Positive Reforms to GlassesSA for Our Mob

The DHS Concessions Department recently made further significant reforms to the GlassesSA subsidised spectacle scheme in keeping with their ongoing commitment to increasing access to free or low-cost glasses for Aboriginal people in SA.

Back in 2020, GlassesSA had made prescription glasses free for Aboriginal subsidy applicants but there were still Centrelink eligibility limitations, and many instances where remote area applications were being rejected based on a technicality.

Too many people with poor vision were missing the simple fix of glasses, so AHCSA’s Eye Health Project Officer (EHPO) took steps to work with DHS to fully understand these issues with the Scheme and their ground level impacts and the urgent need for a solution.

These efforts included:

• Raising at meetings of the SA Aboriginal Eye Health Working Group (SAAEHWG), of which GlassesSA hold membership;
• Setting up independent meetings between EHPO & the Department of Human Services (DHS), and bringing in key outreach optometrists;
• AHCSA collaborating with DHS to modify the Aboriginal-specific GlassesSA promotional material
• EHPO travelled throughout SA with the new posters/flyers to conduct a statewide GlassesSA promotional ‘roadshow’, to promote the Scheme to a lot more locations, seek feedback from GlassesSA participating providers along the way, and report all the feedback and findings to GlassesSA at the end.

In response to the consistent long-term advocacy of AHCSA and the eye health sector, and the robust feedback and advocacy from remote outreach optometrists, the Scheme was further changed – it has much broader eligibility, and properly supports subsidy access for Aboriginal people and those living remotely, as follows:

1. Scope of eligibility – subsidy is now available to all Centrelink beneficiaries, including those on a part pension and low-income earners with a Healthcare Card.
2. Simplified process – optometrists can still submit applications where only partial personal details are available.
3. Improved Centrelink validation for remote applicants – validation exemption when exact street address or date of birth are unknown or mismatched (though full name and CRN are still required).

The Scheme has evolved a more thoughtful and holistic approach and better accommodates not only Aboriginal people but all South Australians who may otherwise be disadvantaged, aligning with our Eye Health Program purpose that ‘Everyone has the right to clear vision.’

For more information, click on the links below:

• GlassesSA: Changes as of 1 Jan 2025
• GlassesSA: Policy document
• DHS: Cost Of Living Concessions (Facebook page)