Glaucoma Australia’s Plan
to Arrest Glaucoma

WRITER Adam Check

Glaucoma is one of the most devastating, yet least-discussed, health challenges facing Australia. It affects an estimated 400,000 people, slowly and permanently eroding vision – often without symptoms until it is too late. Half of those living with glaucoma have no idea they have it. By the time they do, irreversible vision loss has already begun.

This is not merely a personal tragedy; it is a national one. The downstream cost of undetected or poorly managed glaucoma is estimated at AU$4.2 billion per year – a figure that captures emergency hospitalisations, surgeries, falls, loss of independence, premature ageing of the workforce, avoidable road trauma, and the crushing effects on individuals, families, and communities.

Yet the solution is not a moonshot. It is not a billion-dollar new agency campaign. It is not a complicated overhaul of the health system. In fact, it is surprisingly simple: use what we already have, link it together more efficiently, and target it where it will matter most.

Australia is on the cusp of adopting a pragmatic, well-consulted, system-wide National Action Plan for Glaucoma – one that focuses on early detection, consistent and equitable care, and connected support. It is a plan that does not reinvent the wheel; instead, it aligns the wheels we already have so that patients, providers, and government all move in the same direction.

And the direction is clear: catch glaucoma early, help people stay on treatment, and prevent avoidable blindness.

WHY GLAUCOMA SLIPS THROUGH THE CRACKS

Glaucoma is a disease defined by its stealth. Vision deteriorates from the periphery inward; many people do not notice changes until significant, irreversible damage has occurred. Once vision loss starts, it cannot be restored.

The burden is heavy and poorly distributed. People at highest risk – those in remote areas, culturally diverse populations, older Australians, and individuals with a family history – are the least likely to get early diagnosis and timely treatment.

Meanwhile, some individuals with low-risk or mild disease receive regular specialist appointments they may not need, consuming scarce clinical capacity that could be better directed where the danger is greatest.

The paradox is stark: we over-service the safest patients and under-serve the people who are actually going blind. And not because the solutions are unavailable, but because we are not efficiently connecting and coordinating the system.

SMARTER TARGETING, BETTER CONNECTIONS

Glaucoma Australia’s proposed National Action Plan is built on a simple insight: Australia already has all the core pieces – optometry networks, specialists, community health providers, digital tools, and patient education channels. What we lack is the coordination and clarity that turns these individual pieces into a true national system.

Two major pillars anchor the plan: 1. A smarter, targeted early detection approach.

This is not ‘screen everyone’. It is about screening the right people – the groups most likely to have undiagnosed glaucoma and the most to lose from late detection.

2. Living well: safe, supported, community-led care.

Once diagnosed, glaucoma becomes a lifelong condition requiring monitoring and ongoing treatment. Yet many people fall through the cracks. They forget appointments. They struggle with complex eye drop regimens. They get lost between optometrists, ophthalmologists, and GP systems that often do not talk to each other.

The Living Well program shifts more stable glaucoma management into community optometry – supported by specialist oversight – while Glaucoma Australia provides personalised navigation, recall reminders, adherence support, and education.

Patients spend less time waiting for specialist appointments that they do not need. Specialists spend more time on complex cases that urgently require advanced care. And patients stay on track – healthier, safer, and more independent.

EQUITY: NOT A FOOTNOTE – THE STARTING POINT

Where health disparities are largest, glaucoma hits hardest.

This plan puts equity and access at the centre – not as a courtesy gesture, but as a design principle. It prioritises remote communities, First Nations people, culturally and linguistically diverse populations, older Australians, and those where access to eye healthcare professionals is more challenging.

Having extensively consulted with the glaucoma ecosystem – patients and practitioners at the coalface – this movement will be embedded in the co-design of population priorities with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) and rural health services. The aim is to design and implement culturally safe models of care, enhance the workforce, and advocate for tele-optometry and mobile clinics.

These programs succeed because they combine awareness, accessibility, default options, and practical nudges. The glaucoma plan shares the same DNA – and the same potential.

EYES ON ALIGNMENT: COMMONWEALTH HEALTH PRIORITIES

This movement – glaucoma’s developing National Action Plan – ensures that proposed measures equal Commonwealth health priorities. Its emphasis on prevention, early detection, self-management, and integrated care remains pivotal in the Chronic Conditions Framework, while the focus on proactive case finding through risk-stratified screening is central to any preventative healthcare plan.

The plan’s Living Well stream reinforces the Framework’s pillars of partnership, sustainability, and empowerment, supporting individuals to manage a lifelong condition within their community while reserving specialist services for complex disease. And, as the plan matures through digital connectivity, shared-care protocols, and workforce upskilling, the plan will meet the key tenets of primary healthcare pathways and integrated chronic-disease management.

DOUBLING DOWN

Glaucoma Australia – the agile, dynamic and dedicated peak body for glaucoma in Australia – embraces its remit as the body for continuing care, and the navigator and champion for everyone impacted by glaucoma in this country.

This developing plan will be more than a publication. It will be a blueprint for a future where no Australian loses sight unnecessarily. With coordination, modest investment, and a commitment to equity, Australia can (and will) change the story of glaucoma – forever.

Adam Check is the Chief Executive Officer of Glaucoma Australia.