SPEVI News
SPEVI Conference 2027
The 2027 biennial SPEVI conference will be held 18–20 January 2027 at the Peter Cosgrove Centre in Sydney, NSW. The Conference Theme is: Hindsight, Insight, Foresight: Sharing What We Know, Growing What We Do. At this three-day, in-person gathering we will share learning, strengthen networks, enjoy meaningful social connection, and celebrate the depth and diversity of our sector.
The conference will welcome specialist teachers, parents, students, academics, allied health professionals, orientation and mobility instructors, assistive technology developers and distributors, and all those committed to the education of learners with vision impairment and additional disabilities.
To read the full message from the Chair of the Conference Organising Committee, SPEVI Inc Co-President Ben Claire, and stay informed about conference updates - including early bird registrations, the call for presentations, keynote announcements, program details, accommodation options and social events - visit the official conference website: http://www.speviconference.net and follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/speviinc.Or subscribe to the SPEVI News List. These media platforms will be updated regularly as further details become available.
SPEVI Communities of Practice (CoP's)
Next meeting SPEVI Early Intervention VI Community of Practice: 28 May 2026
Date and Time: 28 May 2026, at 3:30-4:30pm AEST, 5:30-6:30pm NZ time.
Topic: Tech in the Early Years.
Guest presenter: Phia Damsma.
For more information and to register in advance (required) please visit the EIVI COP webpage.
Next meeting SPEVI Deafblind Educators Community of Practice: TBC
For more information on upcoming meetings of this CoP and to register in advance (required) please visit the DBE CoP webpage.
Next Meeting SPEVI CoP for Parents and Carers of children/young people with blindness and low vision
Date in 2026: TBC.
Visit the Parents CoP webpage for more information.
Presentations SPEVI 2025 Conference
Relive the SPEVI 2025 Conference keynote presentations by Chantelle Griffiths, Michael Sheppard, and Ben Clare, and the other fabulous presentations, panel discussions and workshops. Visit the Open Access Online SPEVI Conference Paper Repository, on the dedicated webpage on this website.
Open Access: Volume 17, Number 1, 2025 of the Journal of the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment
Includes articles by leading educators and researchers.
All Issues of the JSPEVI Journal are available for free.
Review and download Issues of the JSPEVI Journal here
With great thanks to all contributors, Chief Editor Dr Bronwen Scott and the JSPEVI Editorial Committee.
SPEVI members benefit: discounted Professional Development events
SPEVI is proud to announce our continuing partnership for 2024 with NextSense
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) events and Statewide Vision Resource Centre (SVRC, Victoria) professional learning (PL) events. This means that like the previous years, current SPEVI members can register for these PD events with a considerable discounted fee. If you are not a current member of SPEVI Inc., please join now and enjoy this members benefit in the New Year. With thanks to NextSense and SVRC for supporting SPEVI’s aim of encouraging the highest standards in the educators of persons with vision impairment by promoting research and professional training for general and specialist teachers.
SPEVI is proud to announce our continuing partnership for 2024 with NextSense
Member discounts for NextSense Continuing Professional Education
SPEVI Inc (Australia) continues to offer member discounts for NextSense Institute's Continuing Professional Education (CPE) events in 2024. Each SPEVI Inc. member is entitled to five discount event registrations for NextSense.
Members can register by visiting the NextSense Professional Development website
We recommend you to book early, as the SPEVI Inc. Committee of Management has set an upper limit of funds for the discount event registrations.
Please contact Trudy Smith, Manager of NextSense Institute CPE program, if you have any questions – trudy.smith@nextsense.org.au.
Member discounts for SVRC’s professional learning (PL) events
SPEVI Inc. (Australia) and Statewide Vision Resource Centre (SVRC, Victoria) are again partnering to offer SPEVI Inc members a 50% discount on the registration costs of five of the ten SVRC’s professional learning (PL) events .
This offer is for members of SPEVI Inc. only, and is limited to 5 events per member per year. For details about the events, please review the SVRC Professional Learning calendar on the SVRC website - Upcoming Events — Statewide Vision Resource Centre (svrc.vic.edu.au)
SVRC uses Eventbrite for their professional learning registrations.
If you are a current SPEVI Inc. member and want to benefit from this offer, please contact the SPEVI Secretary to request a promo code to register at the 50% reduced fee through Eventbrite.
If you have any queries regarding the registration process or the SVRC events, please email svrc@education.vic.gov.au
The South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (SPEVI Inc) is the peak professional association for educators of students with vision impairments in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific region. SPEVI is the peak professional body to advocate for excellence and equity in education for students with blindness and low vision, including deafblindness and multiple disabilities.
SPEVI membership is open to professionals and parents/caregivers supporting children and adults with vision impairment, including general teachers and specialist teachers (vision impairment), allied health professionals, orientation mobility specialists and assistive technology consultants.
SPEVI is a dynamic organisation, actively working for its members. It is registered as an incorporated organisation in Australia (Registration Number INC9889733) and New Zealand.