The RANZCO Eye Foundation is the medical eye specialists’ foundation, dedicated to restoring sight and preventing vision loss throughout Australasia.

The RANZCO Eye Foundation is a not-for-profit eye health organisation. We represent more than 890 Australian and New Zealand medical eye specialists (ophthalmologists) who are passionate about giving future generations the best vision possible. The Foundation was founded in 2002 as the fundraising arm of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) and The Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia (ORIA).

Each year, 10,000 Australians go blind. About 200,000 Australians have visual impairment that cannot be corrected by spectacles.

Rather than focusing on a single eye disease or cause of blindness, The RANZCO Eye Foundation has chosen to fund ground-breaking research into many of the major causes of blindness; sustainable eye care programs in disadvantaged communities both in Australia and internationally; and community awareness campaigns to increase public knowledge about eye health.

Our vision is for every person to be given every opportunity to see. Our mission is to lead efforts to preserve sight and provide resources to prevent avoidable blindness throughout Australasia.  To achieve this, we work in partnership with leading eye specialists, medical professionals, industry representatives, the ophthalmic and allied health community, the public, business communities and government.

Each year, 10,000 Australians go blind. Despite the common misconception, vision loss is not restricted to the ageing and can affect people at any point in their lives. As vision is lost, the incidence of depression increases and reliance on family, friends and community services doubles. Vision loss leads to lower rates of employment, greater social isolation and emotional distress. The impact of low vision and blindness is greater than the disability burden for breast cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma and HIV aids combined. Considering these factors, it is little wonder that blindness ranks alongside cancer as the health condition Australians fear most.

The RANZCO Eye Foundation works to combat vision loss by funding initiatives in the following areas:

National Collaborative Research Projects
We fund major national collaborative research projects into the causes and cures of eye disease, which we identify in collaboration with The Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia (ORIA).
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ORIA Research Grants
We provide seed funding for ORIA research grants which offer annual financial support for other eye health research projects.
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Research Scholarships
We support the ophthalmic community by funding scholarships to help ophthalmic trainees and ophthalmologists complete their studies or undertake further training.
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Sustainable Development
We participate in sustainable eye care development projects in Australia and overseas.
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Community Awareness
We raise public awareness about eye disease by running community awareness campaigns, such as JulEYE.
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