Disability discrimination
Media and commentary about our test cases and policy work to secure equal access to services and public spaces for people with disability.
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Test case settlement great news for autistic children
Catherine Blundy’s discrimination test case against The Lakes Christian College has settled, with the school agreeing to measures to better support autistic children. In reaching settlement, Catherine, her mum Hannah, and the College have made the following statement: Hannah Blundy and The Lakes Christian College have agreed to resolve Catherine Blundy’s claim against the College…
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Test case highlights the need for better school support for children with autism
PIAC has commenced a discrimination test case on behalf of an eight-year old girl who has an autism spectrum disorder, after she was expelled from her primary school in Year 2. PIAC’s client, Hannah Blundy, says that her daughter, Catherine, was expelled after her school failed to provide a range of supports and adjustments recommended…
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PIAC working with disability advocates to fix ‘reasonable adjustments’
PIAC is partnering with People with Disability Australia (PWDA) to advocate for essential amendments to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) (the DDA). These changes are necessary because of the 2017 case of Sklavos v Australian College of Dermatologists, in which the Federal Court found that not only must a person with disability show they…
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Commonwealth Bank settles discrimination claim by blind Australians over touchpad devices
In 2016 two blind Australians launched a discrimination case against the Commonwealth Bank, arguing a touch screen device used in many stores and restaurants was virtually impossible for them to use safely and securely.
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Blind woman takes Commonwealth Bank to court over ‘inaccessible’ EFTPOS machines
Would you trust a stranger with your bank PIN? It’s a question Nadia Mattiazzo is forced to ask herself daily… Key points: Commonwealth Bank facing lawsuit alleging discrimination over touchscreen EFTPOS machines Blind and vision-impaired people say terminals are virtually impossible for them to use because they don’t have tactile keypad Lawsuit follows 18 months…
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Commonwealth Bank continues to roll out inaccessible EFTPOS machines despite concerns of blind community
Negotiations between blindness peak groups and the Commonwealth Bank have been terminated after the bank refused to make changes to their ‘Albert’ EFTPOS machines to make them accessible to people who are blind or vision impaired. Blind Citizens Australia, together with PIAC clients Graeme Innes and Nadia Mattiazzo, lodged discrimination complaints in the Australian Human…
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Discrimination case launched against Ramsay Health Care Ltd
The partner of a profoundly deaf man is taking legal action against Ramsay Health Care Ltd, the owners and operators of Westmead Private Hospital, after the hospital refused to provide an Auslan interpreter to allow her husband to participate in antenatal classes and liaise with medical staff during the birth of their first child. The…
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Parents claim Westmead Private discriminated against them
Like all parents-to-be, Kate and Anthony Hinton carefully planned for the arrival of their baby, choosing the hospital they believed would be best for the delivery. The couple were stunned when staff at Westmead Private Hospital refused to provide a professional interpreter for Mr Hinton, who is deaf. … Edward Santow, chief executive of the…
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Coles agrees to make online shopping site more accessible
PIAC represented Gisele Mesnage, who is blind, to settle a case with retailer Coles, with an agreement that Coles would make improvements to make its shopping website more accessible.