Proposed changes to Victoria’s disability parking permit scheme have been welcomed by Vision Australia, but the organisation believes further changes should be made to include more people from the blind and low vision community.
The proposed changes mean Victoria would fall into line with many other jurisdictions across the country, but Vision Australia believes the scheme should be expanded to include all Victorians who are legally blind.
“This is positive step for the blind community in Victoria, but the reality is the majority of Victorians who are blind will not realise any benefit from this, Bruce Maguire, Vision Australia lead policy advisor, said.
“There is no doubt being legally blind is considered to be a disability, so it is our opinion that people who are legally blind should be able to access the disability parking scheme,” Bruce said.
“Expanding the scheme in Victoria to include people who are legally blind is a common sense move and would have an immediate benefit in supporting our community and their families and carers to better access the community and vital services.”
Vision Australia has successfully lobbied for similar disability parking schemes to be expanded in other states and territories and will continue to advocate for further expansion in Victoria.