Optometrists And Dispensing Opticians Board

What Optometrists And Dispensing Opticians Board does

The Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board (ODOB) is the statutory responsible authority established under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 to regulate optometrists and dispensing opticians throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Its mandate is to protect public health and safety by ensuring practitioners are competent and fit to practise, which it operationalises through registration, annual practising certificates (APCs), recertification, complaints and competence management, accreditation of education programmes (jointly with OCANZ), and publication of clinical, ethical, cultural competence, and telehealth standards. The Board maintains the official public register used by patients, employers, and government agencies to verify practitioner credentials.

The Board's service platform centres on the myODOB practitioner portal, powered by in1touch technology, which handles online registration, APC applications, CPD activity logging, scope-of-practice changes, and personal information updates. Supporting components include a public register search, an accredited CPD events database (approximately 1,740 events), a two-year recertification cycle covering Te Tiriti o Waitangi training, first aid (CPR), CPD, and self-audit, and formal consultation processes on standards, fees, and policy. Partnerships span the University of Auckland and University of Western Australia for optometry programmes, the Australian College of Optical Dispensing for dispensing qualifications, OCANZ for joint accreditation, and government partners including the Ministry of Health, Health New Zealand / Te Whatu Ora, and the Health and Disability Commissioner.

The Board's revenue model is fee-based rather than commercial: it is funded through practitioner registration fees, APC fees, non-practising status applications, and scope-change application fees, with the fee structure revised through consultation and gazetted annually (a new structure applies from 1 April 2026 for the 2026/2027 practising year). It operates from Wellington with 1–10 employees and serves a captive, nationwide base of registered optometrists and dispensing opticians, with no commercial customers, subsidiaries, or investment funding.

Name

Optometrists And Dispensing Opticians Board

Legal name

Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board | te Poari o ngā Kaimātai Whatu me ngā Kaiwhakarato Mōhiti

Website

https://odob.health.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board is a New Zealand statutory regulator established under the HPCA Act 2003 that registers optometrists and dispensing opticians, issues annual practising certificates, accredits education programmes, and maintains the public register to protect public health and safety.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Professional Regulation

NAICS

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615)

SIC

Ophthalmic Goods (3851)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical Professional Standards & Scope-of-Practice Regulators (HLAJACAH)

Keywords

• Optometry regulation
• Practitioner registration
• Annual practising certificates
• Continuing professional development
• Healthcare professional standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board (ODOB) is the statutory responsible authority established under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 to regulate optometrists and dispensing opticians in Aotearoa New Zealand. Its core regulatory services include processing registration applications, issuing annual practising certificates, accrediting education programmes, maintaining a public register of practitioners, administering a recertification and CPD programme, setting clinical and cultural competence standards, and managing practitioner competence and conduct matters. The Board also provides a public-facing register search to verify practitioner credentials.

Product overview

The Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board operates as a regulatory authority managing a unified platform of services for eye care practitioners in New Zealand. The core offering consists of the myODOB practitioner portal for registration and CPD management, paired with a public register search for verifying practitioner credentials. Supporting services include accredited CPD events listing, a recertification programme with four components (Te Tiriti o Waitangi, first aid, CPD, self-audit), registration processing for various scopes (optometrist, dispensing optician, specialist laser surgery, glaucoma prescribing), standards and guidelines publication, and education programme accreditation. The system is powered by in1touch technology infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Practitioner Registration Services Application processing for registration, annual practising certificates, non-practising status, and scope of practice endorsements (including Independent Glaucoma Prescriber and Specialist Optometrist Ophthalmic Laser Surgeries) for individual optometrists and dispensing opticians.
• Annual Practising Certificates Annual practising certificate (APC) issuance for optometrists and dispensing opticians, required to legally practise in Aotearoa New Zealand. Fees are reviewed annually through consultation.
• Recertification Programme Two-year cyclical recertification programme ensuring practitioners maintain competence through Te Tiriti o Waitangi training, first aid certification (NZQA unit standards 6401 and 6402), CPD activities, and self-audit components.
• CPD Events Accreditation and Listing Accreditation and listing of continuing professional development events and activities for optometrists and dispensing opticians, with 1,740 accredited events listed in the database.
• Programme Accreditation Accreditation of education and training programmes for optometry (via OCANZ collaboration) and optical dispensing qualifications recognised for registration in New Zealand.
• Standards and Guidelines Publication Publication of clinical competence standards, ethical conduct guidelines, cultural competence standards, telehealth standards, and therapeutic guidelines governing optometrists and dispensing opticians.
• Public Register Search Public-facing searchable online register enabling verification of registered optometrists and dispensing opticians in Aotearoa New Zealand, supporting public safety and informed choice.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand (OCANZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for joint accreditation of education providers and programmes for optometrists in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. OCANZ and the Board jointly agree upon and apply accreditation standards for entry-level optometry programmes and ocular therapeutics programmes. The partnership ensures consistent quality standards across both countries.
• University of AucklandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Bachelor of Optometry (BOptom) degree at the University of Auckland is a prescribed qualification for registration as an optometrist in New Zealand. The Board recognises this programme as meeting accreditation standards through the OCANZ joint accreditation process.
• University of Western AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Doctor of Optometry programme at the University of Western Australia is an accredited programme recognised for registration in the Optometry scope of practice (Registration Pathway 1 - Optometrist) following Board consultation and approval process.
• Australian College of Optical Dispensing (ACOD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACOD offers the Certificate IV in Optical Dispensing which is a prescribed qualification for registration as a dispensing optician. The Board recognises this programme for accreditation purposes.
• Ministry of Health New ZealandcoreOthersThe Board is a responsible authority under the HPCA Act and provides relevant practitioner information to the Ministry for the Health Practitioner Index database. Regular reporting and compliance obligations to the Ministry.
• Health New Zealand | Te Whatu OracoreOthersThe Board provides practitioner information necessary for Te Whatu Ora to administer and maintain the Health Practitioner Index database. Collaboration on health workforce regulation.
• Health and Disability CommissionercoreOthersThe Board works with the Health and Disability Commissioner on matters relating to practitioner competence, conduct, and fitness to practise. Regular communication and information sharing on regulatory matters.
• in1touchcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology platform provider powering the myODOB practitioner portal. The Board uses the in1touch system for registration management, CPD tracking, APC applications, and practitioner communications.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dental Council of New Zealand: Responsible authority under the HPCA Act 2003 regulating dentists and dental specialists. Shares the same statutory basis, fee-funded model, scope-of-practice framework, and recertification/CPD requirements as the ODOB.
• Pharmacy Council of New Zealand: Responsible authority under the HPCA Act regulating pharmacists. Operates the same registration, APC, CPD, and competence assurance model as ODOB, making it a directly comparable peer in structure and mandate.
• General Optical Council (UK): UK regulator for optometrists and dispensing opticians. Closest international peer in terms of regulating the same two professions under a single statutory body, with comparable registration, standards, and fitness-to-practise functions.
• Optometry Board of Australia (Ahpra): Australian national board regulating optometrists under Ahpra. Directly comparable in profession focus, scope-of-practice oversight, and registration functions, though operating under Australian rather than New Zealand statute.
• Nursing Council of New Zealand: Responsible authority under the HPCA Act regulating the nursing profession. Comparable in scale, fee-based funding, public register, and the regulatory functions of registration, scopes of practice, and recertification.
• Medical Council of New Zealand: Responsible authority under the same HPCA Act 2003 regulating medical practitioners in New Zealand. Closest peer given identical statutory framework, governance model, registration/APC function, and complaint management structure.

Others

• Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand (OCANZ): Accreditation body for optometry programmes in Australia and New Zealand. Existing strategic partner of ODOB and a thematic peer in optometry education quality assurance rather than practitioner regulation.
• Health and Disability Commissioner (New Zealand): New Zealand independent oversight body for health and disability services. ODOB works directly with this body on practitioner competence and conduct matters; an adjacent regulatory/oversight peer rather than a direct professional regulator.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/optometrists-and-dispensing-opticians-board

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Optometrists And Dispensing Opticians Board