A program packing punch

By MiVision - The Optical Distributors and Manufacturers Association hopes that rewinding the clock to bring back the ODMAFair will galvanise the future of independent optics in Australia.

By going back to the future with ODMAFair in 2025, the Optical Distributors and Manufacturers Association (ODMA) has a clear mandate to run an event that breathes new life into the very reason for its existence. Beyond the opportunity to bring its flagship biennial event back to Sydney (Friday 27 – Sunday 29 June 2025), it’s secured a premier location that satisfies exhibitors while offering an educational program striking at the very heart of the challenges optometrists, practice managers, optical dispensers and owners face in their professional lives. Take, for example, major issues like HR that business owners too often learn on the fly. That’s why ProVision’s people & culture manager Ms Leanne Jackson has been allocated several slots for her session: ‘Engaging your team: From probation to peak performance’. There’s also topics many would rather not think about, such as protecting one’s reputation and career. But Optometry Australia’s chief clinical officer Mr Luke Arundel will put this under the microscope in a session on handling medicolegal exposure, Medicare audits, Ahpra complaints and lawyer letters.

A frames repair workshop run by Optical Dispensers Australia, one on managing inventory and product displays, and ever-popular Pro Vision-Eyecare Plus sessions like how to become an independent practice owner round out a content schedule that should satiate anyone within the practice regardless of their job title. Getting granular is the key, according to ODMA CEO Ms Amanda Trotman, who has been instrumental formulating the ODMAFair25 program taking place inside Sydney’s International Convention Centre (ICC) in the Darling Harbour precinct. These topics, plus more, have been selected after going to all corners of the industry to understand the pain points in independent optics. For ODMAFair25, sessions will be allocated time on their merit, and carefully scheduled to allow ample time for trade on the exhibit floor.

It’s a departure from filling a standard 45-minute slot with speakers who put themselves forward. “In some cases we’re allocating a couple of hours and making it more of a workshop where someone leads the discussion, and then the group breaks o into small roundtable discussions about real world solutions,” Trotman says. “People can then report back to everyone. That way, attendees can get hands on and leverage the collective wisdom of the room. “There’s a lot of clinical CPD available today, but we realised there’s a lot of other content the industry seeks, and ODMA is perfectly positioned to provide that.” For those who have attended ODMA events in recent years, ODMAFair25 will have quite a di erent flavour.

That’s because its previous major show O=MEGA had a strong clinical CPD focus. This was intentional due to it being a joint venture event run with Optometry Victoria South Australia in Melbourne. It was O=MEGA that superseded ODMAFair (last run in 2017), with two shows run in 2019 and 2023, but currently there are no further O=MEGA events scheduled and they could only occur in Victoria or South Australia. Meanwhile, O-SHOW, a solely ODMA-owned show held at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion in recent times, is more of a boutique trade event, with a small breakout room for educational sessions. (As an aside, this will now alternate with ODMAFair going forward, with future dates and locations to be announced). But returning as the flagship show, ODMAFair25 is a key opportunity for ODMA to get back to its roots, supporting the commercial success of independent optical practices.

By rewinding the clock, ODMA is re-leveraging an event brand well-known in the industry, and can curate a program with plenty of breadth and depth to attract a spectrum of optical industry professionals. “Our charter is very commercial in nature, our 56 members are all suppliers, and if our program can help practices grow and generate a profit, then the suppliers by default are going to do better,” she says. But as Trotman points out, ‘profit’ isn’t a word that should be banished from the practice owner’s vocabulary. Nor should there be any shame about emphasising the retail element of optometry businesses that can account for as much as 80% of revenue. Success in this regard allows owners to invest in more sta , branch out into other areas of special interest and acquire new technology to better serve their patients.

With this in mind, ODMAFair25 organisers have established a content program with three distinct streams: optical dispensing, practice management, and a new one, business. “After O-SHOW this year, a survey showed us about a third of attendees were optical dispensers, a third optometrists and another third had ticked the box of owner. It was clear we were getting a lot of people who owned a business, whether they were health-trained or not,” Trotman says.

The program currently has nine sessions in the business stream, ranging from optical market research insights, a panel discussion involving industry experts and practice owners who have recently bought or sold, and tips to deal with the digital transformation and its influence on the patient journey and optical dispensing. “At the end of the day, these are small businesses. They’re not necessarily people who are trained in business management, and yet, they’ve got to handle everything,” Trotman says.

“It may not strictly be CPD but I feel it’s an important educational piece that’s missing in the industry right now, and ODMA’s in a position to help the whole practice team gain those important skills.”

‘A TRUE COLLABORATION IN MY EYES’

But the program caters for optometrists looking to scratch their clinical itch too. For the first time, ODMA is collaborating with Optometry NSW/ACT and the Australasian College of Behavioural Optometry (ACBO), who will run their own annual events alongside ODMAFair25 at the same location and across the same weekend. As soon as Trotman secured the ICC venue, Optometry NSW/ACT was the first call she made, asking them to consider running the Super Sunday clinical conference.

Optometrists flock to this event to obtain a significant number of CPD hours in a single day. Next, she called ACBO, which agreed to running its ACBO Connect 2025 conference on the Friday and Saturday. “A lot of work has gone into the program format to ensure streams and sessions did not conflict with each other, that there were sessions for all team members within a practice and that there was ample time for all visitors to explore what will be a large and valuable product and service showcase in the nearby trade fair halls,” Trotman says. “At the same time, we’re creating e ciencies and saving money for all three organisations and feeding each other’s event.

We’re completely respecting they have their own successful event with their own branding. It’s a true collaboration in my eyes.” One thing Trotman has learned from running live events for 35 years and attending SILMO Paris 2024 is the small touches really matter. Complimentary tea and co ee, breakout areas where practice decision-makers can talk business with suppliers, and placing catering in the trade hall are all intended to maximise the opportunity for attendees and exhibitors. But another big change coming in 2025 is the early morning keynote address on the first morning with Mr Adam Spencer. He’s an iconic radio and TV star and now prominent figure on the speaker circuit on artificial intelligence (AI), cyber security, the future of work, and the ChatGPT revolution. While his talk won’t be optics-specific, Trotman says there will be advice all attendees can transfer into their own careers. The session will kick o the event at 8.30am on the first day, with breakfast provided for a nominal fee. “It’s a lovely way to open the event, and we’re hoping people can make connections at their breakfast table.

It’s taking place before we open the trade fair, so we’re hoping people then go down into the trade fair as soon as it opens.” It’s also hoped ODMAFair25 will be the birthplace of a new Women in Optics meeting, and this inaugural one at ODMAFair25 will be sponsored by ProVision. Trotman acknowledged there were similar groups organised across the country, but nothing existed nationally. While optometry is becoming increasingly feminised (around 60%), women still faced unique challenges. “Now we’re at ICC in Darling Harbour, this is going to hopefully be one of the bigger events that we run. It’s a prime opportunity to try and bring women together from across the industry, and consider questions like how you go about handling menopause, or juggling work with a family.”

FUTURE OF ODMA EVENTS

With ODMA events evolving in recent years and the coming and going of O=MEGA, Trotman is keen to stress her organisation’s current intentions. ODMAFair is now the flagship, to be held in Sydney in 2025 and, if the industry wants more, running every second year thereafter. In the alternative years, O-SHOW will run, with the location yet to be confirmed for 2026. Collaborating with other optical educational events would be the aim. It’s basically getting back to the way ODMA events were structured prior to 2019 when the first O=MEGA was introduced. “The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, we feel there’s enough CPD and other training out there, so we need to come up with a program that takes this into account. “The second reason is, O-SHOW gives suppliers a more affordable exhibition option. There’s limits on the numbers of booths that can be booked and exhibitors don’t need a custom booth. It really helps the small suppliers and helps to level the playing field.” As for the value of live industry events, Trotman says her message is clear. They work. “I have seen it time and time again in my years of involvement with live events across multiple industries. “There is no reason not to attend an event of this nature whether you’re in Australia or New Zealand; there’s so much under one roof to benefit from across the three days with multiple team members encouraged to attend. There are encounters that wouldn’t happen waiting for sales reps to visit, there are learnings beyond written industry content, and conversations that will lead to business growth that wouldn’t have beenimaginable.”

Excerpt from MiVision