Credit Freepik

A new survey from University of Auckland optometrist Robert Ng has shown that since the country’s first optometry salary report in 2022 there has been minimal change in New Zealand optometrists’ median salaries. However, the local economy has experienced a cost-of-living crisis, with rates of inflation representing a 10.8% reduction in purchasing power since that previous report, Ng said.

Comparing corporate groups with independents, nationally, the survey found that the latter paid their optometrists a median salary of $121,600 – $14,600 more than the median corporate optometrist salary. The 2024 results also showed an average gender pay gap of 7% across all bands, which is unchanged from Ng’s 2022 report. In the 21–25 years’ experience group, women respondents were paid 36% less than their male counterparts.

The survey used the data of 162 anonymous respondents, representing 16% of the country’s registered optometrists. Nationally, the median salary for a new optometrist (with 0–2 years’ experience) was $92,000, with Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki and Manawatu having the highest median of $105,000 and Auckland the lowest, at $80,000. The overall peak median salary (for an optometrist with ≥36 years’ experience) was $127,000.

The data are skewed towards younger optometrists with fewer than 10–15 years’ experience, because they responded in greater numbers, said Ng. The report also points out that other benefits covered by employers, such as KiwiSaver contributions, annual practicing certificate and professional body membership fees, were not taken into account.

For the full report