Conciliation Register
| Act |
Disability Discrimination Act |
| Grounds |
Disability |
| Areas |
Employment |
| Outcome details |
Compensation Other |
| Amount | $7,500 |
| Year |
The complainant has depression and anxiety and worked for the respondent government agency on a contract basis. She claimed the agency would not not allow her to work part-time as an accomodation for her disability and therefore she felt she had no option but to resign.
The agency claimed that working full-time was an inherent requirement of the complainant’s position.
The complaint was resolved with an agreement that the agency pay the complainant $7,500 compensation and advise all employees of their obligations under federal disability discrimination legislation by including a link to these obligations on its intranet.
| Act |
Disability Discrimination Act |
| Grounds |
Disability aid Disability Unlawful to contravene Disability Standards |
| Areas |
Goods, services and facilities |
| Outcome details |
Compensation |
| Amount | $5,000 |
| Year |
The complainant uses a motorised wheelchair and claimed that when he booked a ticket with the respondent low-cost airline he was told he would need to disconnect his wheelchair battery during the flight. He said he bought a device to disconnect the wheelchair battery at a cost of $650, but on the day of travel was required to remove the battery and leave it behind. The complainant said this meant his wheelchair was not functional on arrival overseas and he was confined to his hotel room for a week while a replacement battery was sourced.
The airline said it is not certified to carry certain types of wheelchair batteries because they are classified as dangerous goods. The airline said this information is available on its website and was discussed with the complainant when he booked his ticket. However, the airline acknowledged there may have been some miscommunication or misunderstanding about how the policy may apply to the complainant’s circumstances.
The complaint was resolved with an agreement that the airline pay the complainant $5,000 compensation for the cost of his return ticket, the device he purchased and the loss of enjoyment on his holiday.
| Act |
Disability Discrimination Act |
| Grounds |
Disability aid Disability |
| Areas |
Goods, services and facilities |
| Outcome details |
Revised terms and conditions |
| Year |
The complainant uses a wheelchair and has been issued with a disability parking permit by the relevant authority. She alleged the respondent parking station issued her with a contravention notice after she remained parked in an accessible parking bay longer than the allocated time. She claimed the parking station should allow persons who have disability parking permits longer parking periods than those without such permits but was told the parking station charged all those using its service the same rates.
The parking station operator noted that many people with disability used the parking station to facilitate access to nearby medical services. It claimed placing two-hour limits on parking was reasonable to maximise access to the parking station.
The complaint was resolved with an agreement that the parking station convert two of its two-hour accessible parking bays to four-hour accessible parking bays. The parking station also agreed to improve signage about the location of payment points, promote its online payment system, show the complainant how to use the online payment system and forward feedback from the complainant to the provider of its payment machines.
