Code of ethics and code of practice standards

Historical Significance: The Victorian College of Optometry espoused adherance to a code of ethics and high standards of practice but did so more by collegiate understanding rather than by codification of rules, although it did have a code of ethics. In the late 1980s deregulation of business including the professions was gathering momentum and the legislative prohibitions of advertising and of ownership of optometric practices by lay persons or corporations in the Optometrists Registration Act were under siege, eventually to be rescinded in the 1990s. The College developed these codes of ethics and practice standards to codify what was expected of optometrists as a counter to de-regulation of the market. They existed in draft form for many years because of the College Council's timidity in setting out to proscribe such specific standards of practise, especially since some of them were aspirational rather than already widely accepted. The Codes were finally adopted by the Council on 24th November 1999 and were then printed and circulated to all College members. Professor Cole, the Director of the College until 1998 drafted and advocated the adoption of the codes. See also Cat No 1830 for earlier draft versions, including those that had been provisionally adopted.