It has been estimated that 50% of blindness and 70% of vision impairment in Australia is caused by conditions that are preventable or treatable. Aboriginal Australians suffer up to 10 times the level of blindness from preventable eye disease than non-Aboriginal people, and they attend eye care practitioners in proportionally far lower numbers than other members of the Australian population. Some of the barriers to achieving progress have been a lack of availability of local and culturally-appropriate services, lack of eye health awareness, lack of follow-up, the perceived cost of spectacles and other significant economic factors.

NSW has a population of approximately 6 600 000 people of which approximately 138 000 are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. In NSW, ICEE programmes were initially established to increase immediate access to, and awareness of, eye care services for Aboriginal people. ICEE continues to ensure that optometric services are provided in almost 100 Aboriginal community controlled health facilities around the state.

Aboriginal Eye Health Coordinators, educated by ICEE, are vital to the success of the programme. Each is responsible for one of seven Aboriginal eye health regions in NSW. Aboriginal Eye Health Coordinators play a significant role in coordinating, and providing, eye care services in their communities.

The programme celebrates a high level of collaboration and co-operation between ICEE and its partners. Strong partnerships with Aboriginal community-controlled health services ensure programmes are developed in accordance with community needs and cultural sensitivities.