Australia’s Optical Distributors and Manufacturers Association (ODMA) has unveiled an educational programme offering plenty of breadth and depth to attract a wide spectrum of optical professionals to its Sydney trade fair from 27–29 June.

Steadfast in its promise to support the commercial success of independent optical practices, ODMA is offering three distinct session streams: optical dispensing, practice management and, new for this year, business.

“After O-Show 2024, a survey showed us about a third of attendees were optical dispensers, a third optometrists and another third had ticked the box of ‘owner’. It was clear we were getting a lot of people who owned a business, whether they were health-trained or not,” ODMA CEO Amanda Trotman told Mivision. “There’s a lot of clinical CPD available today, but we realised there’s a lot of other content the industry seeks and ODMA is perfectly positioned to provide that.”

Educational highlights for this year's show include an opening breakfast talk with Aussie TV current affairs star and breakfast radio host Adam Spencer, who will dive into how technology is revolutionising our world and changing business, plus:

• ProVision’s Mark Corduff hosting a panel workshop on how to become an independent practice owner
• Recruitment consultant Lynnette Edmonds covering how to attract top talent
• Optometry Australia’s Luke Arundel speaking on the risks to your practice and career and how to manage them
• Hannaford Eyewear’s Grant Hannaford, senior lecturer at the School of Optometry and Vision Science UNSW, delving into myopia management for DOs and future trends impacting the industry
• Emma Gillies from Purple Key Consulting hosting a panel on successful independent optometry/how to beat the corporates
• Custom eyewear designer Chris Savage, the Australasian College of Dispensing Opticians’ Chedy Kalach and retired optical dispenser and advisory board chair of Optical Dispensers Australia Paul Clarke running two 2.5-hour frame-repair workshops.

Women in optics 

Supporting women in optics, ODMA is also launching its first ever Women in Optics Breakfast on Saturday 28 June at the International Convention & Exhibition Centre (ICC) Sydney. This will feature Carli Phillips, CEO of Corporate Wellbeing Hub, presenting a session on sustaining wellbeing.

“We are aiming to reach out to all women's optical support groups and get them to attend ODMAFair25 and be part of a breakfast that is focused on addressing current topics of interest, including menopause in the workplace, juggling families and careers, workplace flexibility, leveraging women's skillsets and strengths, or just enabling peers to exchange common successes and challenges,” said Trotman. The aim is for ODMA to help these various groups grow and connect with each other in person annually at a major industry optical event, she said, adding she would like to see this gathering become a continued and growing feature of ODMA’s events.

Partnering for in-depth clinical education

Sharing the ICC space over the weekend is Optometry NSW/ACT and the Australasian College of Behavioural Optometry (ACBO), both of which will run their own annual events alongside ODMAFair25. “A lot of work has gone into the programme format to ensure streams and sessions do not conflict with each other, that there are sessions for all team members within a practice and there is ample time for all visitors to explore what will be a large and valuable product and service showcase in the nearby trade fair halls,” Trotman said.

ACBO Connect 2025 will offer two full days of advanced professional development (27–28 June) focused on neuro-developmental concepts in behavioural vision care and vision therapy. Optometry NSW/ACT's Super Sunday event offers CPD for New Zealand delegates, while ACBO Connect 2025's NZ CPD was still to be approved at the time of April’s issue going to press.

For more, see https://www.odmafair.com.au/program and https://www.acbo.org.au/professionals/menu/events/225-acbo-connect-conference-2025-vision-beyond-sight