30 October 2025
Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability
PO Box 6021
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
By Email: health.reps@aph.gov.au
VISION AUSTRALIA: QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
Dear Chair
Thank you for the opportunity to appear at the Committee’s public hearing on 10 October 2025. Vision Australia appreciated the chance to share the perspectives of children who are blind or have low vision and their families who will be impacted by the introduction of the Thriving Kids initiative.
At the public hearing, Vision Australia agreed to take some questions on notice. The Committee particularly requested that we provide data on the number or percentage of children that we support who are currently accessing services through NDIS, as well as those who are not eligible for the Scheme.
Our current data indicates that Vision Australia is supporting 1,117 children through the provision of NDIS funded services, with 301 of these being aged under nine years. We do not record data on how many of these children have met the permanent disability requirements of the NDIS, versus those that are accessing support through the early intervention pathway, on the grounds of developmental delay. It is the latter cohort that are likely to be captured in the implementation of the Thriving Kids initiative. The reason we do not have accurate data on this point is that until recently, families applying for the NDIS were not consistently told which pathway their child had met access for, and we were therefore unable to reflect this information in our client management systems. Following changes to NDIS legislation in November 2024, we understand that new NDIS participants are now provided this information as part of their access decision letter, and we now record it where possible. There are a significant number of existing participants, however, for whom we do not have access to this data.
Vision Australia also supports 444 children with vision impairment across Australia who do not currently have access to NDIS funding and who may likewise require support through the Thriving Kids initiative following its implementation.
We thank you again for the opportunity to participate in public hearings relevant to the Thriving Kids initiative. Should you require any further information, redacted
Yours sincerely
Caitlin McMorrow NDIS and Aged Care Funding Specialist Lead Vision Australia