association, department, board or
other institution,
(b)
that he or she will in due course have that
degree or recognised certificate granted to him or her according to the
practice of the University of New South Wales or the university, college,
association, department, board or other institution referred to in paragraph
(a), as the case may be, and
(c)
that he or she is of good character and has
attained the age of twenty-one years,
the board or if the board has not dealt with his or her
application under this subsection the chairperson of the board or other such
member of the board may, upon payment of the prescribed fee, grant to that
person a certificate of provisional registration.
(3)
Where a person has obtained a certificate of
provisional registration he or she shall be deemed to be a registered
optometrist until:
(a)
the date stated in the certificate,
or
(b)
such later date as may be fixed by the
board,
which date shall, in either case, be not later than six
months after the granting of the certificate.
(4)
The board may, at any time before the date so
stated or fixed, for such cause as to it seems proper, cancel a certificate of
provisional registration without prejudice to the application of the holder of
the certificate to be registered under this Act.
(5)
Upon the cancellation of a certificate of
provisional registration, the holder of the certificate shall thereupon cease
to be deemed to be a registered optometrist.
(6)
If a person to whom a certificate of provisional
registration has been granted becomes a registered optometrist before the date
stated or fixed pursuant to subsection (3) in respect of that certificate, his
or her registration under this Act shall, unless otherwise decided by the
board, date from the granting of the certificate.
s 19A: Ins 1969 No
57, sec 2 (e).
20Saving
All persons whose names were immediately before
the commencement of the Optometrists (Amendment) Act 1963
entered in the register shall, subject to this Act, continue to be registered
optometrists.
s 20: Subst 1963 No
34, sec 3 (f).
21Certificates
(1)
The board shall issue to every person registered
as an optometrist after the commencement of the Opticians (Amendment) Act
1945 a certificate in the prescribed form within three
months of registration.
(2)
s 21: Subst 1945 No
36, sec 2 (e). Am 1963 No 34, sec 3 (g).
22
s 22: Rep 1945 No 36,
sec 2 (f).
23Registration not to imply
medical qualifications
Registration under this Act shall not confer upon
any person any right or title:
(a)
to assume the title of doctor, oculist,
ophthalmic surgeon, or any other name, title, or designation implying or
tending to convey the belief that he or she is by law recognised as a medical
practitioner, or that he or she is qualified to practise ophthalmic medicine
or surgery, or
(b)
to administer or prescribe drugs to paralyse the
eye otherwise than in accordance with this Act, or
(c)
to sell, use, supply, or prescribe any drug for
the treatment of any disease of the eye, or to treat any disease of the
eye.
s 23: Am 1963 No 34,
sec 3 (h).
Part 5Regulations and
miscellaneous
30Regulations
(1)
The board, subject to the approval of the
Governor, may make regulations:
(a)
regulating the manner of keeping and controlling
the register,
(b)
regulating the granting and issue of certificates
and the conditions of registration,
(c), (d)
(d1)
regulating the employment of students in
optometry or prohibiting the employment of such students otherwise than under
the personal supervision of a registered optometrist,
(e)
prescribing a scale of fees to be charged and
paid in respect of any application, registration, certificate, inspection, or
any other proceeding, act, or thing provided or required under this
Act,
(f)
prescribing forms to be used for any of the
purposes of this Act,
(f1)
regulating the manner in which a registered
optometrist or a firm or company or other person not being a registered
optometrist carrying on the business of the practice of optometry is
authorised to advertise or otherwise solicit for optometrical business, and
prohibiting any form of advertising or other soliciting for optometrical
business specified in the regulations or any forms thereof other than those
specified in the regulations,
(g)
generally providing for anything which by this
Act is expressed to be prescribed or which the Governor considers necessary in
order to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2)
The regulations may impose a penalty for any
breach thereof, and may also impose different penalties in case of successive
breaches; but no such penalty shall exceed 1 penalty
unit.
(3)
The regulations made in pursuance of paragraph
(f1) of subsection (1) may regulate or prohibit the employment, engagement or
use, by a person, firm or company to which the regulations apply, of any
person, firm or company for the purpose of advertising or otherwise soliciting
for optometrical business.
s 30: Am 1931 No 16,
sec 2 (d); 1945 No 36, sec 2 (g); 1963 No 34, sec 6 (a); 1969 No 57, sec 2
(h); 1992 No 112, Sch 1.
31
s 31: Rep 1987 No 48,
Sch 32.
32Right of
appeal
(1)
Any person who thinks himself or herself
aggrieved by any decision, ruling, order, or direction of the board or
registrar or by any failure to register his or her name in the register may in
manner prescribed by rules of court, and until so prescribed by summons in
chambers, appeal to a judge of a district court.
(2)
No appeal shall be entertained unless it is made
within two months next after the notification to such person of the decision,
ruling, order, or direction, or within six months after the date on which he
or she applied to be registered as the case may be, nor unless ten days’
notice in writing of appeal, stating the nature and grounds thereof, is given
to the registrar.
(3)
An appeal against refusal to register or the
removal of a person from the register shall be by way of
rehearing.
(4)
The judge may make such order as he or she thinks
just (including any order as to costs) and such order shall be final and
without appeal, and shall be observed by the board or registrar and by every
person concerned.
s 32: Am 1963 No 34,
sec 6 (b).
33Fees etc
The registrar is required to transmit to the
Corporation for payment into an account established under section 13A of the
Health Administration Act 1982 all money
received by the board (whether for fees or otherwise), not being fines or
penalties or money which is required to be dealt with in some other
manner.
s 33: Subst 1990 No
12, Sch 1.
33ABoard may waive
fees
The board may, for any reason the board considers
sufficient, exempt a person from the requirement to pay a fee, or waive or
wholly or partly refund a fee, that would otherwise be payable or has been
paid in accordance with this Act or the regulations.
s 33A: Ins 1999 No
76, Sch 5.
34Protection of board and
staff
No matter or thing done or suffered by the board,
or by any member, or the registrar, or any member of staff of the board, bona
fide in the execution, or intended execution, of this Act, or the exercise or
discharge, or intended exercise or discharge, of any of its or his or her
powers or duties, shall subject the board or any member, or the registrar, or
the member of staff, or any other person, or the Crown, to any liability in
respect thereof.
s 34: Am 1990 No 12,
Sch 1.
35Firm or company or
unregistered person not to carry on business except as provided by this
section
(1)
Except as provided in subsection (2), or with the
approval of the Minister in writing, no firm or company or other person not
being a registered optometrist shall carry on the business of the practice of
optometry.
(2)
Subsection (1) shall not operate to prohibit a
firm or company which or other person not being a registered optometrist who
was, immediately before the prescribed date, carrying on the business of the
practice of optometry from continuing to carry on such business where the
carrying on of the business is so continued:
(a)
at premises in which it was being carried on
immediately before the prescribed date, or in lieu of those premises, at other
premises which are distant not more than 8 kilometres from the premises at
which such business is carried on immediately before the prescribed
date,
(a1)
at such other premises, in addition to those
referred to in paragraph (a), as the Minister, after the prescribed date, may
permit,
(b)
without any alteration in the name under which
the business was being carried on immediately before the prescribed
date,
(c)
by or under the personal supervision and control
of a registered optometrist whose name is prominently and legibly displayed
upon the premises at which such business is carried
on.
For the purpose of this subsection the prescribed date shall be the first
day of September, one thousand nine hundred and forty-five in respect of a
firm or company, and the first day of October, one thousand nine hundred and
sixty-three, in respect of any other person not being a registered
optometrist.
Notwithstanding paragraph (b) a firm or company
or other person not being a registered optometrist may carry on the business
of the practice of optometry under a name other than that under which the
business was being carried on immediately before the prescribed date if the
approval of the Minister in that behalf has been
obtained.
(2A)
Where before the commencement of the Opticians
(Amendment) Act 1955 the Minister has pursuant to
subsection (1) approved of a firm or company carrying on the business of the
practice of optometry such firm or company shall carry on such
business:
(a)
at premises in which it was being carried on
immediately before such commencement, or in lieu of those premises, at other
premises which are distant not more than 8 kilometres from the premises at
which such business is carried on immediately before such
commencement,
(b)
at such other premises, in addition to those
referred to in paragraph (a), as the Minister, after such commencement, may
permit,
(c)
without any alteration in the name under which
the business was being carried on immediately before such
commencement,
(d)
by or under the personal supervision and control
of a registered optometrist whose name is prominently and legibly displayed
upon the premises at which such business is carried
on.
(2B)
Where after the commencement of the Opticians
(Amendment) Act 1955 the Minister pursuant to subsection
(1) approves of a firm or company or other person not being a registered
optometrist carrying on the business of the practice of optometry such firm or
company or other person shall carry on such business:
(a)
at premises in respect of which such approval has
been given, or in lieu of those premises, at other premises which are distant
not more than 8 kilometres from such premises,
(b)
at such other premises, in addition to those
referred to in paragraph (a), as the Minister, after such approval, may
permit,
(c)
without any alteration in the name specified in
such approval,
(d)
by or under the personal supervision and control
of a registered optometrist whose name is prominently and legibly displayed
upon the premises at which such business is carried
on.
(2C)
Notwithstanding paragraph (c) of subsection (2A)
and notwithstanding paragraph (c) of subsection (2B) a firm or company or
other person not being a registered optometrist may carry on the business of
the practice of optometry under a name other than that under which the
business was being carried on immediately before the commencement of the
Opticians (Amendment) Act 1955 or that
specified in the approval referred to in subsection (2B), as the case may be,
if the approval of the Minister in that behalf has been
obtained.
(2D)
As from the commencement of the Opticians
(Amendment) Act 1955, no approval or permission of the
Minister shall be given under this section except upon the recommendation of
the board. Any such approval or permission may be given subject to such terms
and conditions as the Minister may impose.
(2E)
As from the commencement of the Optometrists
and Optical Dispensers (Amendment) Act 1969, no approval
of the Minister shall be given under subsection (1).
(3)
If any firm or company or other person not being
a registered optometrist contravenes any provision of this section or fails to
comply with any terms and conditions to which any approval or permission of
the Minister given under this section is subject it or he or she shall be
guilty of an offence against this Act and shall be liable to a penalty not
exceeding 4 penalty units.
(4)
In the application of this section to any other
person not being a registered optometrist, references to the commencement of
the Opticians (Amendment) Act 1955 shall be
read and construed as references to the commencement of the Optometrists
(Amendment) Act 1963.
s 35: Ins 1931 No 16,
sec 3. Subst 1945 No 36, sec 2 (h). Am 1955 No 7, sec 3 (1); 1963 No 34, sec 6
(c); 1969 No 57, sec 2 (i); 1974 No 51, Sch; 1992 No 112, Sch
1.
36Advertising etc by firm or
company or unregistered person
Any firm or company or other person not being a
registered optometrist carrying on the business of the practice of optometry
pursuant to section 35 which or who:
(a)
without the consent of the board takes or uses in
connection with such business any title, designation, addition or description
other than that of “optometrist” or “optometrists” or
“optician” or “opticians”, or any combinations of such
words,
(b), (c)
shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not
exceeding 1 penalty unit.
s 36: Ins 1945 No 36,
sec 2 (h). Am 1963 No 34, sec 6 (d); 1969 No 57, sec 2 (j); 1992 No 112, Sch
1.
37Mobile refracting
unit
Any optometrist, firm or company carrying on the
business of the practice of optometry shall not in carrying on such business
use or operate a mobile refracting unit except with the consent of the
Minister. The Minister in granting such consent may impose such terms,
conditions and restrictions as he or she may, in his or her absolute
discretion, determine. Any optometrist, firm or company contravening the
provisions of this section or any such terms, conditions and restrictions,
shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall be liable to a
penalty not exceeding 2 penalty units:
Provided, however, that any optometrist, firm or
company carrying on the business of the practice of optometry which at the
date of commencement of the Opticians (Amendment) Act
1945 was using or operating a mobile refracting unit in
carrying on such business may continue to use or operate such unit for a
period not exceeding three months from the date of such commencement without
the consent of the Minister.
s 37: Ins 1945 No 36,
sec 2 (h). Am 1992 No 112, Sch 1.
38Certificate of registrar to be
prima facie evidence
A document purporting to be a certificate under
the hand of the registrar and stating that any person was or was not on any
date or during any period mentioned in the certificate registered under this
Act shall, in all courts and before all persons and bodies authorised by law
to receive evidence, be prima facie evidence of the facts
stated.
s 38: Ins 1945 No 36,
sec 2 (h).