After Robyn Delaney was diagnosed with macular degeneration in 2023, her central vision deteriorated rapidly.
Within a matter of months, the then-70-year-old former psychologist from Greater Western Sydney had to give up driving and her career.
“I felt like I was starting over again. I had to re-learn how to catch public transport, how to use my phone, and how to find my way around my community,” she said.
Sessions with a Vision Australia psychologist, an assistive technology specialist and her orientation and mobility specialist, Vivienne, opened up a world of possibilities.
“If I didn’t have Vivienne, I’d be isolated. I wouldn’t even be able to get to my local doctor,” Delaney said.
“Without these supports my life would be much more difficult. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
But under the federal government’s incoming Support at Home program, Australians with vision loss after November 1 will not have access to these same supports.
What’s changing?
Specialist services, including orientation and mobility training, orthoptics and specialised assistive technology services, are not covered under the new program, leaving thousands at risk of being unable to live independently.
Delaney now travels independently, including a solo-trip to visit her family in Europe where she went island-hopping in Greece and took a long-haul flight from Melbourne to Stockholm.
“Vivienne gave me the confidence and encouragement to travel on my own. Now I’ve done it once, I’m not afraid to do it again,” she said of the life-changing impact of orientation and mobility training.
‘Left out to dry’
Vision Australia is disappointed by the government’s decision to leave this cohort without critical early intervention.
“It is deeply disheartening that the government have left this cohort out to dry,” said Chris Edwards, Vision Australia’s director of government relations.
“This will be detrimental to their ability to live independently and stay mobile.”
Vision Australia hopes this issue will be brought into the spotlight as the implications of this reform are significant.
In 2024, more than 280,000 Australians were receiving a Home Care Package, while 800,000 people accessed support through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme in 2022–23.
By mid-2025, 87,000 older Australians were already on the waiting list for home care, with forecasts warning the number could balloon to 100,000 by the time reforms take effect.
Robyn knows just how critical early intervention was for her. “
“When you’re just starting out it’s hard to get information about what’s available and how to go about getting it,” she said.
“I was lucky I got in just in time.”