Get on board!

Get On Board! is PIAC’s submission to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, and the Attorney General, to inform the 2012 Review of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 (Cth) (Transport Standards).

PIAC’s submission notes that whilst there is no doubt that on the whole the Transport Standards have been instrumental in changing the way transport operators and providers engage with and accommodate people with a disability, there are still many obstacles to achieve the Standards goal of removing discrimination against people with disabilities in the provision of public transport. Our submission identifies some of these obstacles, the most significant of which is a poor compliance framework that relies on individual complaints to enforce the Transport Standards, which we view as placing an unfair and heavy burden on people with disabilities, and in turn creating a low level of compliance with the Transport Standards across some modes of transport generally.

The recommendations that are made by PIAC in this submission are aimed at increasing compliance with and enforcement of the Transport Standards among government, transport operators and providers. PIAC proposes a legislative framework that requires the government, transport operators and providers to engage more actively with the Transport Standards and the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).