Our History
In 2004 Australia's first truly national blindness agency, Vision Australia was formed following the merger of the Royal Blind Society (RBS), the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind (RVIB), Vision Australia Foundation (VAF), and the National Information Library Services (NILS) in July 2004.
Our organisation was further expanded in December 2006 through the amalgamation of Royal Blind Foundation Queensland.
In November 2007, Hear a Book, a Tasmanian producer of audio books was also merged into Vision Australia, further expanding our extensive catalogue of audio books.
In April 2008, at a Special General Meeting of Seeing Eye Dogs Australia (SEDA), members of SEDA agreed to a merger of their organisation with Vision Australia. This groundbreaking decision represents the coming together of Australia's largest provider of blindness and low vision services with the only national provider of seeing eye dog services.
The merge became official on 1 July 2008.
Collectively these seven organisations represent more than 600 years of experience in making a difference to the lives of Australians who are blind or have low vision!
While our names have changed, our history covers much of the struggle for better rights and services for Australia's blind and low vision community.
Tilly Aston (second from right) reading braille to four young girls in gardens, Melbourne, c1900s.