Closed Grant Opportunity View - GO6860

The Visiting Optometrists Scheme was established in 1975 to deliver outreach optometry services to people living in regional, rural, and remote locations of Australia and was expanded in 2009-10 to provide increased optometry services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The objective of this Grant Opportunity is to deliver outreach optometry services to people living in regional, rural, and remote locations of Australia by:

• increasing the availability of optometry services in areas of identified need
• improving the coordination and integration of those eye health services and the quality of ongoing patient care, and
• enhancing communication between visiting optometrists, local health providers and other visiting health professionals.

The intended outcome of the grant opportunity is to improve vision for people living in regional, rural, and remote locations of Australia, including First Nations people.

To view the grant opportunity documents, please select the red "Grant Opportunity Documents" button on the left-hand side.

To be eligible, you must be one of the listed organisation/s

• General Practice Queensland Limited
• NSW Rural Doctors Network Ltd
• Northern Territory of Australia
• Rural Doctors Workforce Agency Incorporated
• Rural Workforce Agency; Victoria Limited
• The Crown in the Right of Tasmania as represented by the Department of Health
• Rural Health West Ltd

The list of eligible applicants above was determined on the basis that they are the organisations currently delivering the VOS and have proven that they:

• can effectively and efficiently deliver Australian Government outreach programs
• have well-established infrastructure and long standing relationships with First Nations communities, health service providers and other key stakeholders to outreach programs, especially in rural and remote locations
• are agile and innovative in delivering integrated health solutions to deliver culturally appropriate services in remote locations
• have knowledge of and capability to deliver the grant opportunity objectives and outcomes, and
• have the ability to ensure continuity of services in communities where Commonwealth outreach programs are delivered.

Organisations listed have demonstrated significant expertise in delivering coordinated and integrated eye health services through the VOS along with the other Commonwealth’s outreach programs such as the Medical Outreach Indigenous Chronic Disease Program, Rural Health Outreach Fund, and Eye and Ear Surgical Support Program. This unique and coordinated approach has delivered improved patient pathways, significant program efficiencies and value for money.

$20,625,214.00

Submit the completed application form and all necessary attachments by the closing date and time via the red Submit Application button on the left-hand side. 

You should keep a copy of your application and any supporting documents. Registered users will receive an automated email notification acknowledging the receipt of the submission. If you do not receive an automated email notification within 24 hours of submission, please email Grant.ATM@health.gov.au. 

For technical assistance when submitting your application through GrantConnect please contact the GrantConnect Helpdesk:

• Phone: 1300 484 145
• Email: GrantConnect@finance.gov.au  

Applicant/s should follow the below instructions to upload their application:

• Filename(s) do not exceed 100 characters.
• Any file type can be submitted to GrantConnect.
• Refrain from using special characters. These include, but are not limited to, colon, forward and back slash, question marks, en and em dash.
• A maximum of five (5) separate files can be submitted at one time.
• Do not include macros or password protect applications or attachments.