Accessibility
ACO Eye Health is committed to providing accessible eye care services for everyone in our community.
Disability services
ACO Eye Health provides dedicated optometry services for people with disabilities, offering tailored care in a supportive and inclusive environment. Our specialist disability service is equipped with advanced diagnostic technology and staffed by experienced optometrists who understand the unique challenges faced by individuals with disabilities. This service ensures access to high-quality eye care for those who may encounter barriers in traditional optometry practices.
Patients who may benefit from ACO disability services include those impacted by:
- Acquired brain injury
- Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Cerebral palsy
- Down syndrome
- Intellectual disabilities
- Physical disabilities
Our aim is to provide appropriate, timely and comprehensive eye care to all patients regardless of their disabilities. Our disability service includes in-clinic care at our Carlton clinic, as well as a visiting disability service provided to community residential units or day facilities. Referrals are welcome from all healthcare professionals, house supervisors, support workers and family or friends.
Language support
Many ACO Eye Health patients are culturally and linguistically diverse, in fact, approximately 143 languages other than English are preferred by our patients.
Interpreters are available for language support during appointments. Please contact us before your appointment to arrange
First Nations eye care
ACO Eye Health recognises the past treatments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and how colonisation has impacted on their health. We are proud to have strong and established relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service providers and community members which inform our practice. We are involved in a number of partnerships, projects and service delivery models that demonstrates our reconciliation journey to date.
To close the gap in eye health, we recognise our responsibility to better understand the factors contributing to the disparities in healthcare outcomes between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians. In 2024, 96% of our fixed term staff successfully completed Cultural Safety training led by the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO).
ACO Eye Health has operated a regular optometry clinic at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) in Fitzroy since 1998. Over more than 25 years, this clinic has grown to include ophthalmology services delivered by the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.
We continue to work in partnership with VAHS to provide a comprehensive eye health service for its patients.
Since 2010, ACO Eye Health have been working in partnership with more than 20 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and a number of community health services in urban and regional Victoria, as well as in border regions in NSW and SA. This scheme, funded by the Rural Workforce Agency Victoria (RWAV), improves access to eye health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities living in regional and remote areas.
The Victorian Aboriginal Spectacles Subsidy Scheme (VASSS) program, which has been developed and managed by ACO Eye Health since 2010, is a Victorian State Government Initiative that aims to improve access to high quality visual aids for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Victorians.
Through the VASSS program, First Nations peoples in Victoria are eligible to obtain spectacles for a co-payment of $10. In Melbourne, this is exclusively available through ACO Eye Health clinics. In regional Victoria, VASSS is available through our partner practices.
Learn more about VASSS
We are involved in the Provision of Eye Health Equipment and Training Project, an Australian Government Department of Health funded initiative. A consortium of five organisations work in partnership to deliver this project based on their existing links and experience in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander eye care in discussion with local and regional stakeholders, and service providers. These organisations are: Brian Holden Vision Institute Foundation, Australian College of Optometry, Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia, Centre for Eye Health and Optometry Australia.
The project is responsible for the procurement and distribution of up to 155 retinal cameras to primary health care clinics, who provide care to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. The project incorporates training on the use of the camera to primary health care workers and general practitioners, with the aim to support increased primary-level access to retinal photography for First Nations people with diabetes.
The ACO recognises the past treatments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and how colonisation has impacted on their health. Our vision for reconciliation is to work collaboratively and walk alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities, to heal our national soul, address inequity and achieve justice by contributing to closing the gap in eye health outcomes. We believe that reconciliation is an ongoing journey, which we aim to enhance by building meaningful and mutually respectful relationships.
In May 2019, we were honoured to add a voice to reconciliation through the publication of our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The development of our RAP reflected our belief that we were to progress that connection through new means of conversation and cooperation. In this work, we are committed to being guided by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and organisations. In 2021, we launched our second Innovate RAP.
As the ACO continues to close the gap in eye health, we recognise our responsibility to better understand the factors contributing to the disparities in healthcare outcomes between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians. This commitment is central to ensuring equitable, culturally appropriate care for all.
We are proud to report that 96% of our fixed term staff successfully completed Cultural Safety training led by the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) in 2024.
Asking the question is a small step we can all take to help in closing the gap in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status can have a significant positive impact for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health outcomes, enhance cultural safety, and ensure that patients can access appropriate pathways to care. Additionally, improving reporting and monitoring of access to eye health services through identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status is an essential step to close the gap for vision.
Refugee & Seekers of Asylum
We recognise that asylum seeker and refugee communities face additional barriers to accessing health services, including cost; low health literacy; understanding local health services and how to navigate the Australian health system; distance to the service; lack of transport options and inability to use public transport; and difficulty making appointments and completing forms.
ACO Eye Health is proud to support refugees and seekers of asylum with culturally appropriate eye care across our Melbourne clinic network and outreach programs. Often, refugees or seekers of asylum are referred to us by welfare or social support agencies.
A Medicare card is not required if a person has a letter from the referring agency confirming their refugee or asylum seeker status. Consultations will be bulk billed to Medicare in this instance.
We also work closely with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) to provide a fortnightly eye clinic at their Health Centre in Footscray. This onsite care improves cultural safety and helps to increase engagement in eye care.
Other complex needs
ACO Eye Health is committed to providing accessible eye care services for everyone in our community. To discuss accessibility or accommodations you or someone you care for requires, please contact your local ACO Eye Health clinic directly or call us on (03) 9349 7455.
