Overview

Eye health conditions are very common in Australia, and may be present from birth, as a result of illness or injury, or developed over time due to ageing. Eye health conditions can have a profound impact on a person’s quality of life and ability to perform everyday activities.

Latest findings

Indigenous Australians having a professional eye care exam increased from 13% in 2007–08 to 16% in 2017–18 Females experienced a higher prevalence of long-term vision disorders (59%) than males (51%) in 2017–18 Median waiting time for cataract surgery was 141 days for Indigenous Australians and 89 days for non-Indigenous Around 42% of Indigenous Australians who had a diabetes test had also had an eye examination in 2017–18 Over 13 Million Australians (55%) had one or more long-term vision disorders in 2017–18 410,800 Australians (1.7% of the population) had cataract and 243,600 (1.0%) had macular degeneration in 2017–18 The prevalence of active trachoma in children aged 5–9 in at-risk communities fell from 14% in 2009 to 3.8% in 2017 In 2017–18, long-term vision disorders affected 93% of people aged 55 and over

Latest reports

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