Conciliation summaries April-September 2007
Reminder: Settlements are generally entered into without admission of liability and may not constitute precedents for other cases
Access to Commonwealth programs
- A man who is deaf complained that government funding for film production was being provided without ensuring that films were captioned so as to benefit all Australians rather than only those able to hear. The complaint was resolved with the adoption and publication of a policy requiring all FFC financed productions to be captioned and captioning costs being included a a specific item within each funding contract.
- A man who ha a mental illness complained that he had been discriminated against in being required to confirm each fortnight his continuing eligibility to benefit from a Commonwealth program, which his illness made it difficult for him to do. The complaint was resolved when the administering agency modified its policy to permit an additional fortnight's flexibility in reporting requirements.
Access to premises
- A woman complained that when she visited a nightclub with a friend who uses a guide dog they had been refused entry on the basis that the club believed it was required to exclude all animals since food was served on the premises. The complaint was resolved when the club agreed to pay $500 compensation, apologized and acknowledged that exclusion of guide dogs had been in error.
- A woman who has MS and uses a wheelchair complained that her local swimming pool was not accessible since the hoist installed for pool access was limited to 100kg loading. The complaint was resolved with an agreement to install an upgraded hoist.
- In another case, a woman who uses a wheelchair complained that the pool lift at a swim centre had been removed making the pool inaccessible to her. The complaint was resolved when the centre reinstated the lift and undertook to have a staff member attend an AusSwim course in teaching swimming for people with disabilities.
- A man who has a physical disability complained that a State government authority had held a community consultation on service provision in his region in inaccessible premises. The complaint was resolved with an undertaking that the authority would ensure that all future consultations were conducted in accessible venues.
- A man who uses a wheelchair complained that several areas in his local hotel were inaccessible to him. The complaint was resolve with an agreement to provide access to the sports bar, bistro and beer garden within 12 months.
- A mother complained that when she visited a restaurant with her son who uses a wheelchair there were no accessible toilets. The complaint was resolved when the respondent advised that renovations had commenced including provision of accessible facilities.
- A woman who uses a wheelchair complained that the accessible toilets in a shopping centre were kept locked (while other toilets were not) and thus were not accessible when needed. The complaint was resolved when the respondent advised that facilities would now be unlocked when the shop was open and that doors had been upgraded for easier access in accordance with relevant Australian Standards.
- A man who has an acquired brain injury had been banned from a hotel for prior incidents of inappropriate behaviour. He complained that, although he now understood and accepted the justification of the previous ban, it was discriminatory not to give him an opportunity to demonstrate that he could now behave appropriately. The complaint was resolved with an agreement that the man could attend the hotel for a trial period when accompanied by an appropriate support person to assist him in monitoring his behaviour.
- A man who uses a wheelchair complained that local footpaths were frequently inaccessible to him. Footpaths were located at the kerb edge with a nature strip between them and the property line, rather than the other way around, with the result that paths were frequently blocked by household rubbish bins. The complaint was resolved when the council advised that a number of paths were being relocated and that residents had been provided with information on keeping access paths clear.
- A woman who uses a wheelchair complained that her local hotel was inaccessible to her. The complaint was resolved when the hotel advised that a portable ramp had been acquired and a buzzer installed to aler staff to the need for ramp access.
Accommodation
- A woman who has a physical disability complained that portable ramps which she used to gain access to her unit had been removed. The complaint was resolved when the body corporate approved installation of a permanent ramp.
- A woman with a physical disability complained that the waiting period for public housing accommodation for people requiring accessible housing was longer than for people without this requirement. The complaint was resolved when the housing authority agreed to undertake works to upgrade the housing the woman had been allocated to provide for access.
- In two separate incidents at different motels, a man and a woman who use guide dogs complained that they had been refused access when accompanied by their dogs. The complaints were resolved with agreements to pay donations to the Guide Dog Association in his State and to have staff undertake training regarding access rights.
- A woman who is deaf complained that the TV in her room when staying at a hotel did not display captions. The complaint was resolved when the hotel agreed to ensure captioning on at least 25% of TVs within 12 months and to improve booking procedures to ensure that guests could request a room with captioned TV.
- A mother whose child has an autistic disorder complained that her public housing accommodation did not meet the needs of her child to have his own bedroom and a safe play area. The complaint was resolved when the authority advised that the family would be given priority in access to more suitable accommodation.
Education
- The mother of a young man with a learning disability complained that he had been refused enrolment in a TAFE program and advised that adjustments to accommodate his disability would not be provided. The complaint was resolved when the educational authority agreed to enroll the young man and develop a reasonable adjustment plan.
- A woman who is deaf complained that an adult education provider had refused to provide sign language interpreting for a course. The complaint was resolved with an agreement to pay $3000 compensation.
- A student with severe allergies including to perfumes complained that a residential course was not accessible to him because only shared rooms were available. The complaint was resolved with an agreement to provide access to a single room.
Employment
- A woman with a hearing impairment complained that she had been discriminated against when a job offer as a customer support officer was withdrawn after a hearing test had indicated she had less than 90% hearing. The complaint was resolved when the employer apologized and advised that although 90% hearing was a functional requirement of the job this should have been assessed taking into account possible reasonable adjustments, and the application should be re-considered accordingly.
- A woman who has a mobility impairment complained that the foyer of her employer's offices was inaccessible due to heavy doors and a slippery polished stone floor. The complaint was resolved with an agreement to install automatic doors and resurface the floor to provide a safer degree of slip resistance.
- A Commonwealth Government employee who is living with HIV / AIDS complained that when he was absent through illness his work team had been made ineligible for a workplace award which took attendance into account. The complaint was resolved when the agency agreed to review its attendance policy and its approach to workplace recognition.
- A woman complained that she had been discriminated against when she was not successful in a job application after declining to provide some information in response to medical question which she saw as broader than justified by the inherent requirements of the job. The complaint was resolved when the employer agreed to review its medical checks and take into account feedback on their extent.
- A man who has a physical disability complained that employees with disabilities, other than that disabilities acquired at work, were not eligible for overtime rosters. The complaint was resolved when the employer apologized and compensated the employee for lost overtime earnings.
Insurance
- A man who has bipolar disorder complained that he had been refused life and income protection insurance. The complaint was resolved when the insurer agreed to issue him a policy with an exclusion clause for events caused by his pre-existing condition.
Provision of goods and services
- A woman who uses a wheelchair complained that a medical specialist's rooms were not accessible. The specialist advised that he had several times requested the building owner to install ramp access but had been refused. The building owner was added as a respondent to the complaint. The complaint was resolved with an agreement to provide access during planned renovations.
- A young man who uses a wheelchair complained that when he attended a roller skating rink with friends he was required to leave the floor and that no accessible toilets had been available. The complaint was resolved with an agreement to upgrade physical access at the venue and to develop a policy on participation by people with disabilities.
- A man who is blind complained that account information with his credit union was available only in print. The complaint was resolved when the respondent advised that web based access to account information had been upgraded.
- A woman who has a disability and uses a scooter complained that the accessible change room in a clothing store was unavailable to her because it was being used as a storeroom. The complaint was resolved when store management agreed to keep the change room clear for its required use.
- A woman with a physical disability complained that restrictions on outdoor water use to use of handheld hoses only prevented her from watering her garden at all . The complaint was resolved when the water authority issued her a permit allowing use of a sprinkler to the same extent as would have been permitted for handheld watering.
- A mother of children with disabilities complained that she had been required to pay for tickets for her children's carers as well as for the children when they attended an entertainment event. The complaint was resolved when the venue advised that there had been a misunderstanding by its staff in applying its policies which did provide for carers to enter without charge where required for a person with a disability to participate in events.
- A man who is blind complained that a television competition was inaccessible to him because it required being able to see a key word flashed n screen. The complaint was resolved when the television station advised that it would adopt and apply Commercial Television Australia 's code on audio captioning which involves providing audio versions wherever possible of text used in emergency announcements, news flashes, competition entry details and sports and competition results.
- A woman who has a disability and uses a scooter complained that access to a clothing store had been blocked by placement of mobile racks. The complaint was resolved when the store advised that it had revised its procedures to ensure access would be kept clear and provided a $100 gift voucher .
- A woman who has a hearing impairment complained that a new digital television service, not included in previous HREOC exemption decisions and conciliated agreements under the DDA, did not provide captioning. The complaint was resolved when the provider agreed to caption three programs nominated by the complainant and to examine options for further expansion of captioning.
Public Transport
- A mother complained that her son, whose disability includes being small sized and unable to sit independently in an airline seat, was not permitted to sit on her lap in the same way as younger children the same size. The complaint was resolved when the airline advised that it had requested the required civil aviation safety exemption, which has since been granted, to permit the boy to travel in the manner requested.
- A woman who has food allergies complained that an airline had not adequately accommodated her allergies when flying. The complaint was resolved with an agreement to allow her an additional baggage allowance on longer flights to bring food on board and to have staff facilitate her access to this food during flights.
- A man who uses a pacemaker complained that he had been required to strip for searching at an airport when his pacemaker set off the security screening equipment. The complaint was resolved when the screening authority agreed to improve staff training and information on screening procedures for passengers.
- A man who uses a wheelchair complained that ramps on the accessible buses in his aea wre frequently out of order for long periods. The complaint was resolved when the bus operator advised that failed ramps had been repaired and that arrangements made to secure higher priority for ramp maintenance and repairs in workshops.
- A woman who uses a wheelchair complained that she had been advised by an airline that she could not travel unless she could transfer herself from her own chair to an airline wheelchair and seat. The complain was resolved when the airline apologised and confirmed that its policy was in fact to assist with transfer so long as passengers weighed less than 130 kg.
- A man who is blind complained that a booked taxi had refused to carry him on arriving and finding he was accompanied by a guide dog. The complaint was resolved when the taxi co-operative advised that it had already imposed a fine on the driver and reminded all drivers on its network of their responsibilities to carry guide dog users.