Key messages
- The number of blind or visually impaired Australians is expected to rise to 801,000 by the year 2020.
- The Vision Initiative aims to eliminate avoidable blindness and vision loss by the year 2020.
- Blindness and vision impairment are often preventable and don’t need to be barriers to community participation.
The Department of Health and Human Services is committed to the elimination of avoidable blindness and vision loss. It is working collaboratively with the eye health and health sectors to achieve this goal, particularly with the principal at-risk groups.
Activities include, but are not limited to the following:
- the Victorian Eyecare Service (VES)
- the Victorian Aboriginal Spectacle Subsidy Scheme (VASSS)
- the Vision Initiative
- four regional Koolin Balit (Victoria’s Aboriginal health strategy) eye health projects across Victoria
- A Victorian Aboriginal eye health statewide coordinator.
Vision Initiative
The department provides funding to Vision 2020 Australia to deliver the Vision Initiative, which forms part of the Victorian public health response to the National Framework for Action to Promote Eye Health and Prevent Avoidable Blindness and Vision Loss.
The Vision Initiative aims to prevent avoidable blindness and reduce the impact of vision loss for all Victorians.
Its key objectives are to:
- increase the awareness and knowledge of target population groups about the importance of prevention activity and regular eye examinations
- improve understanding and awareness among health and community professionals of eye health and vision issues and referral pathways
- ensure a platform for collaboration and sustainable partnerships between Victorian eye health and vision care providers, government and other organisations.
Vision 2020 Australia
Vision 2020 Australia is the national peak body for the eye health and vision care sector. It was established as part of a global initiative of the World Health Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. Its role is to ensure that eye health and vision care remain high on the health, disability and international development agendas of governments in Australia.
Vision 2020 Australia represents 50 member organisations involved in:
- local and global eye care
- health promotion
- low vision support
- vision rehabilitation
- eye research
- professional assistance and community support.
Reviewed 08 October 2015
Health.vic
-
- Hospitals & health services
- Health Service Partnerships
- Public hospitals in Victoria
-
- Quality, safety and service improvement
- Planned surgery recovery and reform program
- My Health Record
- Public hospital accreditation in Victoria
- Credentialing for senior medical staff in Victoria
- Clinical risk management
- Preventing infections in health services
- Healthy choices
- Victorian Perinatal Data Collection
-
- Rural health
- Improving Access to Primary Care in Rural and Remote Areas Initiative
- Rural x-ray services
- Rural health regions and locations
- Rural and regional medical director role
- Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme
- Rural and isolated practice registered nurses
- Urgent care in regional and rural Victoria
-
- Private health service establishments
- Private hospitals
- Day procedure centres
- Mobile health services
- Fees for private health service establishments in Victoria
- Design resources for private health service establishments
- Professional standards in private health service establishments
- Legislation updates for private health service establishments
- Complaints about private health service establishments
- Cosmetic procedures
- Guideline for providers of liposuction
- Private hospital funding agreement
-
- Primary & community health
- Local Public Health Units
- Integrated care
-
- Maternal and Child Health Service
- Nursery Equipment Program
- Maternal and Child Health Service Framework
- Maternal and Child Health Service resources
- Child Development Information System
- Early parenting centres
- Maternal Child and Health Reporting, Funding and Data
- Baby bundle
- Sleep and settling
- Maternal and Child Health Workforce professional development
- Aboriginal Maternal and Child Health
- Public Dental and Community Health Program funding model review
-
- Public health
-
- Cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemetery trust member appointments
- Cemetery search
- Cemeteries and crematoria complaints
- Cremations
- Exhumations
- Governance and finance
- Cemetery grants
- Interments and memorials
- Land and development
- Legislation governing Victorian cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemeteries and crematoria publications
- Repatriations
- Rights of interment
-
- Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Patient Schedule 8 treatment permits
- Schedule 8 MDMA and Schedule 8 psilocybine
- Schedule 9 permits for clinical trials
- Documents and forms to print or download
- Legislation and Approvals
- Frequently Asked Questions - Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Health practitioners
- Licences and permits to possess (& possibly supply) scheduled substances
- Medicinal cannabis
- Pharmacotherapy (opioid replacement therapy)
- Recent updates
- SafeScript
-
- Environmental health
- Improving childhood asthma management in Melbourne's inner west
- Climate and weather, and public health
- Environmental health in the community
- Environmental health in the home
- Environmental health professionals
- Face masks for environmental hazards
- Human health risk assessments
- Lead and human health
- Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
- Pesticide use and pest control
-
- Immunisation
- Seasonal influenza vaccine
- Immunisation schedule and vaccine eligibility criteria
- Ordering vaccine
- Immunisers in Victoria
- Immunisation provider information
- Cold chain management
- Adverse events following immunisation reporting
- Vaccine error management
- Vaccination for infants and children
- Vaccination for adolescents
- Vaccination program for adults
- Vaccination for special-risk groups
- Immunisation resources order form
- Victorian coverage rates for Victoria
-
- Mental health
-
- About Victoria's mental health services
- Area-based services
- Statewide and specialist mental health services
- Mental Health Community Support Services
- Support and intervention services
- Language services - when to use them
- Access to mental health services across areas
- Transport for people in mental health services
-
- Alcohol & drugs
-
- Alcohol and other drug treatment services
- Overview of Victoria's alcohol and drug treatment system
- Pathways into alcohol and other drugs treatment
- Prevention and harm reduction
- Medically supervised injecting room
- Community-based AOD treatment services in Victoria
- Drug rehabilitation plan
- Hospital-based services
- Forensic services
- Pharmacotherapy treatment
- Services for Aboriginal people
- Services for young people
- Statewide and specialist services
- Compulsory treatment
- Family and peer support
-
- Alcohol and other drug service standards and guidelines
- Alcohol and other drug client charter and resources
- Alcohol and other drug treatment principles
- Service quality and accreditation
- Alcohol and other drug program guidelines
- Maintenance pharmacotherapy
- Drink and Drug Driving Behaviour Change Program
- Alcohol and Other Drug Residential Rehabilitation Facility Design Guidelines
- Specialist Family Violence Advisor capacity building program in mental health and alcohol and other drug services - Victoria
-
- Ageing & aged care
- My Aged Care assessment services
-
- Dementia-friendly environments
- Designing for people with dementia
- Maintaining personal identity
- Personal enjoyment
- Interior design
- Dining areas, kitchens and eating
- Bedrooms and privacy
- Bathrooms
- Gardens and outdoor spaces
- Assistive technology
- Staff education and support
- Strategies, checklists and tools
- References
-
- About us
- Our Strategic Plan 2023-27
-
- Our organisation
- Our secretary
- Leadership charter
- Our services
- Our vision and values
- Gifts, benefits and hospitality policy
- Information Asset Register
- Our ministers
-
- Health workforce
- Working in health
- Information sharing and MARAM
- Aboriginal healthcare workers
- Allied health workforce
- Education and training
- Enterprise agreements
- Worker health and wellbeing
- Our campaigns