The World at Your Fingertips

Braille House exists to empower people of all ages who are blind or have low vision through alternative formats. Our goal is to ensure that everyone can access knowledge and information through touch literacy.

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About Braille House

Our Values

Guided by our core values, Braille House fosters a culture of integrity, respect, and empowerment—ensuring every action we take drives sustainability and delivers excellence.

Integrity

We do what’s right, always acting with kindness, transparency, and honesty, ensuring every decision we make reflects our commitment to fairness and trust.

Respect

Our interactions are collaborative, considerate, and constructive. Together, we work with others to ensure we deliver our best, fostering a culture of mutual respect.

Empowerment

We create opportunities for clients, volunteers, and staff, encouraging everyone to participate fully and reach their potential through involvement and support.

Sustainability

We adapt to change, building on our strong foundations to ensure our mission, services, and resources remain effective and impactful for future generations.

High Expectations

We are dedicated to providing exceptional service and resources to our clients, the community, and one another, consistently aiming for excellence in everything we do.

Our Strategy

Guided by our core values, Braille House fosters a culture of integrity, respect, and empowerment—ensuring every action we take drives sustainability and delivers excellence.

Find out more about our Strategy

Diagramatic outline of the Braille House strategic plan - contact us for an accessible version
Braille House strategic plan on a page - contact us for an accessible version.

Braille House’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025 focuses on expanding access to braille resources, developing a sustainable training business, and advocating for touch literacy. The plan outlines goals to enhance our team, upgrade facilities, and ensure financial sustainability.

Success is measured by increased training graduates, library usage, public engagement, and sound governance. Our mission is to empower individuals of all ages who are blind or have low vision through alternative formats.

 Download our 2022-25 Strategic Plan

 

Our Management Committee

Our dedicated management committee is composed of experienced professionals who guide Braille House with expertise and passion. Each member plays a crucial role in upholding our mission and driving our strategic vision forward.

Photograph of Barry Oliver

Barry Oliver

Barry has over 20 years’ experience as a researcher and consultant in finance, working for various universities and organisations. Barry was Dis... Read full bio: Barry Oliver
Photograph of Amanda Acutt​

Amanda Acutt​

Amanda is an experienced policy practitioner and analyst in the Queensland Public Service. She works with her team to improve outcomes for young peopl... Read full bio: Amanda Acutt​
Photograph of Nigel Harris​

Nigel Harris​

Nigel is Managing Director of Nigel Harris & Associates, an advisory and consulting practice specialising in philanthropy and fundraising leadersh... Read full bio: Nigel Harris​
Photograph of Vickie Anderson​

Vickie Anderson​

Vickie Anderson has over 20 years' experience working with people living with blindness or a vision impairment (BVI).   This experience, her pass... Read full bio: Vickie Anderson​
Photograph of James Grant​

James Grant​

James is a senior compliance professional and leads the compliance function at one of Australia’s leading energy infrastructure organisations. J... Read full bio: James Grant​
Photograph of Karen Prins​

Karen Prins​

Karen has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, holding several executive roles leading both new business and client relatio... Read full bio: Karen Prins​
Photograph of Meyrick Adams​

Meyrick Adams​

Meyrick is a Director of Orizan, a strategic marketing consultancy, which helps brands find and unlock hidden revenue, streamline processes, and launc... Read full bio: Meyrick Adams​

Our dedicated team

Meet the people behind Braille House. Our diverse team of staff and volunteers work tirelessly to provide exceptional services, ensuring every individual has access to the world of words.

Photograph of Richard Barker

Richard Barker

Richard commenced as General Manager of Braille House in 2021. With 40 years of media and commercial radio experience at Hit105 and Triple M, Richard ... Read full bio: Richard Barker
Photograph of Margo Carwardine

Margo Carwardine

Margo came to Braille House as a volunteer late in 2021 from a background in education and school leadership spanning nearly four decades. Margo's int... Read full bio: Margo Carwardine
Photograph of Eva Lo

Eva Lo

Eva Lo started as a volunteer at the Braille House Library in 2021 before becoming the full time Librarian in early 2024. She has experience working i... Read full bio: Eva Lo
Photograph of the team in the courtyard

Join us!

We’re always on the lookout for volunteers and dedicated helpers. If you would like to provide some talent, experience, or just help out, we would love to hear from you.

Submit Your Interest

Facilitator of a Braille educational session in a library

Teaching team

Our five-person teaching team conducts braille and Moon instruction for blind and low vision students, as well as a Braille for Print Users course.

Classes are offered both in-person and remotely. In addition, Braille House delivers Braille Awareness presentations in schools, libraries and for interested corporate and government partners.

Book binding volunteers using binding machine

Production binding team

More than 35 transcribers, proofreaders and book binders work behind the scenes to produce over 125,00 pages of braille each year.

Lead by our Management Coordinator, Renee, our production team is comprised primarily of volunteers, many of whom are retired schoolteachers and librarians. Several members of the production team are blind or low vision and have been coming to Braille House as volunteers and/or library borrowers for several decades.

Frequently asked questions

Got questions? We have answers. Learn more about our services, how to access our resources, and what Braille House can do for you.

Braille is a system of raised dots which is primarily read with fingers by people who are blind or have low vision. Braille is not a language, rather, it is a code through which many languages may be written and read. Braille is used by people all over the world in their native languages and provides a means of literacy for all.

Unified English Braille (UEB) is the official braille code used in Australia, adopted in 2005. Though this has been the standard code in which we produce resources and fee-for-service products, our library collection still includes “pre-UEB” volumes which are available for borrowing.

Braille House aims to provide braille lessons to everyone who is interested. To receive more information, please contact our Learning Coordinator by emailing [email protected], or calling 07 3848 5257.

The Braille House library is free of charge for Australians across the country. The library team strive to provide our borrowers with a personalised experience, taking into consideration our borrowers' reading preferences and requests. Resources are delivered free through Australia Post or provided by the library in digital format. To become a member, please contact [email protected] or complete the Library Borrower Application From. You can view the library catalogue to see what books are available here.

Transcription fees vary depending on the project.

Transcription costs can be influenced by:

  • The number of pages
  • the document's complexity (e.g. just text, or inclusion of tables, graphs, forms and/or images)
  • text accessibility (e.g. provided in Word or PDF format)
  • the type of braille required (i.e. grade 1 or grade 2 braille)
  • whether or not the text is in braille alone, or twin vision (large print and braille)
  • single or double-sided (interpoint) embossing
  • any binding requirements, and cover selected.

Please contact [email protected] to get started.  You can also visit our Services page to learn more.

We rely on the generosity of the general public through donations and bequests, as well as corporate sponsorship and a small variety of grants. Volunteer support is also critical to the provision of our services. Braille House currently receives limited government funding and generates some income through fee-for-service and production work.

There are a number of ways to get involved with us at Braille House, including donating, corporate sponsorship, in memorium gifts, bequests, or volunteering. You can find more detailed information by going to our get involved page here.

We encourage you to reach out to us via:

Phone: 07 3848 5257

Email: [email protected] 

In the news

Braille House transforms lives by providing expert braille and Moon tuition, tactile resources, and a free library for people who are blind or have low vision.

Graphic for the announcement of the winners of the 2024 Dickinson Memorial Competition with the dates that applications close and are announced
Friday 18 October 2024
by Kelly Phelan
2024 Applications closed September 13. The Dickinson Memorial Literary Competition, a significant cultural and literary tradition, has a rich history that stretches back over a century.
Richard Barker speaking at the Braille House Literacy Challenge
Tuesday 10 September 2024
by Kelly Phelan
Highlights from the 2024 Braille Literacy Challenge. On Friday, 06 September 2024, Braille House was buzzing with excitement as we hosted the Annual Braille Literacy Challenge.
Braille on fragrance white cylindrical package from Mr Hux
Wednesday 10 July 2024
by Kelly Phelan
Mr Hux is pioneering print accessibility by becoming the first luxury fragrance to adopt braille packaging.
Photograph of the tactile map produced by R.F. Tunley ca 1970
Tuesday 14 May 2024
by Kelly Phelan
Braille House recently engaged two museum consultants to evaluate the historical significant of the library’s collection.

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