Submission to the Reforms of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 – Stage 2 Consultation Regulation Impact Statement

PIAC lodged a submission to the Stage 2 reforms of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 (Cth) (Transport Standards).  

Our submission supports regulatory reforms to:

• require transport operators and providers to report and publish data on compliance with the Transport Standards;
• set up a process for transport operators and providers to use equivalent access provisions developed through consultation and co-design;
• explicitly include rideshare services (eg, Uber) in the Transport Standards; and
• make the Transport Standards fully applicable to dedicated school buses (at present school buses are exempt from some sections of the Transport Standards).

We also reiterate issues we have raised previously around the lack of accountability, which should be addressed by the Australian Human Rights Commission providing independent oversight of reported compliance and the Federal Government collecting and publishing data. We also make recommendations for enforcement of the Transport Standards including to remedy the limitations of the individual complaint-based system.

Noting the Transport Standards fail to adequately consider the unique elements of air travel, and the level of complexity passengers with a disability encounter when travelling by air, we urge the Department to develop specific standards or legislation for air transport through co-design with people with disability.