Establishment of Optometrists and Opticians Board
4.—(1) There is established a body called the Optometrists and Opticians Board, which consists of not less than 10 and not more than 12 members appointed by the Minister, of whom —(a)
at least 2 must be optometrists;
(b)
at least 2 must be opticians;
(c)
at least one must be an ophthalmologist;
(d)
one must be the Director‑General of Health or his or her representative;[Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023]
(e)
one must be the Director-General of Education or his or her representative; and
(f)
at least one must be a person who is neither an optometrist, an optician nor a medical practitioner, to represent the interests of persons receiving optometry and opticianry services.
(2) Every member holds office for a term not exceeding 3 years and is eligible for re‑appointment.
(3) The Minister may, at any time, revoke the appointment of any member (other than a member in subsection (1)(d) or (e)) without assigning any reason.
Functions of Board
5. The functions of the Board are —(a)
to approve or reject applications for registration under this Act and to approve any such applications subject to such restrictions as it may think fit;
(b)
to accredit courses in the practice of optometry and opticianry in Singapore for the purposes of registration;
(c)
to issue guidelines on the standards for the practice of optometry and opticianry;
(d)
to make recommendations to the appropriate authorities for the training and education of optometrists and opticians;
(e)
to determine and regulate the conduct and ethics of optometrists and opticians; and
(f)
generally to do all such acts, matters and things as are necessary to be carried out under or for the purposes of this Act.
Chairperson of Board
6.—(1) The Minister must appoint one of the members to be the Chairperson of the Board.
(2) The Chairperson presides at any meeting of the Board and, in his or her absence, the members present must elect from among themselves one member to preside over the meeting.
Disqualifications from membership of Board
7. A person is disqualified to be or from being a member of the Board if the person —(a)
is not a citizen or a permanent resident of Singapore;
(b)
is an undischarged bankrupt;
(c)
has been convicted in Singapore or elsewhere of any offence involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude; or
(d)
is totally or partially incapacitated by a mental or physical disability.
Filling of vacancies
8.—(1) The office of a member becomes vacant if the member —(a)
dies;
(b)
resigns his or her office;
(c)
becomes subject to any of the disqualifications specified in section 7; or
(d)
has his or her appointment revoked before the expiry of the term for which the member has been appointed.
(2) The Minister may remove from office any member who is absent without leave of the Board from 3 consecutive meetings of —(a)
the Board; or
(b)
any committee of which he or she is a member appointed by the Board.
(3) Any question as to whether a person has ceased to be a member is to be determined by the Minister whose decision is final.
(4) If any vacancy arises among the members, the Minister may appoint a person to fill the vacancy in the manner in which the appointment to the vacant office was made, and that person is to hold office for as long as the member in whose place he or she was appointed would have held office.
(5) No act done by or under the authority of the Board is invalid in consequence of any defect that is afterwards discovered in the appointment or qualification of the members or any of them.
Meetings and quorum of Board
9.—(1) The Board is to meet at such times and places as the Registrar may appoint.
(2) At any meeting of the Board, 5 members form a quorum and no business may be transacted at any meeting unless a quorum is present.
(3) The Chairperson or member presiding at any meeting of the Board has an original vote and, in the case of an equality of votes, a casting vote.
(4) Subject to subsection (2), the Board may act despite any vacancy in the membership of the Board.
(5) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board may regulate its own procedure.
(6) The Board must keep minutes of its proceedings in such form or manner as the Board thinks fit.
Appointment of committees and delegation of powers
10.—(1) The Board may appoint one or more committees for any general or special purpose which, in the opinion of the Board, may be better dealt with or managed by a committee.
(2) The Board may delegate any of its powers or functions (except the power of delegation conferred by this subsection) to any committee so appointed, with or without restrictions or conditions as the Board thinks fit.
(3) The number and term of office of the members of a committee appointed under this section and the number of those members necessary to form a quorum are to be fixed by the Board.
(4) A committee appointed under this section may include persons who are not members of the Board.
(5) The Board may continue to exercise any power conferred upon it or perform any function under this Act despite the delegation of the power or function under this section.
Disclosure of interest
11.—(1) If a member is, directly or indirectly, interested in a matter under consideration by the Board and is present at a meeting of the Board at which the matter is the subject of consideration, the member must, at the meeting and as soon as practicable after it commences, disclose the member’s interest in that matter and may, with the permission of the Board, participate in its consideration of that matter, but must not vote on any question with respect to that matter.
(2) No act or proceedings of the Board are to be questioned on the ground that a member has contravened this section.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
The Singapore legislation on this platform is subject to copyright of the Singapore Government and is used/reproduced for the purposes of this platform with the permission of the Attorney-General's Chambers. Users of this platform may check Singapore Statutes Online for the latest version of the Singapore legislation.
