what the GOC sight testing consultation means for you now it has closed

The General Optical Council’s consultation on the testing of sight closed on 21 October 2026 after 14 weeks.  

Here’s what happens next and what it means for your career in optics.  

Well, nothing has changed yet. The GOC analyses the responses and publishes its decision, and only then do the standards move. 

We covered the proposals back in August when the consultation opened. This is the what happens next piece: where it goes from here, and which bits actually land on the people we talk to every week. If you are weighing up a move while this plays out, our optometrist roles we are currently recruiting are worth a look.

what was the GOC actually consulting on? 

Two things: a draft updated version of its 2013 statement on the testing of sight, and draft revisions to the supervision and delegation standard in the Standards of Practice for Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians and the Standards for Optical Students. 

The sight testing statement covers three questions the sector has been arguing about for years.  

• Whether parts of the sight test can be delegated to a suitably trained person.

• Whether the sight test can be separated by time, person or place, which is what teleoptometry does in practice.

  
  

The draft also reiterates existing law on prescriptions: a spectacles prescription cannot be issued until all statutory components of the sight test are complete. The GOC has been clear that the proposed statement would not change the duties and responsibilities of the optometrist, and reinforces their central role in the sight test.

what happens next, and when? 

The GOC analyses every response, then publishes its own response setting out what it will change. That stage usually runs to months rather than weeks, and the outcome goes back to Council before anything is adopted.

For a sense of the pace, the GOC’s CPD reform consultation closed on 19 April and Council only approved the response at its 30 September meeting, with the final version published in October.

This is a change to GOC standards, not to the Opticians Act. It does not need legislation, which is why it can move faster than the CPD reforms, where the bigger changes are targeted at January 2031.

what did the profession say? 

The AOP ran a survey of members and the wider profession over the summer to inform its submission, closing on 8 September. ABDO ran its own member survey and is submitting a formal response too.

Supervision is where most of the discomfort sat. The GOC asked specifically for views on oversight of unregistered colleagues carrying out delegated activity, including whether that can be permitted without a registrant on the premises. That is the part worth watching when the response lands.

what could change for your optical job? 

Honestly, not much immediately. But three things are worth having on your radar.

If separation by time, person or place is given a clearer framework, more employers will trial remote and hybrid testing models. That changes what some optometrist roles look like day to day, and it opens up roles that do not exist yet.

If the supervision standard is tightened, practices that lean hard on unregistered staff for pre-screening will need to rethink rotas. That tends to push demand toward dispensing opticians and qualified optical assistants.

And the responsibility point cuts the other way. The optometrist carrying out the test keeps the central role and the duties that come with it. If an employer pitches a new testing format at interview, that is a fair thing to ask about.

what we are telling the candidates we support every day 

Nothing to do yet. Do not let a pending consultation outcome hold up a move you were already going to make, because the timeline here runs in months and the job market definitely does not.

What is worth doing is asking particular questions in the interview:

• How long are testing times.

• Who does the pre-screening.

• What happens if you need longer with a patient.

  
  

Those answers tell you more about a practice than any regulatory change will.

Looking to explore optical opportunities? We will tell you what practices in your area are actually offering on testing times, hours and progression, not just what the advert says.

No pressure to move, and no cost to ask.

Send us your CV or give us a call and we will be straight with you about what is out there.