Internationally trained optometrists pursuing UK GOC or Australian AHPRA registration need Grade B across all four OET sub-tests. The Writing sub-test rewards plain, structured prose — not the abbreviation-dense clinical record optometrists write every day.
Quick answer
Internationally trained optometrists need Grade B (350) in each of the four OET sub-tests for GOC (UK) and AHPRA (Australia) registration. The Writing sub-test tests your ability to communicate optometric findings to a non-optometrist addressee — usually a GP or ophthalmologist — in 250 words of structured prose. Most marks are lost on Genre & Style: compressed optometric abbreviations without context.
Sent to a hospital ophthalmology team or specialist for suspected pathology — glaucoma, retinal detachment, age-related macular degeneration, suspected malignancy. Tests urgency framing and selective findings.
Marking watch-out: Purpose — opening must convey urgency and provisional diagnosis, not visit history.
Communication to the patient's GP about visual findings relevant to systemic health (diabetic retinopathy progression, hypertensive retinopathy) or ongoing management.
Marking watch-out: Genre & Style — adjust register and abbreviations for a non-optometrist addressee.
Stop using V/A, IOP, OD/OS or refraction notation without context when writing to a GP. Expand on first use: 'intraocular pressure (IOP) 28 mmHg in the right eye'. Mapped criterion: Genre & Style.
Stop opening with patient demographics on suspected retinal detachment or angle-closure cases. State 'I am referring this patient urgently for assessment of suspected [condition]' in sentence one. Mapped criterion: Purpose.
Stop including the full refraction sequence and every fundus observation. Include only findings that justify the referral question or shape the management. Mapped criterion: Conciseness & Clarity.
The UK GOC (General Optical Council) and Australian AHPRA both accept OET. Both require Grade B (350) across all four sub-tests, with combined sittings within the validity window accepted.
Optometrists most often write a referral letter to an ophthalmologist (for suspected pathology — glaucoma, retinal detachment, cataract) or a follow-up report to a GP after disease management. Case notes are eye-care-specific, including visual acuity, intraocular pressure, fundus findings, and management history.
The most common loss is in Genre & Style — using compressed optometric abbreviations (V/A, IOP, OD/OS, +1.50DS) without context for a non-optometrist addressee. The second most common loss is hedging the urgency cue on pathology referrals where the ophthalmology team needs to triage on the opening line.
Yes. OET on computer is accepted by GOC and AHPRA. The Writing sub-test format (250-word letter, case notes) is identical regardless of delivery mode.
Marked against the six OET criteria by a corrector aware of optometric findings and ophthalmology referral conventions. 24-hour turnaround.
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