Early days

First brought to life in 1940 as a teaching clinic, the ACO was the country’s first not-for-profit membership institution to teach a four-year full optometry course in 1941. Since its inception, the ACO has continued to build on its commitment to education. It offers students across Australia the opportunity of clinical training in a public health setting and designs professional development resources to support the growing needs of the wider optometry profession.

Emerging public health focus

While our education programs continued to evolve, a growing focus on public health emerged in 1955 as the ACO received its first Victorian State Government grant to deliver optometry care to underserved communities. This commitment to the provision of eye care to vulnerable communities was cemented in a pivotal move 30 years later in 1985, when the ACO became an integral partner in the state government’s newly coordinated public health eye care program, Victorian Eyecare Service (VES).

The ACO continues to administer the Victorian Eyecare Service (VES) on behalf of the Victorian State Government through its own network of clinics, outreach services and in collaboration with partner practitioners across regional Victoria. The VES plays a crucial role in delivering eye care and visual aids to some of Victoria’s most vulnerable communities.

Our work in the community today

Today, the ACO delivers public eye care across its network of clinics, mobile eye care service and outreach programs under the name ‘ACO Eye Health’. In addition to our main Carlton clinic, we operate seven optometry clinics in metropolitan Melbourne that are embedded into communities with an identified need for accessible and affordable eye care.

In 1998, ACO Eye Health began the Visiting Disability Service to provide eye care to those living with disability in a familiar and safe setting. Since then, our outreach services have expanded to reach other vulnerable communities experiencing barriers to mainstream care, including services for the aged, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, refugees and asylum seekers, children from disadvantaged schools, people experiencing homelessness and other high-risk groups. ACO Eye Health’s Outreach team delivers this much needed care at approximately 300 outreach sites each year.

ACO Eye Health provides a coordinated program of clinic and outreach services across Victoria, including services for the aged, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, refugees and asylum seekers, children from disadvantaged schools, people experiencing homelessness and other high-risk groups.

High impact research and supporting optometrists

Over five decades, the NVRI has expanded to conduct basic, applied, and clinical vision research. Throughout this journey, the institute has reinforced its unique role within the Australian vision science landscape and actively collaborated with several academic and corporate partners to advance eye health. Following a thorough review in 2023 the NVRI has refocused its efforts on clinical and public health research.

The ACO continues to support the education of optometrists to this day, offering a diverse and innovative program of professional development resources and also providing training opportunities to student optometrists.