Throughout the years

1869

Specialist services expand to offer the same lifechanging support to children who are blind.

1959

The Board of Directors purchases land at North Rocks and commences building.

1965

Partnering with the Department of Education, RIDBC provides the first early intervention service for deaf and blind children in the Southern Hemisphere.

1860

Thomas Pattison, a deaf migrant to Australia from Scotland, establishes the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) in 1860.

1908

Alice Betteridge enrols as a student. She is the first deafblind child to receive an education in Australia.

1963

The Governor of NSW, Sir Eric Woodward, officially opens the RIDBC North Rocks premises.

1978

The first computerised braille production unit in the world is established on-site to produce braille materials for people who are blind or have low vision, a service that continues today.

1989

An Australian first reverseintegration preschool opens for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their hearing peers.

2007

Remote services commence, providing vital support for children and families in rural and regional areas across Australia.

2014

NextSense launches the world’s first online braille training program, Unified English Braille (UEB) Online, which has provided nearly 30,000 people from 130 different countries with quality training in UEB literacy and mathematics.

2023

NextSense at Macquarie University will open, providing best-practice teaching, services, specialist professional education and advocacy. The centre will be the first of its kind in Australia.

1993

The Thomas Pattison Annexe opens. Here, students from kindergarten to Year 10 are taught in both Australian sign language (Auslan) and English.

2014

NextSense merges with the Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre to create Australia’s largest and most comprehensive cochlear implant program.

2019

A significant milestone, with 10,000 adults, children, and professionals accessing our services.