On World Sight Day, Vision 2020 Australia hosted the launch of the Australian Eye and Ear Health Survey (AEEHS) at Parliament House with Minister for Health and Ageing and Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the Hon Mark Butler MP.

This important work was made possible through the leadership of the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, with support from the Australian Government, the Martin Lee Centre for Innovations in Hearing Health at Macquarie University, UNSW School of Optometry & Vision Science, Brien Holden Foundation, and The George Institute for Global Health.

• More than 4,500 Australians took part across 30 sites nationwide
• Rates of vision loss have declined since 2016, but gaps remain for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and those in remote areas
• The survey also provides the first national data on hearing health, showing nearly 40% of Australians aged 50+ experience some level of hearing loss.

The AEEHS provides Australia’s most comprehensive, contemporary snapshot of eye and ear health—evidence our sector can use to sharpen prevention, screening and treatment, and to strengthen policy and funding cases.