Registrants to benefit from pro-rata scheme

The GOC has announced that as of April 1 2007, newly qualified optometrists and dispensing opticians will benefit from a pro-rata policy on registration fees.

Under the revised fees rules, approved by the Council in November 2006, student optometrists and dispensing opticians joining the full register will no longer be automatically required to pay the full £169 registration fee, irrespective of the date of registration.

Instead, they will pay a proportionate fee, calculated from the date of joining to the end of the registration year, on March 31.

Under the new system, the fee will be £42.25 for every period of three whole calendar months in their first year on the full register. The standard renewal fee will then be due by the annual retention deadline of March 15.