Welcome to the GOC Consultation Hub

We are the regulator for the optical professions in the UK and we protect the public by setting standards for education, training, performance and conduct.

We run consultations because it is important to us that the people who are involved with and affected by our work have a say in how we operate.

Consultations are available in Welsh on request - please contact our communications team at communications@optical.org

For more information about us please visit our website

Open consultations

Updating gender on register

We are committed to supporting registrants who wish to update their gender on our register and ensuring compliance with the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) and the Equality Act 2010. We have drafted a policy setting out the process for applying to the...

Customer Feedback Survey

This survey has been created to help us improve the customer service we provide within our Regulatory Operations team.

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Closed consultations

Call for evidence on the Opticians Act and consultation on associated GOC policies

Please refer to the document at the bottom of this page in the 'related' section for the full call for evidence and consultation document and questions. To respond to the survey, scroll down the page and click on 'online survey'. You do not have to answer all the questions. What... More

Closed 18 July 2022
FtP Focus bulletin

In December 2020, we introduced FtP FOCUS , a learning bulletin for registrants on the fitness to practise process. We published a total of five bulletins, the most recent in December 2021. You may have answered some questions about the bulletin in our 2021 registrant survey. We would like to ask... More

Closed 17 July 2022
Illegal practice strategy review

We are consulting on a revised illegal practice protocol which is available in the ‘related’ section at the end of this page. The GOC’s overarching objective is the protection of the public. Although not a specific statutory duty, we may act on reports about alleged illegal... More

Closed 24 January 2022
Education and training requirements for entry to the GOC register as a contact lens optician

This consultation seeks your views on our proposals to update our requirements for specialist entry to the GOC register as a contact lens optician. These proposals are available to download at the bottom of this page under the 'related' section. The consultation has now been extended and... More

Closed 3 January 2022
Education and training requirements for specialist entry to the GOC register (additional supply, supplementary prescribing and independent prescribing)

This consultation seeks your views on our proposals to update our requirements for specialist entry to the GOC register in the additional supply (AS), supplementary prescribing (SP) and/or independent prescribing (IP) categories. These proposals are available to download at the bottom of... More

Closed 6 October 2021

See all closed consultations

Welcome to the GOC Consultation Hub

Find consultations that interest you

Find out about actions we've taken as a result of your feedback

Open consultations

Updating gender on register

Customer Feedback Survey

Closed consultations

Call for evidence on the Opticians Act and consultation on associated GOC policies

FtP Focus bulletin

Illegal practice strategy review

Education and training requirements for entry to the GOC register as a contact lens optician

Education and training requirements for specialist entry to the GOC register (additional supply, supplementary prescribing and independent prescribing)