Australian Prime Minister Mr Anthony Albanese has officially opened the $75 million NextSense centre for innovation at Macquarie University in Sydney, launching a new era for people with hearing and vision loss.
The centre aims to support ongoing research, education and treatment to enhance the lives of people living with hearing and vision loss nationwide.
This includes supporting more adults with hearing loss as by 2050, more than six million Australians will be hearing impaired, NextSense says. Despite being the largest group affected by hearing loss, adult awareness of its huge health and social impacts is low.
NextSense is a 164-year-old national not-for-profit organisation providing services to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision.
Its new state-of-the-art facility custom-built for people with hearing and vision loss will deliver best-in-class services and be a home for sharing research and practical knowledge across Australia and the world and training the next generation of professionals in the field.
Mr Albanese joined NextSense’s clients, students, staff and supporters to officially open the centre yesterday, 6 August 2024. “We invested in this NextSense centre because it’s helping Australians who have hearing or vision impairment lead full lives,” he said. “From the teachers in the school to cochlear implant specialists, the workers here at Macquarie Park represent the possibility of a better future for so many Australians.”
Member for Bennelong Mr Jerome Laxale added: “Anthony Albanese and I want opportunity for all and NextSense, partnering with Cochlear and the Australian Hearing Hub, will deliver that for 10,000 families a year.”
NextSense chief executive Mr Chris Rehn said the centre was an important investment in removing barriers for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision.
“It is a nationally significant piece of social infrastructure that will cement the leading role Australia already plays on the world stage in hearing and vision service delivery and research,” he said.
“We welcome the Australian Government’s significant financial support of $12.5 million to this project – it will change lives and create new opportunities for the way education and services are delivered to all people with sensory disability.”
The centre will be the focal point for NextSense national operations and will house allied health, disability and cochlear implant services for children and adults, a school and preschool, and a major research and professional education program.
Located in the Macquarie University precinct and Macquarie Park Innovation District, it will bring the organisation closer to its key partners already on campus, such as Macquarie University Hearing, Cochlear and Hearing Australia.
More than 6 million will be hearing impaired by 2050
Rehn said the centre would explore ways to advance education for all children with hearing and vision loss, regardless of their location and it would help NextSense scale up to meet the growing need for in-person and remote hearing and vision services across Australia.
“By 2050, more than six million Australians will have hearing loss and more than one million will be blind or have low vision, and this will continue to grow,” he said.
“We know that despite being the largest group affected by hearing loss, adult awareness of its huge health and social impacts is low. If we improve this awareness and access to adult hearing care, we can go a long way to keeping our ageing population healthy and connected, reducing the risk of social isolation, falls, mental ill health and cognitive decline.
“We also know acting early when children have hearing or vision loss is critical in setting them up for life and giving them a level playing field. Advancing knowledge around best practice early intervention services and making sure families can access them is vital.
With this new centre, we’re in a better position to be there for those who need us.”
The centre will be an important gateway to new partnerships at Macquarie University, across Australia and internationally, between researchers, industry and governments. It will trial and share new ideas, advance the field, and drive better outcomes.
“We plan to use our centre for innovation to better connect our rich expertise as a leading service provider with what we learn from others – we need collective thinking if we’re going to drive change,” he added.
The building design puts people with hearing and vision loss first, with state-of-the-art equipment and spaces tailored for them. Its many accessibility features include the highest possible acoustic standards, wayfinding braille signage, and walls and furniture with high-contrast elements to allow better depth perception.
“We’ve come such a long way from our beginnings in 1860 when Thomas Pattison established us as Australia’s first Deaf school,” Rehn said. “Since then, we have achieved many firsts, from championing compulsory education in the 1900s for children who were deaf and blind, and pioneering teacher training in the 1930s, to creating the first digital version of the Auslan Dictionary, building Australia’s largest cochlear implant program, and launching the world’s first online braille training program.
“This next phase will significantly increase the contribution we can make to our sector, our clients and to all people with hearing and vision loss.”
NextSense works with children, adults and their families to create individual programs of care or education that meet their needs. A registered NDIS provider, it runs Australia’s largest cochlear implant program, an early intervention program incorporating audiology, speech pathology, occupational therapy, orthoptics, psychology and physiotherapy, delivers world-leading research and professional education, onsite preschool and primary education, and school support up to year 12 in 65 independent schools.
