'My only downfall': Heidi determined to make important changes

"I can't escape my life, I live and breathe it and I know what people like me need," she said.

Ms Biggin was 22-years-old when she lost her eyesight which she said "was devastating".

She was a beauty therapist who had "waxed half of Ballarat" but without her sight she needed to find something different for work.

Ms Biggin said the job hunt was a challenge with her one option to work in a factory - something she was not interested in.

"I put myself out there for a lot of work experience at Central Highlands Water - 13 years ago," she said.

She went on to train in culture development as well as diversity and inclusion and is now doing her dream job working on reconciliation, gender and disability equality and cultural events.

As there is more work in the space, Ms Biggin hopes Ballarat leaders are able to work together more.

"There's a lot of passionate people doing good things in Ballarat, but individually," she said.

"I'd love more networking and more sharing of information ... because we don't have to reinvent the wheel with a lot of stuff we're doing."

For the first 10 years without her eyesight, Ms Biggin said she spent a lot of time in denial.

"I could mask it, I could go down the street right now and no one would know," she said.

"I'd hold on to my husband's hand, I wouldn't use my cane a lot and our twins, who are nearly seven, would help me cross the road."

Now Ms Biggin has a guide dog named Freya who helps her navigate.

"Most of my vision loss is in depth perception, so every single curve and every crack she stops until I feel it with my feet and tell her forward," Ms Biggin said.

Being "born and bred" in Ballarat, she loves being a part of the growing city.

"No one is outside of Ballarat and I love it, it's my whole village," she said.

Ms Biggin said most things in Ballarat are close, especially now health care providers are able to use online systems.

"But I can keep my life mostly the same, I can pretty much do everything I used to do just in a different way."

But there is still room for improvement and at the moment Ms Biggin is working to make the bus network in Ballarat better.

"There's no public transport in Lucas, that's my only downfall," she said.

She said it was important for her to use her lived experience to keep fighting for change.

"I know what my community needs and I've found that actions happen when you talk," Ms Biggin said.

Through her work on the council's disability advisory committee she is advocating for more places for guide dogs to go to the toilet.

Council have converted one of the seating pods near Target into a lawn area and the committee is looking to advocate for something similar in the hospital and train station.

Ms Biggin's guide dog needs to go to the toilet every three hours.

"If I catch the train now with Freya, my dog can't go anywhere", she said.

"If something takes longer than three hours to travel or go to the footy I don't bring [Freya] and then I'm not safe."

While these changes take time, Ms Biggin said she is excited by how much progress has happened over the last decade.

"Now there's so many people actually doing [diversity, inclusion and accessibility] for a living and businesses taking it seriously," she said.

"I'd love to see that every business prioritises that for the human experience, not just the disabled community ..."