Conciliation summaries January-March 2007

Reminder: Settlements are generally made without admission of liability and do not constitute legal precedents for other cases

Access to premises

A man who is blind complained that he had been refused entry to a music venue when accompanied by his guide dog. The complaint was settled when the venue apologised and arranged disability awareness training for its staff.
A mother complained that when she and her son, who uses a wheelchair, visited a restaurant , the toilets were not accessible. The complaint was settled when the respondent advised that the toilets would be renovated to include provision of disability access.
A man who uses a wheelchair complained that the accessible toilets at his local railway station were locked and it took too long for staff to attend to open the facility. The complaint was settled when the rail authority agreed to fit a MLAK lock (master locksmiths' standard lock) and provide the complainant with a key.
A woman who uses a wheelchair complained that there were no accessible toilets at a hotel she attended for a wedding. The complaint was settled when the hotel advised that it was upgrading access including the toilet facilities.

A man who uses a wheelchair complained that footpaths in his local area were inaccessible through having a crossfall in excess of Australian Standards and kerb ramps being inadequate. The complaint was resolved when the local government authority agreed that footpaths being upgraded in the course of development works would meet the standards concerned.

A woman who uses a wheelchair complained that when she attended an event at a club there were no accessible toilets available. The complaint was resolved when the club apologised, agreed to pay $1000 compensation and advised that it had commenced work to provide access.

A woman who is blind complained that a professional software package was not accessible to people using screen reading technology. The complaint was resolved when the respondent advised that it had commenced an accessibility project with the aim that accessibility would be provided in a forthcoming version of the software.

A woman who is deaf complained that her room in a guest house did not have captioning facilities on the television. The complaint was resolved when the respondent advised that televisions with text capability would be installed within 12 months in all rooms.

A mother complained that her daughter had been denied access to school excursions because of her disability. The complaint was settled when the education authority agreed to permit the complainant to act as a back-up volunteer assistant if arrangements to provide assistance for the student on excursions broke down on any occasion in future.
Parents complained that their child had been excluded from a pre-school because of nut allergy. The complaint was resolved with an agreement to admit the child and ensure that staff were trained in identifying and responding to allergic reactions.

A man who uses a manual wheelchair complained that an airline had advised that he would not be able to travel on certain flights. The complaint was settled when the airline apologised and advised that its information systems had been improved to make clearer to staff what limitations there were on its ability to carry some powered chairs and not on folding manual chairs.

A woman who experiences chronic fatigue and is unable to stand for long periods complaints that an airline had discriminated against her by failing to provide adjustments to enable her to avoid queuing for long periods at check in. The complaint was resolved when the airline advised that it had adopted a policy under which the complainant and other people with similar disabilities could approach any empty check in counter including those for first or business class and be served on production of a medical certificate. The airline also noted that provision for self check in at airports or via the internet could be helpful in reducing the need to queue.

A man who is deaf complained that he was unable to use an airline's online booking facility effectively as it gave no option for identifying travel with an assistance animal and thus he was unable to benefit from the convenience of online booking or from discounts available online. The complaint was resolved when the airline revised its website to include provision for booking travel with an assistance animal.

A man who is deaf complained that a professional licensing body had discriminated against him by refusing to provide some of its information in written form. The complaint was resolved when the authority agreed that all required information would be provided in writing on request.
A woman who is blind complained that a professional body provided information on its website only in PDF form which was inaccessible to her. The complaint was resolved when the respondent advised it was upgrading its website to provide all information in accessible HTML format.