CPD Module
CPD Module
Driving Visual Fields: Austroads Interpretation and Reporting
A structured learning activity for clinicians who want to practise Austroads-aligned visual-field interpretation, then create a printable CPD Activity Completion Certificate for their CPD log.
Suggested completion time: about 60 minutes.
Self-directed, non-interactive CPD activity. Not accredited or quality assured by Optometry Australia, ODOB or RANZCO. Record your actual time and reflection in your own CPD record.
Activity details and disclosures
- Author
- Dr Simon Chen, ophthalmologist, Sydney
- Sponsorship and conflicts
- No sponsorship. No conflicts of interest to declare.
- Version and content review
- Version 1.1. Content reviewed 18 October 2026.
Learning objectives
Work through the four clinical modules, then finish the knowledge check and reflection note.
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to...
- Identify when a printout has enough reliability, fixation, source, and point-level information for a driving-field opinion.
- Apply the Austroads horizontal-extent rules using seen-to-seen endpoints rather than estimated field contours.
- Classify central 20-degree missed-point patterns without treating all missed-point counts as equivalent.
- Recognise when device equivalence, roving Esterman, monocular status, or commercial licensing should trigger extra caution.
- Apply a consistent approach to reliability, horizontal extent, central defects, and special-case pathways before writing a driving-field report.
Module1/4
Is this field assessable?
A clean-looking visual field is not useful for licensing if the source, layout, fixation, false positives, or point-level result is unclear.
Start by deciding whether the evidence is suitable for the question being asked. A binocular driving-field question needs a binocular Esterman or an accepted Esterman-equivalent field. A monocular standard automated perimetry (SAP) test can be useful baseline evidence, but it is not the same task as a binocular driving-field assessment when a significant defect or progressive condition is present.
Reliability is not optional. Fixation observation or monitoring must be performed and recorded for a standard Esterman/equivalent pathway, and false positives must be within the accepted reliability gate. If those fields are blank or unclear, the safest clinical report says the evidence is unresolved rather than converting a clean-looking plot into favourable advice.
Assessability checks
- Confirm the field was binocular when a binocular driving-field standard is being applied.
- Check field layout, printout source, point count, false-positive rate or count, and fixation observation or monitoring.
- If reliability or point-layout evidence is missing, the app should not call it a pass. Coordinate-confirmed named non-Humphrey devices can be calculated on their matching layouts, while unconfirmed printouts need repeat testing, manual review, or case-specific judgement before relying on them.
Inline practice case
No fixation monitoring recorded
Review the embedded reliability case. Decide whether it can be assessed, then write one sentence documenting why it is sufficient or why it needs repeat/manual review.
A standard Esterman printout has low false positives and all points seen, but fixation monitoring was not performed or not recorded.
Visual field
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Classify this field before revealing the answer
Module 1 is open. Continue to Module 2 when ready.
Next step
Continue through the modules first
The final knowledge check will appear after all four modules have been opened. Use the module navigation above to continue in order.
1/4 modules opened