Opinion pieces

Are you a parent of a school age student who is blind or has low vision? Have you had to advocate for your child to get the same benefits from the education system as their sighted peers? Were you aware of the Disability Discrimination Act and the Disability Standards for Education? Register for our Stand Up for Your Rights: Equity in School Education webinar to hear about the review of the Disability Standards for education and provide your feedback on what can be improved.

Local council elections will be held in October 2020 and these elections will be conducted by post. There will be no elections for Casey City Council, South Gippsland Shire Council and Whittlesea City Council as these councils are under administration.

For book lovers, nothing beats enjoying a few hours of reading downtime. People who are blind or have low vision might not have the traditional book with pages, cover and a spine, but there’s a number of ways they can enjoy their favourite books. 

Many people who are totally blind regularly have to go without a good night’s sleep because of disruptions to their circadian rhythms.

Having low vision hasn’t stopped Angela, and many other artists, from doing what they love and pursuing a career in art.

In order to access audio description, you need to turn on the features on your television. There are a range of ways to do this depending on the television being used. The two easiest ways to turn on audio description is via the accessibility features on the remote or television set.

As you may be aware, the Victorian Government has announced COVID-19 restrictions for regional Victoria, effective from 11.59pm Wednesday, August 5.
We understand this is a challenging time for everybody. These restrictions do mean some changes to how you access Vision Australia services, but we are committed to supporting the blind and low vision community through this time.

As you are likely aware the Victorian Government has declared a State of Disaster and updated COVID-19 restrictions for metropolitan Melbourne.
These restrictions mean that Vision Australia offices in metropolitan Melbourne, along with Geelong are currently closed to the public. Vision Australia will also be unable to provide residents of these regions with face to face services in their homes or the community until further notice.

Young people aged 14-17 from across Australia who are blind or have low vision have been encouraged to apply for Vision Australia’s LEAP (Learn, Engage, Act, Perform) program. Rohan, a previous LEAP Program participant, reflects on how the program has impacted his life since finishing it.

Vision Australia is launching a range of new groups designed to help you take your social and creative interests to the next level. Join us to learn about audio journalism, creative writing or English language skills, with a small group of like-minded people, from the comfort of your own home.