Vision, speech and hearing

How to become an optometrist

Official title: Optometrist

Optometrists diagnose and treat vision problems and prescribe glasses and contact lenses. They also diagnose, monitor and treat eye diseases and conditions like glaucoma and cataracts.

Main tasks

Test patient vision
Analyse test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment
Develop medical treatment plans
Fit eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other vision aids
Prescribe medications
Prescribe assistive medical devices or related treatments
Train patients, family members, or caregivers in techniques for managing disabilities or illnesses
Monitor patients following surgeries or other treatments

How to become one

You need a qualification to become an optometrist. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: to complete the Health Sciences First Year programme at the University of Otago OR the first year of the Bachelor of Health Sciences, Bachelor of Biomedical Science or Bachelor of Science with a health major at the University of Auckland; a Bachelor of Optometry; a current Annual Practising Certificate; to pass a police check. Registration body: Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Medicine & Dentistry degrees, Offered by 2 universities in New Zealand
Registration or licence: A current Annual Practising Certificate. Registration body: Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board (https://www.odob.health.nz).

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $89,000 to $131,000 a year (median $110,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $64,000 a year · Upper: $160,000 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Steady (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Optometrists and Orthoptists: 756 at the 2018 Census and 888 at the 2023 Census (+17.5%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 760 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Optometrists and Orthoptists, 61% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Optometrists and Orthoptists work (2023 Census): Auckland 42.2%, Canterbury 10.5%, and Wellington 9.5%.

Questions people ask

How do I become an optometrist?

How much does an optometrist earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $110,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $89,000 to $131,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as an optometrist grown in New Zealand?

It has held steady: TEC records the number of people doing this job as steady between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of an optometrist?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026