Join our 2022 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health Advisory Group

Optometry Australia invites members with experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health to express their interest in joining our Advisory Group for a new two-year term, from July 2022 to June 2024.

While the gap in eye health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples has reduced over the past decade, there are still too many that experience avoidable vision loss and blindness due to barriers to accessing necessary primary eye health care.

Optometry Australia is strongly committed to supporting improved eye health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Since 2008, our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health Advisory Group has provided invaluable guidance and support in our work within this area.

About the Advisory Group

The role of the Optometry Australia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health Advisory Group is to:

1. Provide Optometry Australia with expert advice, information and guidance on key policy issues related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye care.
2. Engage with and communicate Optometry Australia’s activities to the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye care sector.
3. Support Optometry Australia advocacy for policy positions and initiatives as appropriate.

Optometry Australia will appoint ten members, plus the Chair, to the Advisory Group. The Advisory Group meets formally once annually, with travel costs covered by Optometry Australia, and additional meetings or input requested by email as required. Advisory Group members must commit to participate as members of Optometry Australia, not as representatives of other organisations or committees with which they may be involved.

How to express your interest

Please submit your expression of interest to policy@optometry.org.au by COB Sunday 26 June 2022.

In 500 words or less, expressions of interest should detail your experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye care, and highlight where you have relevant experience in the following areas:

• Delivering outreach-based optometry, practice-based optometry or hybrid models.
• Multidisciplinary collaboration, including with ophthalmologists, GPs, ACCHOs and/or Visiting Optometry Scheme (VOS) fundholders.
• Across geographic settings (urban, regional, rural and remote).
• Providing strategic advice and/or developing policy.

Expressions of interest from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander optometrists registered in Australia will be given preference. Opportunities to build capacity in early career optometrists will also be sought.

This is an important opportunity to contribute to national efforts to close the gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye health. We look forward to receiving your expression of interest.