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

 

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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...
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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...
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Closed consultations

  • 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

  • Remote Hearings Experience

    We have been facilitating remote hearings at the GOC since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. In 20/21 we facilitated 93% of events remotely. We would like to hear about your thoughts and experiences with remote hearings. We are keen to identify what went well, what hasn’t... More

    Closed 4 October 2021

  • Hearings and indicative sanctions guidance 2021

    As the UK regulator for optometrists and dispensing opticians, we are committed to protecting the public, maintaining standards, and responding to concerns about the fitness to practise of our registrants. In doing so, there are circumstances in which we need to hold hearings. ... More

    Closed 23 September 2021

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