Specialist Teacher (Vision Impairment)

A specialist teacher who designs and delivers individualised curriculum and adaptive teaching strategies for students with vision impairment in mainstream or specialist education settings. They assess students' functional vision and learning needs, modify teaching materials and classroom environments, and collaborate with families, allied health professionals, and orientation and mobility specialists to support student independence and educational access.

Conduct functional vision assessments to determine a student's usable vision and learning profile, documenting results in Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Develop and deliver differentiated lessons using braille, large print, audio materials, and digital accessibility tools tailored to each student's vision level and learning pace. Teach braille literacy skills including Grade 1 and Grade 2 braille, tactile symbol systems, and transition strategies for students transitioning between print and braille. Adapt curriculum materials into accessible formats including enlargement, high-contrast production, braille transcription, and audio description. Coordinate with orientation and mobility specialists to embed spatial awareness and independent travel skills into the broader educational programme. Train students in the use of assistive technology including screen readers, magnification software, accessible note-taking devices, and tablet-based learning applications. Liaise with classroom teachers to modify lesson delivery, seating arrangements, lighting, and assessment methods to remove barriers to student participation. Advocate for and implement reasonable adjustments under the Disability Discrimination Act and Disability Standards for Education within school policies and practice.

The standard entry pathway requires a bachelor degree or higher (ABS Skill Level 1). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

You'll need to learn braille fluently and master specialist assessment tools that take years to develop real skill in. The job is emotionally draining because you're often supporting kids with newly diagnosed vision loss who are grieving the change. Pay usually follows the same scale as general classroom teachers, and the roles are scarce so you may need to relocate or work across multiple schools.

Most jobs are in capital cities where special schools cluster and larger mainstream schools can afford specialist staff. Regional areas rarely have dedicated roles, so you'd likely travel between schools. State education departments and disability support services are the main employers.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 2415, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Active Listeningcore
• Adapt teaching to student's capabilitiescore
• Case Note Documentationcore
• Cultural Awareness and Sensitivitycore
• Disability Awareness and Inclusioncore
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligencecore
• Goal Setting and Planningcore
• Inclusive Practicecore
• Interpreter and Accessibility Coordinationcore
• Participant or Client Advocacycore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Report Writingcore
• Stakeholder Communicationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Confidentiality and Privacy Compliance
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Digital Literacy
• Health Terminology Literacy
• Record Management
• Service Navigation and Referral
• Team Collaboration
• Time Management and Prioritisation

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026