The good news is that legislation has been passed which allows for legally blind people to apply for a parking permit.
On 14 July 2020, the Queensland Parliament passed legislation to expand the eligibility criteria for the scheme in Queensland to include people with a vision-impairment who are diagnosed as ‘legally blind’, as defined in the Australian Government’s Social Security Guide under the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth). This definition is consistent with the definition of legally blind used for the TransLink Vision Impairment Travel Pass in Queensland. Permits under the new eligibility criteria provide people who meet the definition on a temporary and permanent basis. Further, to deter people illegally parking in a disability parking bay, the legislation also increases the current police fine amount to $533, a doubling of the existing fine.
To allow for information technology changes to enable application processing and communication to health practitioners and the community, changes to the eligibility criteria will come into effect on 31 August 2020.If you are eligible for the scheme under the expanded criteria, you should not apply for a parking permit until advised on this website. Further information about the eligibility criteria, including a new application for people who have been diagnosed as legally blind, will be made available as soon as practicable.