 300.png)
Registrations open April 10 2026 - The OA NSW Branch Committee is pleased to announce the 2026 OA NSW Branch Annual Scientific Meeting.
The OA NSW Branch Committee is pleased to announce the 2026 OA NSW Branch Annual Scientific Meeting.
Venue: Sebel Quay West Suites Sydney, 98 Gloucester St, The Rocks NSW
Date: Saturday 30 May
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
The committee hope to welcome you to Sydney for what promises to be a great day of education and networking.
Please note- Registrations are closed. If you are interested in attending please email office@orthoptics.org.au before COB on Thursday 28th of May
Program
Prices (includes GST)
OA members: $120
OA member (student): $100
Non-member: $240
OA NSW Branch Student Grant for Continuing Education Events
The OA NSW Committee has established an annual student grant to assist its members to attend Continuing Education events which provide valuable additional learning opportunities. The applicant must be an OA student member. The student grant covers the cost of continuing education attendance registration. It may be used for the Continuing Education Weekend or the Annual Scientific Meeting. Each applicant may only be awarded the grant once. Click here for more information.
OA NSW Branch Rural Grant
The Orthoptics Australia NSW Branch has established an annual rural grant to assist its members to attend Continuing Education events. The applicant must be an OA member and be living outside the Sydney CBD/Wollongong/Central Coast/Blue Mountains areas.
The annual grant is intended to cover Continuing Education attendance and travelling expenses up to $500. It may be used for the Continuing Education Weekend or the Annual Scientific Meeting. Each applicant may only be awarded the grant once each three year period (ie the same person is not eligible for the grant in consecutive years). Click here for more information.
Preview of Speakers- More to come!
Alana Walsh
Alana graduated in 2021 and has worked in private practice as an orthoptist in clinics in Sydney and Bowral. She enjoys both the ocular motility and ophthalmic side of her role and recently has been developing her practical skills in bandage contact lenses for use in the clinic.
Rafal Al-Qaseer
Rafal is an Orthoptist who completed her Master of Orthoptics in 2020. She has since been working at Marsden Eye Specialists alongside Dr Ross Fitzsimons, with a focus on adult and paediatric strabismus and general ophthalmology. In addition, she independently runs orthoptic and myopia control clinics, taking full responsibility for patient assessment and ongoing management.
Louise Brennan
Louise is a Senior Paediatric Clinical Orthoptist at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (CHW).
Her role at CHW is both challenging and diverse and she has become specialised in the assessment and management of complex strabismus, amblyopia management and congenital cataract. Louise's approach to patient care is person centred, holistic, and evidence based. Louise is driven to obtain best patient outcomes that not only focus on the child's visual outcome but also considers the whole child and their overall wellbeing as they transition into adulthood.
Louise lives a happy life in Sydney with her family and one absolutely crazy yet super intelligent border collie named Callie.
Pelin Cildiroglu
Pelin is a senior clinical orthoptist with nine years of experience, currently part of the team at Marsden Eye Specialists. She is experienced in a broad range of ocular conditions, with a focus on retinal and macular disease. She is also regularly involved in supporting patients with macular conditions, taking a compassionate, empathetic approach that recognises the impact on daily life.
Pelin has a keen interest in ocular imaging, particularly capturing retinal scans to guide clinical decision-making. She is also involved in clinical trials, contributing to advances in evidence-based care for patients with AMD, DME, BRVO, CRVO and GA, while remaining committed to delivering thorough, patient-centred care.
Rusmiza Binti Amin
Rusmiza Binti Amin is a PhD candidate in Orthoptics at the University of Technology Sydney. Her research, titled “The Role of the Orthoptist in Post-Stroke Vision Care,” investigates gaps in current stroke care pathways, with a focus on improving the identification, management, and rehabilitation of visual impairments following stroke.
Her work examines the prevalence and profile of visual dysfunction in acute stroke settings and explores the integration of orthoptic services within multidisciplinary care. Using a retrospective clinical audit approach, her research aims to inform evidence-based clinical pathways and enhance patient outcomes in the Australian healthcare context. Her interests include early vision screening, interdisciplinary stroke rehabilitation, and advancing the role of orthoptists in acute and post-acute care
Wendy Liang
Wendy is a paediatric orthoptist who has worked at the Children’s Eye Centre since 2011 and runs orthoptic clinics for myopia, exercises and patching. She has also been a practitioner teacher at the University of Technology Sydney for the last 8 years. When she has spare time she is interested in looking at new technology as well as gaming.
Connor McLeod
Blind from birth, Connor McLeod campaigned the Reserve Bank of Australia to print tactile banknotes. Connor’s idea arose after he was given money for Christmas, but could not tell the amount in his hand and so he started a petition to lead the charge for change at age 13. Garnering the support of 57,000 people, as well as the Human Rights Commission and Vision Australia, Connor lobbied the then-treasurer Joe Hockey and filed a human rights complaint against the government.
He refused to take no for an answer, even going to Canberra with his mother to deliver his petition to the government. It worked, and in September 2016 the first tactile $5 note was launched. With a steely resolve, the power of an online army behind him, and a willingness to share his story to help others, Connor has improved the day-to-day lives of 357,000 Australians living with vision impairments
Rani Bahho
Rani Bahho is a PhD candidate at the University of Technology Sydney, and his research focuses on myopia. He graduated from UTS in 2024 and was awarded the IOA Student Research Award at IOC 2025. His areas of interest are myopia and Dry Eyes.
Sandra Marshall
I trained … many, many years ago – probably before some of you were even born! And well before the digital age! Oh dear! After graduating I worked at Sydney Eye Hospital as a full time Orthoptist for more than a decade, which gave me a solid grounding in traditional Orthoptics for both paediatric and adult strabismus. I have since worked part time at Concord Hospital for many years, which has continued my strabismus contact but almost solely with the adult population. Concord has also provided a breadth and depth of skills and knowledge in many facets of ophthalmology. Until recent years, I had spent most of my working life also being involved in clinical and academic education of Orthoptic students where my view was that the student should have a sound knowledge base and skill set to face the challenges a clinical environment would provide.
Chantelle Li On Wing
Chantelle is a recent UTS graduate from the 2024-2025 cohort, during her time at uni, she was the Vice President of the Orthoptics Student Society, and conducted her out of Sydney placement at Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne and National University Hospital Singapore. She studied Bachelor of Science (in Vision Science) at UNSW for her undergrad, and has worked at Specsavers since 2019. Currently she’s working at Retina Associates as an Orthoptist and surgical coordinator, as well as a locum for various other clinics to build her portfolio of experience. She has special interests in paedratics and development of new technologies and treatments.
Orthoptics Student Society
As a student-led society, the UTS Orthoptics Student Society (OSS) is dedicated to enhancing the social, academic, and professional experience of orthoptics students. The OSS organises a variety of events and initiatives to foster connections and enhance engagement, to support students throughout their academic journey and help them navigate their future careers as well as build lasting memories.
In 2025, the OSS celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the Orthoptics discipline being at UTS and the creation of the student society at UTS, originally called Student Orthoptics Society (SOS). To mark this occasion “The Magic Eyepatch” children’s book, was officially launched as an amblyopia awareness project.
OSS is committed to the endeavours and continued support of Orthoptists and the Orthoptics profession as a whole. With the aim to promote Orthoptists in what we do, and raise awareness of eye related issues to the general public through their social media channels and projects.
Sonia Biondi
Sonia is a senior Orthoptist at PMEC where she's worked for 30 years. She graduated from Cumberland College with Diploma Applied Science in Orthoptics and Graduate Diploma of Health sciences in Community Health. She is a strong supporter of rural and regional Orthoptics being NSW rural rep and regularly supervises students from UTS.
Julia Costella
Julia is an endorsed Nurse Practitioner with a clinical background spanning emergency medicine and ophthalmology. She works across the Emergency Department and Port Macquarie Eye Centre at Port Macquarie Base Hospital, and holds a telehealth NP role with Eucalyptus Health, where she specialises in weight management including GLP-1 receptor agonist prescribing.
Her interest in the ocular implications of GLP-1 therapy sits at the intersection of her clinical worlds, and forms the basis of her presentation today.
Julia has previously worked across the Westmead and Bankstown Emergency Departments and the Westmead Eye Clinic, where she served as Clinical Lead for the FOTO-ED study investigating fundus photography in emergency settings. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Wollongong, with her doctoral research examining nurse-led non-mydriatic fundus photography in regional emergency departments.
With a career built at the interface of emergency and ophthalmic care, and now with expanding expertise in the weight management sector, Julia brings a unique perspective to the growing conversation around GLP-1 therapy and ocular risk. She is passionate about equipping eye care clinicians with the clinical knowledge to identify, counsel, and advocate for patients in this rapidly evolving space.
Platinum
Gold
Silver
(1).jpg)
.png)
OA Sponsorship and Advertising Opportunities
OA Offers a range of Sponsorship and Advertising Opportunities to partners who share our vision for delivering excellent and equitable eye health care.
OA Educational Events and Communications are a great opportunity to engage with orthoptists who work closely with eye health patients and Ophthalmologists across Australia.
Please contact our office on office@orthoptics.org.au to discuss how we can work together.