The eyesight of 32,000 Indigenous Australians could be saved if the federal government commits more than $20 million to the cause, a report suggests.
Blindness among Indigenous Australians is six times more likely than in non-Indigenous Australians and 94 per cent of these cases are preventable, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report produced in conjunction with Melbourne University and released on Tuesday. 
University of Melbourne Professor Hugh Taylor, who is chairman of Indigenous Eye Health, said Indigenous adults were falling out of the system by the time they reached 40. "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have much better vision than non-Indigenous kids. But by the time they reach 40 and above, Indigenous adults have six times as much blindness and almost all the vision loss is unnecessary," he said.
"That gap could effectively be closed overnight. The current report shows that the money that is being spent is not being spent very efficiently."
The report, The Value of Indigenous Sight, has suggested a "road map" that includes increasing eye care services and programs and early detection of eye conditions. It suggests that the government invests an additional $23 million in such services in 2016.
But the federal government says it is "absolutely committed" to Closing the Gap by providing $3.3 billion in funding to Indigenous health. The health gap is currently 11 per cent between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australias.
"The eye health sector, led by Vision 2020, has provided a joint funding proposal which is presently being considered by the government to enhance Indigenous eye health co-ordination," said a spokesman for Assistant Minister in Health Fiona Nash.
The Fred Hollows Foundation, which provides eye exams and eye health care for people living in remote communities, supported the PWC report saying there had been a "historic under investment" in Indigenous health, including screening and access to surgery.
"The fact that Indigenous Australians are six times more likely to go blind is unacceptable and that gap must be closed," spokesman Nick Martin said. "But also the report does demonstrate that there is a significant funding gap."
In   July, Health Minister Sussan Ley placed a drug targeting serious eye conditions for those who have diabetes on the Medical Benefits Scheme, investing $541 million.
Professor Taylor said access to this drug still remained a problem.
"They key is we have to know when people need treatment," he said.
"At the moment only one in five Aboriginal people who have diabetes are getting the annual eye exams they need. While the drug may be available, if people are not getting examined then it doesn't matter if the drug is there or not."