Who we are
CheckUP works with partner organisations and health providers to create healthier communities and reduce health inequities through a range of initiatives.
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CheckUP works with partner organisations and health providers to create healthier communities and reduce health inequities through a range of initiatives.
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There are so many ways you can support the work of CheckUP and our vision of better health for the people and communities that need it most.
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Left to Right: Fiona Moore (Optometry Qld/NT and CheckUP VOS Provider), Dr Theo Charalambus President Optometry Australia, Monica Barolits-McCabe (Executive Director, NACCHO), Lose Fonua (CEO, First Nations Eye Health Alliance), Michelle Hodges, CheckUP
50 Years of Outreach Eye Care Across Australia
As the Visiting Optometrists Scheme (VOS) marked its 50th anniversary in 2025, Optometry Australia hosted a celebration at Parliament House in Canberra. For fifty years, VOS has ensured people in regional, rural, and remote communities can access essential eye care, prevent avoidable vision loss and help bridge longstanding health inequities.
As the jurisdictional fundholder of VOS for over 10 years, CheckUP were pleased to attend the event during National Rural Health Month alongside key stakeholders.
10 Years supporting eye care in Queensland
CheckUP proudly reflects on its own decade of leadership as Queensland’s jurisdictional fundholder. Over the last 10 years, CheckUP has supported outreach providers by managing funding, facilitating service planning and referral pathways, and collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and key stakeholders.
This work has helped maintain continuity of care and ensured VOS services remain aligned with cultural, geographic, and logistical realities across Queensland. Throughout this time, CheckUP has strengthened partnerships with optometrists, local health providers, and community organisations, ensuring services are responsive to local needs and delivered seamlessly.
Image – Fiona Moore (Optometry Qld/NT and CheckUP VOS Provider)
Queensland VOS Outreach: 2024–25 by the numbers
112
communities received VOS optometry visits
1,148
visits delivered across the state
19,738
occasions of service provided
12,377
accessed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Growing Queensland’s outreach optometry network
Several VOS providers have been with CheckUP since 2015 when we started with 11 providers – this has now grown to 21. Along with the communities they serve, we are very appreciative of their commitment and dedicated service to delivering outreach.
Image – Dr Shelley Hopkins QUT, Gayle Stallard CheckUP, Tanya Morris, Country Director – Indigenous Australia Program | The Fred Hollows Foundation
The future of outreach eye care in Queensland
As VOS enters its next 50 years, CheckUP celebrates the shared achievements of providers, partners, and communities. The organisation remains committed to supporting equitable access to eye care for rural, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and continuing its role in sustaining and strengthening the VOS legacy across Queensland.
Image – Senator the Hon Anne Ruston (Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care)
Dr Shelley Hopkins QUT, Gayle Stallard CheckUP, Tanya Morris, Country Director – Indigenous Australia Program | The Fred Hollows Foundation
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