Know Your Rights
Plain-English explainers on the legislation, modern awards, Ahpra codes, and safety standards that apply to employee optometrists in Australia — clarifying current legal gaps, workplace protections, and what explicit Award coverage will secure.
Explainers & Primary Sources
Click any topic below to expand a short dropdown summary, key legal takeaways, and official source links:
National (Ahpra & Optometry Board of Australia) Ahpra Shared Code of Conduct & Professional Boundaries ▼
Summary: The shared Code of Conduct sets out the eleven core principles governing professional behavior, patient safety, informed consent, clinical autonomy, risk management, and cultural safety for registered optometrists across Australia.
📌 Official Primary Source Link
🔗 Ahpra — Shared Code of Conduct for Registered Health Practitioners ↗
Commonwealth (Fair Work Act 2009) General Protections & Adverse Action (Fair Work Act s.340) ▼
Summary: It's unlawful for an employer to take 'adverse action' against you (dismissal, demotion, discrimination, altering your role to your detriment, threats) because you exercised a workplace right — e.g. making a complaint, joining a union, or raising a safety concern.
📌 Official Primary Source Link
🔗 Fair Work Commission — General protections and harmful (adverse) action ↗
Commonwealth (Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020, MA000027) Health Professionals Award Coverage — What Explicit Award Coverage Will Change ▼
Summary: Optometrists are not currently explicitly named on the Health Professionals Award (MA000027), leaving employee optometrists without a modern award safety net. In June 2026, the HSU applied to the Fair Work Commission to explicitly add optometrists.
📌 Official Primary Source Link
🔗 Fair Work Ombudsman — Health Professionals and Support Services Award [MA000027] ↗
National (model WHS laws, adopted with variations in most states/territories) Psychosocial Hazards at Work — What Your Employer Must Do ▼
Summary: Under WHS laws, your employer (the PCBU) has a positive legal duty to identify and manage psychosocial hazards — things like unreasonable workloads, unrealistic KPIs/targets, bullying, and poor support — not just physical safety risks.
📌 Official Primary Source Link
🔗 Safe Work Australia — Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work ↗
Commonwealth (Fair Work Act 2009) Unfair Dismissal — The Basics ▼
Summary: If you're dismissed in a way that's harsh, unjust, or unreasonable, you may be able to apply to the Fair Work Commission — but you generally need at least 6 months' service (12 months for a small business employer) and must apply within 21 days.
📌 Official Primary Source Link
📚 Key Legal & Regulatory Knowledge Sources
Our resource explainers are built directly from these official Australian health & workplace sources: