The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)
The Australian Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) came into effect in March 1993.
The DDA prohibits unfair and unfavourable treatment against people with a disability or their associates in a range of areas including education, employment, transport, accommodation, premises and footpaths used by the public.
The definition of disability is broadly defined. The broad definition is meant to ensure that everyone with disability is protected.
Disabilities included in the DDA are:
The DDA covers a disability that people:
The DDA also covers people with a disability who may be discriminated against because:
The DDA protects people who have some form of personal connection with a person with a disability like friends, relatives, co-workers and carers if they are discriminated against because of that connection or relationship.
Examples could include:
The DDA covers people with a disability who wish to utilise premises including all building, outdoor spaces, car parking areas, pathways and facilities open to the public. Equitable, dignified access must be provided. They should expect to enter and make use of places used by people without a disability.
For example:
The DDA requires that appropriate changes be made to provide access.
A compliant can be made to the Australian Human Rights Commission (Commission) under the DDA if appropriate access is not provided
When the Commission receives a complaint about something that is covered by the DDA, the President of the Commission can investigate the complaint and try to resolve it by conciliation. The Commission is not a court and cannot determine that discrimination has happened. The Commission’s role is to get both sides of the story and help those involved resolve the complaint. If the complaint is not resolved or is discontinued for another reason, the compliant can then be taken to the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Court.
The DDA takes precedence over State Legislation, Standards and Guidelines in relation to Disability Access.
The Australian Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) came into effect in March 1993.
The DDA prohibits unfair and unfavourable treatment against people with a disability or their associates in a range of areas including education, employment, transport, accommodation, premises and footpaths used by the public.
The definition of disability is broadly defined. The broad definition is meant to ensure that everyone with disability is protected.
Disabilities included in the DDA are:
- Physical
- Intellectual
- Psychiatric
- Neurological
- Cognitive or sensory (hearing or vision impairment)
- Learning difficulties
- Physical disfigurement and
- The Presence in the body of disease causing organism
The DDA covers a disability that people:
- Have now.
- Had in the past (e.g. a past mental illness).
- May have in the future (e.g. a family history of disability which a person may develop).
- Are believed to have (e.g. if a person is suspected to have HIV).
The DDA also covers people with a disability who may be discriminated against because:
- They are accompanied by an assistance animal
- They use equipment or an aid, such as a wheelchair or a hearing aid, or
- They are accompanied by an assistant, interpreter or reader
The DDA protects people who have some form of personal connection with a person with a disability like friends, relatives, co-workers and carers if they are discriminated against because of that connection or relationship.
Examples could include:
- A parent is refused a job because the employer assumes he or she will need time off work to care for a child with a disability.
- People are refused access to a restaurant or cafe because they are with a friend who has a disability.
- A worker is hassled about working with a disability.
The DDA covers people with a disability who wish to utilise premises including all building, outdoor spaces, car parking areas, pathways and facilities open to the public. Equitable, dignified access must be provided. They should expect to enter and make use of places used by people without a disability.
For example:
- Places used by the public should be accessible at the entrance and inside.
- Facilities in these places should also be accessible; wheelchair-accessible toilets, lift buttons within reach, tactile and audible lift signals for people with vision impairments.
- Rather than being confined to a segregated space or the worst seats, all areas within places used by the public should be accessible to people with a disability.
- Information available to users of the premises.
The DDA requires that appropriate changes be made to provide access.
A compliant can be made to the Australian Human Rights Commission (Commission) under the DDA if appropriate access is not provided
When the Commission receives a complaint about something that is covered by the DDA, the President of the Commission can investigate the complaint and try to resolve it by conciliation. The Commission is not a court and cannot determine that discrimination has happened. The Commission’s role is to get both sides of the story and help those involved resolve the complaint. If the complaint is not resolved or is discontinued for another reason, the compliant can then be taken to the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Court.
The DDA takes precedence over State Legislation, Standards and Guidelines in relation to Disability Access.
