What is legal blindness?
What is the difference between low vision, blindness, and legal blindness?
Summary
Low vision, blind, and legally blind are all terms used to describe various levels of vision impairment, and they represent distinct levels of vision loss. There is often confusion around the term “legally blind” and blindness. Below is some information to help you and your loved ones understand the terminology and categories.
Low vision
Low vision refers to a vision loss that cannot be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery. People with low vision often have some usable vision, which they can utilise with the assistance of vision aids or adjustments to how they would normally do things.
Blind
Blindness refers to a complete loss of vision. A person who is blind may have little to no perception of light and cannot see images or objects.
Legally blind
Legal blindness is a term used to define a level of vision loss that qualifies an individual for certain government benefits, assistance programs, or accommodations under the law. The specific criteria for legal blindness in Australia is a visual acuity measurement of less than 6/60 in the better eye with any prescribed glasses or contact lenses, or a visual field (peripheral vision) restricted to within 10 degrees of the point of fixation in the better eye. 6/60 vision means a person can only see at 6 meters what a person with no vision loss sees at a distance of 60 meters.
For more information
- Read this article to find out more about low vision.
- Always speak to your GP and eye care professional about the best treatment options for you.
Did you find this article helpful?
Share your thoughts and help us make our resources better for everyone.
Enjoying the content?
Start building your profile to access personalised support, resources, and tools tailored to your eye health journey.
