Peter Gordon has spent most of the last 10 years shifting from one employment agency to another.
During that decade, he was able to pick up short-term work contracts, but nothing permanent.
"It became my job to be unemployed," the 37-year-old told SBS News.
Mr Gordon was born with aniridia: a rare eye condition characterised by the complete or partial absence of the iris.
"I'm super sensitive to light," he said. "The best way to explain how I see the world is in low definition and everything is over-exposed."
Mr Gordon said over the past decade spent looking for long-term work, he felt frustrated by how he was treated by employment agencies.
"There’s not much accountability for when people float in and out of job agencies. That's how I've spent 10 years - picking up loose change every now and then, and that just crushes you," he said.
"There's no meaning to life in that ... I've never been fired, and my references have always loved me, but I just can't get anywhere."
Peter (right) with his family, including partner Elizabeth Rogowski (second from left) Source: SBS News/Sarah Maunder
The Hobart resident, who holds an Advanced Diploma of Marketing, finished a customer service contract with Centrelink 10 years ago. After that, his eyesight worsened.
"My whole world changed," Mr Gordon said.
In order for Mr Gordon to work effectively in an office environment, he now needs two main resources: software to magnify a computer screen and a magnifying glass.
"But I have as much utility as anyone else in the office as long as I have those tools," he said.
'The too-hard basket'
Mr Gordon's partner Elizabeth Rogowski would often go with him to his employment agency appointments.
"What I witnessed was just an unbelievable waste of time," she said.
"[The agencies] wouldn't acknowledge that part of their job was to find suitable jobs for him. He needs an advocate, he needs someone to explain that just because he's vision-impaired, doesn't mean he can't do the work.
"The attitude has always been that he is just in the 'too-hard' basket."
Mr Gordon said he will continue to look for long-term work in 2021.
Peter playing the guitar at his home in Hobart. Source: SBS News/Sarah Maunder
Over the last 10 years, he has dealt with half-a-dozen different agencies in Hobart. Only two - Max Solutions and WISE Employment - responded to SBS News' request for comment.
In a statement, MAX Solutions said it could not comment on individual cases.
"Our priority is to provide the highest level of support to every customer so we are very sorry to hear about this experience," a spokesperson said. "We work closely with employers across Australia to support the development of disability confident workplaces and increase opportunities for all our customers, including those with low vision or blindness."
A WISE Employment spokesperson also said it could not discuss individual cases and that there was "no one-size-fits-all approach to helping visually impaired people find employment".
"Given there are many different variations of visual impairment – from sensitivity to light and partial blindness through to full blindness – it's important to be flexible in the way we support clients. We believe there is a job for everyone, it's just a matter of finding it."
The spokesperson also said that any feedback WISE gets "about any alleged wrongdoing" would be investigated and followed up.
Peter says he will keep looking for ongoing employment in 2021. Source: SBS News/Sarah Maunder
'A huge issue'
Emma Bennison, CEO of advocacy group Blind Citizens Australia, said employment experiences such as Mr Gordon's are not unique.
“It is a huge issue," she said.
"In surveys that Blind Citizens Australia has conducted over the last several years, employment inevitably comes up as the top-ranking issue that is a challenge for people, and of course that is only going to be worsened due to the pandemic."
Those survey results led the advocacy group to create an initiative called ‘’ in 2019.
The initiative aims to positively promote people who are blind or vision-impaired to potential employers and provide them with information and support.
Ms Bennison said the most significant barrier to employment for people who are blind or low-vision is not employment agencies, but a wider negative attitude in society.
"How we change the behaviour of employers to see people with disability as part of the solution, not part of the problem - it is that attitude and shift that we need to see."
Ms Bennison also said finding work in smaller states such as Tasmania can be more challenging.
"[In Tasmania] in particular, the job market is a really challenging one, and there are significant attitude barriers in relation people’s community awareness, and the contribution that people with a disability can make in society.
"[Job agencies] are fighting an uphill battle, in fairness."
'Still a lot of stigma'
Kristy Fitzgerald has worked in the public service for almost 15 years, but also knows it can be tough for people who are blind and low-vision to find employment.
When she was 22 years old, she was diagnosed with cone-rod dystrophy, a group of eye conditions causing vision loss that worsens over time.
"I knew that my options [for employment] would possibly be limited or changed, so I started looking for workplaces closer to home, and workplaces that would support me while my eyesight deteriorated," she said.
She now works for the passport office in Sydney, where she relies on software that enlarges objects on computer screens, inverts colours, and reads things out to her.
Kristy Fitzgerald (left) lives with cone-rod dystrophy. Source: Supplied/Blind Citizens Australia
Ms Fitzgerald said having an employer that understood how to support her has been essential.
"Honestly, most people [at work] forget that I have vision impairment," she said.
Ms Fitzgerald said she was disappointed to hear Mr Gordon's story.
"I really worry that if I didn't have this job, then maybe I would be [in his] position. It is scary when you have a vision impairment and there is still a lot of stigma attached to that."
Ms Fitzgerald, who is also part of the 'An Eye to the Future' campaign, said such initiatives are important for breaking down stigma.
"I'm really passionate about getting out there and showing that I am a vision-impaired person in the public," she said.
"There's been so many times when I've been stopped and congratulated for just going about my every day, and I would really like to make it normal that people don't congratulate me just for being out and about."
