In October, the Albanese Government handed down their first Budget. While I am conscious that the commitments made within the Federal Budget reflected the tight fiscal environment, I was disappointed to see a lack of targeted investment in primary eye care. As a local optometrist in your electorate, I am writing to highlight ways in which we can work together to enhance the eye care that is provided in our community. Australia’s 6,000 registered optometrists are the first port of call for 80% of people with vision issues. We perform over 10 million eye checks every year; the vast majority are bulkbilled through Medicare. This equates to over 65,000 eye checks annually in every Federal electorate. As you will know, we have an ageing population with an increasing number of people living with chronic health conditions, such as diabetes. However, what is not as widely known is that diabetic eye disease is one of the main causes of vision loss in Australia, and people with diabetes need to be checked regularly for signs of progressing disease and receive treatment quickly when it is indicated. The prevalence of other serious eye diseases like Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is also increasing rapidly, and many Australians continue to suffer from glaucoma or cataracts, or live with uncorrected refractive error (e.g. long or short sightedness) because they have not had their eyes checked or cannot access a simple pair of spectacles. The good news is that up to 90% of eye conditions are treatable if detected early and well managed. The problem is there is still not sufficient awareness among our primary health care colleagues of the importance of getting your eyes checked regularly by an optometrist - especially as you age and are more susceptible to a range of chronic health conditions. In their 2022-23 Budget Submission, our professional association, Optometry Australia, proposed that the Federal Government support our profession to work collaboratively with our primary health care colleagues, including GPs and practice nurses, pharmacists and patient organisations to review and develop practice standards, guidelines, reminder technologies and materials that enable greater inter-professional collaboration. A $500k investment over two years from the Federal Government would make a tangible difference in ensuring connected pathways of care for people with chronic conditions who require regular eye care. I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to talk about how we can work together to enhance eye health in our community. You are, of course, also very welcome to visit my optometry practice where you can meet the team and be shown the work we do. I look forward to hearing from you.

In October, the Albanese Government handed down their first Budget. While I am conscious that the commitments made within the Federal Budget reflected the tight fiscal environment, I was disappointed to see a lack of targeted investment in primary eye care. As a local optometrist in your electorate, I am writing to highlight ways in which we can work together to enhance the eye care that is provided in our community. Australia’s 6,000 registered optometrists are the first port of call for 80% of people with vision issues. We perform over 10 million eye checks every year; the vast majority are bulkbilled through Medicare. This equates to over 65,000 eye checks annually in every Federal electorate. With an ageing population, the prevalence of eye disease is increasing. However, 90% of blindness or vision loss is preventable or treatable, if detected early. Unfortunately, the health system fails too many Australians who do not have access to timely and affordable eye-care The Aged Care Royal Commission reiterated the importance of ensuring that aged care residents have access to visiting allied health professionals, including optometrists, as part of their care plans (e.g., Rec. 38). Providing timely and affordable access to eye care for infirmed Australians not only enhances their health and wellbeing, but can reduce the potential for falls, avoidable hospital and premature aged care admissions and the need for other forms of specialist care, however the current scheduled full fee amount for a domiciliary loading is $24.20 (85%= $20.60) grossly under-recognises the costs of providing domiciliary care, discouraging optometrists from providing eye care to these at-risk and vulnerable patients. Research indicates that a more realistic domiciliary loading would increase provision of these services at minimal budget cost. In their 2022-23 Budget Submission, our professional association, Optometry Australia, proposed that the Federal Government invest $500k per annum to increase the optometric domiciliary loading benefit in residential aged care to $85 per visit (paid proportionally for multiple patients). I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to talk about how we can work together to enhance eye health in our community. You are, of course, also very welcome to visit my optometry practice where you can meet the team and be shown the work we do. I look forward to hearing from you.

In October, the Albanese Government handed down their first Budget. While I am conscious that the commitments made within the Federal Budget reflected the tight fiscal environment, I was disappointed to see a lack of targeted investment in primary eye care. As a local optometrist in your electorate, I am writing to highlight ways in which we can work together to enhance the eye care that is provided in our community. Australia’s 6,000 registered optometrists are the first port of call for 80% of people with vision issues. We perform over 10 million eye checks every year; the vast majority are bulkbilled through Medicare. This equates to over 65,000 eye checks annually in every Federal electorate. In 2018-19, optometrists provided nearly 26,000 services to First Nations peoples under the Visiting Optometrists Scheme, a figure which tripled since 2010-11. However, the AIHW also found that in 2018-19, only 13% of Indigenous Australians had an eye examination by an optometrist or ophthalmologist. Estimates developed by Vision 2020 Australia show that over 21,000 additional VOS-supported eye examinations a year are needed and the Federal Government’s investment in VOS should grow over time to achieve this Furthermore, the sector supports the development of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO)-led eye health models to complement the VOS, enhancing service availability and local community control. In their 2022-23 Budget Submission, our professional association, Optometry Australia, joined forces with the peak body for eye health and vision care, Vision 2020 Australia, in calling for an $18.1 million investment in the VOS over 5 years. I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to talk about how we can work together to enhance eye health in our community. You are, of course, also very welcome to visit my optometry practice where you can meet the team and be shown the work we do. I look forward to hearing from you.

In October, the Albanese Government handed down their first Budget. While I am conscious that the commitments made within the Federal Budget reflected the tight fiscal environment, I was disappointed to see a lack of targeted investment in primary eye care. As a local optometrist in your electorate, I am writing to highlight ways in which we can work together to enhance the eye care that is provided in our community. Australia’s 6,000 registered optometrists are the first port of call for 80% of people with vision issues. We perform over 10 million eye checks every year; the vast majority are bulkbilled through Medicare. This equates to over 65,000 eye checks annually in every Federal electorate. With an ageing population, the prevalence of eye disease is increasing. However, 90% of blindness or vision loss is preventable or treatable, if detected early. Unfortunately, the health system fails too many Australians who do not have access to timely and affordable eye-care Evidence shows that an ageing population brings increased demand for intravitreal injections (IVIs) to treat age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular oedema, both which threaten significant vision loss. Currently, there are significant geographic and financial barriers to accessing intravitreal therapy, and many people can’t access the care they need. In their 2022-23 Budget Submission, our professional association, Optometry Australia, proposed that the Federal Government invest $500k over two years to support a collaborative care pilot which would enhance access to IVIs in regional and rural areas by more effectively using local optometry to support the provision of ophthalmology-led care. It would use local interprofessional relationships and digital technologies to enable remote diagnosis and management. The pilot would be in two separate locations, including one that enhances access to IVIs in remote Indigenous communities, in partnership with local Aboriginal Health Services. The pilot would be developed in collaboration with relevant local health providers, health professional groups and patient representatives, and would be independently evaluated with a view to informing a broader rollout of innovative IVI care models. I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to talk about how we can work together to enhance eye health in our community. You are, of course, also very welcome to visit my optometry practice where you can meet the team and be shown the work we do. I look forward to hearing from you.