In 2021, Vision Eye Institute launched the Future Vision Foundation to mark our 20-year anniversary.

Our organisation has a deep heritage in ophthalmic research to acquire new knowledge and improve patient care. The not-for-profit Future Vision Foundation extends this commitment further by encouraging and supporting the research efforts of staff and associated clinicians.

The Foundation’s support complements the external research funding many of our doctors receive. This includes funding as well as clinical resources to assist with conducting the study, collecting samples and analysing data. In particular, the Future Vision Foundation seeks to encourage staff who have a demonstrated interest in ophthalmic research but may lack formal experience.

‘The Foundation has been a dream since Vision Eye Institute first began – born from a shared desire by many of us to improve diagnosis, to improve treatments and to improve healthcare experiences for patients with eye conditions. We are now thrilled to see it come to life.’

– A/Prof Tim Roberts
Chairman, Future Vision Foundation

Vision Eye Institute proudly supports our doctors’ research endeavours, as they strive for clinical and scientific excellence and the best possible outcomes for patients.

We are privileged to be able to meaningfully contribute to Australian and international ophthalmic research. Due to the size of our organisation, we have a dedicated research unit to help collate and analyse internal data sets and support our doctors in conducting research.

Given our strong presence within the scientific community, Vision Eye Institute ophthalmologists are often approached to conduct clinical trials on behalf of companies, helping us to remain at the forefront of ophthalmic care.

In turn, our patients have access to the latest technology – sometimes before it’s available anywhere else in Australia.

Our doctors are equally proactive in running their own clinical studies, as our wealth of internal data provides a significant platform for individual and collaborative research projects.

In the past 5 years, Vision Eye Institute doctors have published more than 150 articles in local and international peer-reviewed journals. They are frequently invited to share their results and experiences at major scientific conferences – a testament to the quality of their research and patient care.

Through their university affiliations and peer-reviewed publications, Vision Eye Institute doctors also contribute directly to government funding.

Meet our two Golden girls, Guide Dogs-in-training Eliza (left) and Evie (right)!

Guide Dogs begin their training as puppies until they reach graduation day, which can take up to two years. Once fully qualified, they can help a vision-impaired person navigate the world around them safely and confidently. Although the independence they provide is priceless, each Guide Dog costs more than $50,000 in breeding, raising and training expenses.

Our Vision Eye Institute team is proud to sponsor Eliza and Evie and looks forward to watching their transition to life-changing service dogs.

Stay tuned for more ‘pupdates’!

‘When not on training walks, Eliza enjoys relaxing with friend and surrogate mother, Black. Evie has been enjoying her beach walks and loves to get about on crisp early mornings.’

– Kelsey, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT

Vision Eye Institute is proud to be an Enterprise Supporter of Australian charity Sight For All, aiding in its quest to advance eyecare for underprivileged communities worldwide.

Sight For All aims to provide equipment and training to increase the ophthalmic capacity in target communities. Every year, more than 120 eye care professionals, including VEI doctors, donate over 10,000 hours of their time to deliver intensive, in-country training to local doctors.

The partnership also includes opportunities for VEI staff to get involved through Sight For All projects in Australia and overseas, the Sight For All Research Committee and workplace giving.

Read more about the partnership.

‘Although Vision Eye Institute’s 29 clinics and day hospitals are located throughout Australia, we are very much aware of the millions of vision-impaired people beyond our shores, which is exactly what Sight For All was set up for. We are thrilled that this partnership will extend our impact on the lives of individuals in all communities.’

– Ms Amanda Cranage, CEO, Vision Eye Institute

Global Green and Healthy Hospitals partnership

Becoming an environmentally sustainable organisation aligns with Vision Eye Institute’s values of accountability, operational excellence, integrity and teamwork. We recognise that this is a long-term project that requires specific expertise. As such, we have joined Global Green and Healthy Hospitals (GGHH), an international network of hospitals and healthcare facilities committed to reducing its environmental footprint while promoting public and environmental health.

The GGHH network spans more than 80 countries and unites the sustainability efforts of over 1,700 healthcare organisations.

GGHH is a Healthcare Without Harm program.

Glasses donation program

We are proud to partner with Lions Recycle for Sight Australia to save unwanted glasses from landfill for refurbishment and reuse overseas in underprivileged communities.

All Vision Eye Institute clinics have collection boxes, which have been put to good use by our patients (particularly those who have had laser eye surgery!). Our collections are part of the hundreds of thousands of used glasses and sunglasses donated each year across the country. They are then cleaned, graded and labelled at three recycling centres in Queensland under strict quality control rules.

In addition to the above initiatives, Vision Eye Institute has several sustainability projects underway.

These include:

• Removing all single-use plastics from our clinics and day surgeries
• Significantly reducing paper usage (and only using recycled paper) across all clinics and day surgeries