Australian College of Optometry

ACO’s mission is to improve the eye health and well being of communities through innovation, partnership and leadership in:

Clinical optometry services: Providing high quality public health eye care for communities in need and leading best practice.

Research: Undertaking high impact internationally recognized research to improve the understanding of vision science and eye care.

Education: Providing best practice clinical learning pathways for optometrists from pre- registration through to professional practice[2]

The ACO is governed by a Council, which acts as the governing body to set the strategic direction of the organisation.  ACO Councillors are elected by current ACO Members to serve for a period of two years, alongside several skills-based appointments.[3]

The organisation is currently led by Chief Executive Officer Pete Haydon who works along with the Executive Management Team to foster an environment in which the vision and mission of the organisation is achieved.[4]

The ACO delivers accessible and affordable clinical care to communities across Victoria and South Australia by providing routine and advanced eye care services. The clinical team also works in collaboration with hospitals and community clinics to deliver public health initiatives.

Network of Clinics

ACO’s largest clinic is based in Carlton, Victoria with more than 25 consulting rooms and advanced equipment. In addition to the central Carlton hub, the ACO extends its eye care services to reach the wider community through a network of nine clinics across Victoria, South Australia, and a mobile outreach eye care program. Services offered at the ACO include paediatric, contact lens, low vision and disability, ocular diseases, outreach and Aboriginal services, and visual functions.[5]

Focus on people experiencing disadvantage

Providing eye care to disadvantaged communities is a central part of the ACO’s work.   Since 1985, the ACO has managed and administered the Victorian Eyecare Service (VES), established and funded by the Victorian State Government to deliver an integrated, coordinated public health eye care program).  The VES is an important public optometry service, ensuring access to eyecare and visual aids to Victorians experiencing disadvantage. [6]

Since the inception of the VES program, more than 2 million Victorians experiencing disadvantage have benefited from high-quality eye care consultations and services aimed at correcting refractive error and preventing eye disease. The VES is delivered by all ACO clinics and outreach services and by more than 80 partner private practices in regional and rural areas. People are eligible for VES benefits if they are permanent residents of Victoria and either: hold a Pensioner Concession Card; hold a current Health Care Card (and have done so for at least 6 months); are children in out-of-home care; or identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person.

Outreach Services

ACO’s Outreach services began in 1998 for patients with disabilities that could not access mainstream services. This has since expanded to provide clinical services for the aged, indigenous communities, refugees and asylum seekers, children from disadvantaged schools, people experiencing homelessness and other high-risk groups.

Eye care to Aboriginal communities

The ACO continues to work towards closing the gap for vision in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It has provided comprehensive eye care services at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service in Fitzroy for over 20 years. The ACO also works in partnership with several Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations across Victoria, as well as in the border regions of NSW and SA, to provide eye care services through the Visiting Optometry Scheme. Funded by the Rural Workforce Agency Victoria, this scheme facilitates accessibility to eye care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities living in remote locations. [7]

The Provision of Eye Health Equipment and Training

The ACO is involved in the Provision of Eye Health Equipment and Training Project, an Australian Government Department of Health funded initiative.  It works as part of a consortium to roll out retinal cameras and slit lamps, as well as training primary health clinics across Australia to improve eye health outcomes of First Nations People. The consortium members include Brien Holden Foundation (contractor, co-lead), Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia, Centre for Eye Health and Optometry Australia. [8] [9]

The National Vision Research Institute (NVRI) is the research arm of the ACO, which undertakes internationally recognised research to help understand the complexities of vision and its disorders. Its principal goal is to conduct research that work towards preservation of sight and the prevention of blindness. Professor Michael Ibbotson has been leading the research team as the Director of the NVRI and Professor at the University of Melbourne since 2011.

Established in 1972, with bequests from the optometry community and generous donations from the Schultz Laubman Schultz Endowment Fund Trust, the NVRI is committed to understanding vision disorders and explaining how the brain processes vision. It conducts basic science, clinical and translational research while also supervising PhD students in partnership with universities.

NVRI’s research priorities including neurotechnology, with a strong focus on the development of prosthetic vision devices (or bionic eyes) in partnership with Bionic Vision Australian (BVA) to restore vision in people with retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, clinical optometry and public health, to improve the understanding of vision science, vision care and treatment.

In 1976, NVRI garnered international recognition when researchers Dr Ian Bailey and Jan Lovie developed the Bailey-Lovie LogMAR visual acuity charts (Logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution). The chart is widely in use by ophthalmologists, orthoptists, optometrists, and vision scientists world over to estimate visual acuity.[10]

Over the years NVRI has acquired a high profile for publishing output in top ranking scientific and medical journals and presenting at international conferences. This has been crucial in attracting several grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Australian Research Council (ARC), including BVA, and other philanthropic grants, including ongoing support from the Victorian Lions Foundation and the Lions Vision Research Fund. In 2014, the NVRI was announced as a node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, placing it in a research network among Australia's top six research universities. [11]

Since its inception, the ACO has continued to build on its commitment to education. The organisation is a pioneer in continuing professional development opportunities for practicing optometrists as well as helping train and build a foundation for the next generation of optometrists. [12]

Continuing Education

Developed by experts in their fields, the ACO provides unique, innovative, and specialised education across a broad range of clinical areas. Advanced education programs have been developed to support optometrists to upskill to provide the best patient care. This is delivered through certificate courses, webinars, clinical workshops, conferences to meet the current and future needs of the wider optometry profession. [13] [14]

Clinical Teaching

The ACO has a long and renowned history in training optometry students across Australia. The clinical teaching program provides regular placements to students from Deakin University, the University of Melbourne, UNSW Sydney and Flinders University. The placement involves hands on clinic based and outreach training to pre- registered optometry students in a public health environment, under the supervision of ACO optometrists

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