IRIS Program

The Indigenous & Remote Eye Health Service (IRIS) is a specialist outreach program that brings hospital-grade ophthalmic care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to patients in rural and remote Australia. IRIS was conceived through ASO advocacy and established as a joint initiative with the Australian Government Department of Health, ensuring specialist eye surgery and treatment are available closer to home in culturally safe settings.

IRIS deploys a multidisciplinary ophthalmology team of consultant ophthalmologists, registrars, nurses, orthoptists and optometrists into regional hospitals and outreach clinics. The model focuses on high-impact, high-need procedures (particularly cataract surgery, the leading cause of avoidable blindness) while integrating pre- and post-operative pathways with local services so patients aren’t lost to care.

The ASO led the creation and early delivery of IRIS, securing Australian Government support and championing a pragmatic, cost-effective model that prioritised surgery where it makes the biggest difference. The program’s first iteration launched in 2010 and, over its first five years, delivered more than 13,000 multidisciplinary consultations and around 2,000 cataract operations across 26 remote communities.

IRIS has demonstrated that targeted surgical outreach shortens waits, reduces unnecessary travel, and restores independence, especially for First Nations patients who face markedly higher rates of vision loss. Recent deployments continue to deliver sight-saving care (for example, IRIS teams completing dozens of cataract surgeries in a single week-long clinic), and new government contracts have funded hundreds more procedures in high-need regions.

IRIS is currently coordinated by Vanguard Health under Australian Government funding, with ASO ophthalmologists being deeply involved in the design, clinical leadership, and on-the-ground delivery. Our priority is stable, long-term funding to sustain and scale a proven model that closes the gap in eye health outcomes for First Nations communities.

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE IRIS PROGRAM HERE

To get involved, contact Sandra Reed, ASO Manager Members & Partners via email: sandra@asoeye.org

 

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References

1. Vanguard Health. “IRIS – Rural & Remote Eye Surgery & Clinical Care.” (Accessed Nov 2025). (vanguardhealth.com.au)
2. National Rural Health Alliance (Partyline). “Life-changing and sight-saving outreach bridges the gap.” 14 Sep 2023. (National Rural Health Alliance)
3. Optometry Australia. “IRIS closes as funding axed.” 2014. (Program activity 2010–2014 summarised.) (Optometry Australia)
4. Vanguard Health. “Indigenous and Remote Eye Health Service (IRIS).” Program overview. (vanguardhealth.com.au)
5. mivision. “IRIS for Eye Health: Getting the Job Done.” 1 Nov 2020. (Rationale and cataract focus.) (mivision)
6. Metro North Health. “Lynette is helping restore vision in rural and remote Indigenous communities.” 13 May 2025. (Recent clinic example.) (Metro North Health)
7. ASO (news). “ASO calls on government support to close the Indigenous eye-care gap.” 10 Oct 2025. (ASO origin and ongoing advocacy.) (asoeye.org)

Additional context:

• Department of Health program pages on First Nations eye health policy, and RANZCO materials on Indigenous eye health, provide broader policy background and the profession’s support structures for IRIS-style outreach. (Health, Disability & Ageing Australia)