We fought discriminatory practices by major Australian companies, winning better access to online shopping, digital payments and events for people with disability.
Digital devices and the internet have made daily tasks like shopping and banking more convenient – particularly for people who have difficulty navigating physical spaces.
But companies offering these critical services have not always ensured they are accessible to all people with disability.
We have represented clients in discrimination complaints against Coles and the Commonwealth Bank, and helped improve Ticketek’s online ticketing service for people with disability.
Increasing accessibility for Coles online shoppers
Gisele Mesnage is blind and accesses the internet using a screen reader, which converts text to speech.
As she told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2014, online shopping was ‘a revolution’ for her, as it could provide greater independence. But she experienced frustrating barriers over years while trying to navigate the Coles website. It could take as long as eight hours to make a single grocery order.
When attempts to resolve the issue with Coles failed, Gisele complained to the Australian Human Rights Commission, but the matter could still not be resolved. We represented Gisele when she sued Coles for disability discrimination in the Federal Circuit Court.
‘Online grocery shopping should allow people who are blind to do their supermarket shopping independently,’ then Senior Solicitor Michelle told SBS at the time.
‘It’s not acceptable for people in a wheelchair to be prevented from using a physical supermarket, so why should people with vision impairment be treated as second-class citizens?’
Gisele’s case settled in February 2015, with Coles agreeing to improve the accessibility of its online shopping site for people who are blind or have vision impairment.
Gisele said she was ‘delighted that the case has settled with such a positive outcome.’
‘Online shopping enables people living with disabilities, especially those who are blind or have low vision, to live more independently, saving them time and transport costs and empowering them to do this ordinary domestic task, grocery shopping, on their own.’
Highlighting discriminatory design of CommBank payment device
In 2016, cards overtook cash as the preferred payment method for Australians, with many businesses no longer accepting cash payments. But some point of service (POS) machines used for card payments were impossible to use for people who were blind or vision impaired. This included Commonwealth Bank Australia’s (CBA) ‘Albert’ POS machine.
Launched by CBA in 2015, Albert was an entirely touchscreen device with no physical keypad. To complete larger payments, blind and vision impaired people would have to reveal their PIN to the person taking the payment.
Graeme Innes, a former Disability Discrimination Commissioner and blind CBA customer, raised concerns with the bank, suggesting they halt the device’s roll-out or update its design and software. But little action was taken.
We joined Graeme and Blind Citizens Australia to attempt negotiations with CBA, and supported Graeme and other people impacted by Albert machines to lodge complaints with the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2016.
After a long conciliation process, CBA still refused to make changes and the complaints terminated. So we went to court.
In March 2018, we filed a disability discrimination case in the Federal Circuit Court for Graeme and blind woman Nadia Mattiazzo, with the backing of Grata Fund.
‘These machines seriously limit where I am able to shop and eat out. I am not willing to divulge my PIN to complete strangers and I would be in breach of my contract with the bank if I were to do so. I have no choice but to avoid businesses that use them,’ Nadia said in our media release.
After a year in court, CBA settled with Graeme and Nadia. The bank agreed to upgrade the device’s software with accessibility enhancements following Graeme and Nadia’s feedback, provide training to merchants and improve accessibility in future product development.
Graeme commended CBA for ‘listening to our feedback and making these improvements. Most importantly, the bank has committed to ensuring accessibility will be a key requirement of product development in future.’
While CBA’s response did not guarantee accessibility for all users who were blind or vision impaired, our work exposing problems with the Albert device ensured progress towards accessibility for all users.
Improving online ticketing accessibility
We supported the Physical Disability Council of NSW (PDCN) in negotiations that helped win significant improvements to the services of Ticketek, one of Australia’s largest ticketing agencies.
The disability community had long been advocating for changes to a two-tiered booking system. While most people were able to book tickets online in a matter of seconds, people needing to book accessible tickets had to order them by phone or email. This system added delay and inconvenience, and meant people with disability would regularly miss out on attending concerts and events. Under anti-discrimination laws people with disability should have the same opportunity as everyone else when booking tickets.
We provided legal and strategic advice to PDCN, and together with other disability advocates, we pushed Ticketek to improve their service and offer equal access to online tickets.
In November 2023, Ticketek introduced a new platform, allowing people to buy accessible tickets online and in real time, and to purchase both accessible and non-accessible tickets in a single transaction.
‘These changes mean fans of music, sport and events who need accessible tickets can now purchase them from Ticketek like everybody else: online, in real time when tickets go on sale,’ said Ed Morris, CEO of PDC NSW.
Further reading
Coles case
Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Blind woman Gisele Mesnage sues Coles over online shopping website’, 5 November 2014
ABC News, ‘Blind woman launches claim of unlawful discrimination against Coles over website’, 5 November 2014
Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Coles to make online shopping site more accessible following disability discrimination case’, 18 February 2015
Albert case
ABC News, ‘Blind groups push for CBA to find solution to inaccessible touchscreen EFTPOS terminals’, 28 July 2017
The Guardian, ‘Commonwealth Bank’s new Eftpos system makes blind people reveal pin’, 28 July 2017
The Age, ‘Albert makes me anxious: Why touchscreen eftpos can be a ‘nightmare’’, 25 February 2018
Ticketek improvements
The Music Network, ‘Ticketek Launches Accessible Ticket Booking Platform’, 22 November 2023
The Music, ‘Ticketek Makes Huge Leap Forward With Enhanced Accessibility For Ticket Platform’, 22 November 2023
