Community of Practice Meetings

These meetings are a means of staying in touch with other O&M specialists around Australasia to share resources, knowledge and experience outside of our organisations. The Membership Engagement Committee will be running these meetings quarterly with different topics to be covered in each session. Registered OMAA Members who attend live are eligible to receive 1 COMS continuing education point per CoP Meeting; please read below for more details.

 

Upcoming meetings

 

COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE #2: DeafBlindness

Tuesday, 20 May | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM (AEST)

Date: Tuesday 20 May 2025

Time:

AEST: 1.30pm – 3:00pm

WA: 11.30am – 1.00pm

QLD: 1.30pm – 3.00pm

NZ: 3.30pm – 5.00pm

Click the link below to take you to the zoom meeting:

https://zoom.us/j/99038044675

We’re pleased to invite you to our upcoming Community of Practice (CoP) session, where we’ll begin exploring the important and multifaceted topic of DeafBlindness. Given the breadth of this subject, our focus for this session will be on developing a respectful and informed understanding of key terminology. Topics will include:
  • Definitions, types, and characteristics of DeafBlindness
  • General communication strategies
  • Functional insights into hearing aids
  • Approaches to assessing vision and hearing during O&M sessions

This session will be facilitated by Rebecca Dunkley (COMS, ROMSA), Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, who brings a wealth of experience in this area. We also warmly welcome any Orientation & Mobility Specialists with experience supporting DeafBlind clients to briefly share insights or useful resources.

Additionally, we’ll dedicate time for a group discussion on takeaways, highlights, and feedback from the recent OMAA Conference (14–15 March 2025).

We look forward to your participation in what promises to be a thoughtful and collaborative session!

For more information please contact:

Jo Failes jfailes@guidedogs.com.au

We look forward to seeing you there!

Membership Engagement Committee

 

 

COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE #3:

Tuesday 19 August 2025 – Please check back for more details soon.

 

COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE #4:

Tuesday 18 November 2025 – Please check back for more details soon.

 

Claim COMS credits

COMS Points

Join our Community of Practice meetings and you will receive 1 COMS point for each one you attend! Please note: you must attend the meeting in person to be awarded the point.

Below we have clarified the process for receiving a certificate for your CE points if you are COMS and are wanting those points.

The final CoP in 2023 was a registered event for ACVREP however others in 2023 were not so are not eligible for the 1 CE point. We are expecting each CoP meeting will attract 1 CE point going forward if there is a relevant topic.

To make life a little easier for your volunteer Professional Development committee we have decided to issue certificates at the end of the 2024 calendar year which will include the CoP at the end of 2023 as well. If you would like a certificate with your attendance and CE points noted you will need to reach out to us at that time (there will be a reminder nearer the time).

If your ACVREP renewal is due before that and you need the certificate early, please reach out by emailing engagement@omaaustralasia.com

We keep a track at each CoP meeting who is in attendance. It is helpful if you have your full name on the zoom so that we can keep track easily. Thanks for your cooperation with this.

 

Past meetings

Missed the last meeting? See below for recordings of past meetings.

 

Feedback

Have a suggestion for an upcoming topic, or other feedback? Email the Membership Engagement Committee at engagement@omaaustralasia.com