Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

I understand that Senator Siewert has a notice of motion later today, and I acknowledge her continuing efforts to improve Indigenous eye health. I am pleased to advise the Senate that the government will be investing $4.6 million over four years, from 2015-16, towards enhancing Indigenous eye health through the provision of eye health coordinators. The eye health sector, in particular the Chair of Vision 2020, the Hon. Amanda Vanstone—well-known to this chamber—and Professor Hugh Taylor of the Indigenous Eye Health Unit at the University of Melbourne, has strongly advocated for national oversight of Indigenous eye health, and I am pleased to be able to announce this today.

A key recommendation of Professor Taylor's report The Roadmap to Close the Gap for Vision notes the importance of eye care coordination, particularly at a national level, to improve service planning and delivery. The role of eye health coordinators will include work to improve the eye care pathway from patient entry to completion of care, thereby improving the patient journey and enhancing efficiency of services at the local, regional and jurisdictional levels. Eye health coordinators will work with stakeholders such as local hospital networks, Primary Health Networks and Indigenous health services to ensure that use of local service providers and existing health systems is maximised.

I congratulate the representatives of the Indigenous eye health sector who collaborated to bring forward this funding proposal. In particular, I would like to acknowledge Vision 2020 for finalising a proposal which brings together the sector for the first time to deliver this program. Other members I would like to acknowledge include the Indigenous Eye Health Unit at the University of Melbourne, Optometry Australia, the Fred Hollows Foundation, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists and the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists. I am pleased to inform the chamber this funding builds on the existing coalition government investment of $35.7 million.