Insight News

02/10/2026

More than half of Australian surgery patients surveyed did not know their choice of lens, raising questions about how treatment options are explained before surgery.

The findings, which appear in a whitepaper commissioned by Alcon, highlight the importance of patient education in eyecare and the need to ensure they feel informed and confident in conversations about their own vision.

More than half of Australian cataract surgery patients surveyed in research did not know their choice of lens, raising questions about how treatment options are explained before surgery.

01/10/2026

Vision Australia is joining forces with Specsavers Australia to present the iconic Carols by Candlelight fundraising event for the first time.

“Funds raised through Carols by Candlelight help us deliver specialist early intervention services that can be life-changing for children and their families," Vision Australia CEO David Williamson said.

"These services are not fully covered by government funding, leaving Vision Australia with a significant annual funding gap to continue delivering these critical supports. Community fundraising is therefore essential to ensuring children can access the specialist services they need to build independence, confidence and skills from an early age.”

Specsavers head of marketing, awareness and consideration, Anri Mc Hugh, is excited to be part of this Christmas tradition while raising funds for a cause close to the organisation’s heart.

"Together, we hope to raise awareness and vital funds for the important services Vision Australia provides to children and families, while bringing a little Specsavers green and some unmistakable Should’ve gone to Specsavers humour to one of Australia’s most-loved Christmas traditions," he said.

Vision Australia is joining forces with Specsavers to present the iconic Carols by Candlelight fundraising event for the first time. Through the partnership, Specsavers will support the organisation in raising “life-changing” funds to help children who are blind or have low vision access the ser...

29/09/2026

In a development that could help address longstanding access barrier in countries like Australia, referral decisions made remotely using smartphone images have been shown to closely match those made by ophthalmologists examining patients in person.

The finding, involving Dr Prabhu Krishna Ravilla a medical officer at Aravind Eye Hospital Madurai India, could make it possible for health workers to detect cataracts, pterygia – a fleshy growth on the white of the eye – and other eye diseases in people who live in remote rural areas and who find it difficult to visit an ophthalmologist, either because of geographical barriers or because of age or infirmity.

In a development that could help address longstanding access barrier in countries like Australia, cataract referral decisions made remotely using smartphone images have been shown to closely match those made by ophthalmologists examining patients in person.

27/09/2026

Driving is one of the most common visual tasks for spectacle wearers and often requires specific consideration, writes Virgilia Readett from ACOD - Australasian College of Optical Dispensing.

Driving is one of the most common visual tasks for spectacle wearers and often requires specific consideration.

25/09/2026

How do you feel about ophthalmologists' fees being published online?

The Australian Government has just passed legislation allowing it to publish the fees of individual specialists for common medical services and out-of-pocket costs – by changing its Medical Costs Finder from a voluntary to a mandatory fee-disclosure system.

It's been met with caution though.

Australian Society of Ophthalmologists president Dr Peter Sumich warned that a fee published without context can mislead as easily as it informs.

“The fee for seeing a specialist reflects expertise, responsibility and the cost of providing a medical service in an inflationary small business economy,” he said.

The ASO did welcome the outlawing the practice known as "product phoenixing", though, where private health insurers close a product and re-open a similar one at a higher price, or reduce its value.

The Australian government has changed its Medical Costs Finder from a voluntary tool into a mandatory fee-disclosure system.

25/09/2026

How AI can give time back to ophthalmic practice managers.

At EyeHub laser – Dr Sonia Moorthy's laser vision correction and refractive practice on the Sunshine Coast – business manager Harry Singh says the clinic follows one operating rule: AI prepares. People review, connect and decide.

"Used well, AI reduces repetitive preparation and gives people more time for judgement, empathy and patient care. Used poorly, it adds risk, confusion and another piece of software nobody fully owns," he says.

https://www.insightnews.com.au/how-ai-gives-time-back-to-ophthalmic-practice-managers/

25/09/2026

🚨 As vision loss concerns spark US lawsuits against GLP-1 drugs, what's the latest advice in Australia? 🚨

In the latest update, US law firm Motley Rice is among firms representing people bringing vision-loss claims involving GLP-1 medicines, with 54 pending cases and more than 120 vision loss cases overall.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration - TGA in July warned against a link to non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION), of which no treatment has been shown to improve visual acuity outcomes following diagnosis.

It prompted a response from The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) and Optometry Australia which can be found below 👇

https://www.insightnews.com.au/vision-loss-concerns-spark-us-lawsuits-as-australian-bodies-issue-advice-on-glp-1-drugs/

24/09/2026

Is the new accelerated pathway for overseas-trained medical specialists working as intended?

An analysis of the first 18 months of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - Ahpra-Medical Board of Australia's Expedited Specialist pathway found 656 applications were received between October 2024 and April 2026, with 476 specialists granted registration.

In total, 88% of specialists registered through the pathway were practising in areas of workforce shortage, including designated metropolitan priority areas, and 11% were practising in regional, rural and remote areas.

We've seeked comment from the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists, and will follow this up in the October issue of Insight.

Hundreds of internationally trained medical specialists have entered the Australian workforce through a faster registration pathway.

24/09/2026

When Adrian Rossiter, principal optometrist and owner of For Eyes Optometrist in Fremantle, Western Australia, invested in an Optos Daytona ultra-widefield retinal imaging system, he expected it would add another layer of confidence to his clinical examinations.

What he didn’t expect was the impact on his mode of operation and clinical practice.

“The first few months, I was impressed at how much more there was to notice,” he says.

“I wanted another level of comfort that I wasn’t going to miss pathology in the retinal periphery. Once you start using ultra-widefield imaging, you realise the extent of information you are now able to routinely capture.

“I simply couldn’t imagine practising now without ultra-widefield imaging. It has significantly enhanced my diagnostic capabilities.”

https://www.insightnews.com.au/how-optos-daytona-transformed-this-optometrists-practice/

23/09/2026

In the latest Specsavers Stories profile, we hear from Rahul Sundarjee, graduate optometrist in Gungahlin, ACT.

He was nominated for Specsavers Australia's Dame Mary Perkins Award after caring for a young patient who attended her first eye examination after noticing difficulty seeing in the distance.

"I diagnosed her with high myopia and bilateral amblyopia at a young age. Early diagnosis meant prompt treatment and a plan focused on achieving the best possible long-term visual outcomes," he said.

"For the first time in years, she could see clearly which had a significant impact on her confidence, school performance, social interactions and overall quality of life."

https://www.insightnews.com.au/specsaver-stories-rahul-sundarjee/