Regulations made under the Opticians Registration Act 1935 by the Opticians Registration Board in the period 1936 to 1940

Historical Significance: These are the first regulations adopted by the Victorian Opticians Registration Board. The Board was formed in 1936 following the passage in the Victorian Parliament of the Opticians Registration Act in December 1935. The first regulation is procedural to do with the meetings of the Board and Registration of Opticians; the second is an amendment to add recognition of the Dioptric Diploma of the British Optical Association as a qualification suffcient for registration (the original regulation recognised only the FSMC, the FBOA and the FVOA) and elaborating the offences that may lead to suspension of registration adding misleading advertising; the third is procedural dealing with nominations of members of the Board. The Regulation of October 19 1938 defines a four year course of training and details the subjects of each year and specifies Intermediate Certificate for entry. This was controversial since some but not all in the profession wanted university matriculation as the secondary school qualification for entry into the course. The Regulation of April 3 1940 amends the entry qualifcation to Leaving Certificate (Matriculation) to take effect in 1941. The Regulation of 1941 defines a four year university level course including first year BSc subjects and second year Physiology and Biochenistry. See Cole BL. Bertram Nathan Key figure in the history of optometric education Clin Exp Optom 2009; 92: 511-518. which can be found on this web site under he tab 'People who made history ' for an account of the political battle to require a four year university level course for registration to practise optometry.