orta exemption notice of inquiry

Notice of application for temporary exemption under Disability Discrimination Act section 55: Olympic Roads and Transport Authority

This page last updated 20 September 2001

• Notice
• Link to full application
• Link to ORTA press release
• Proposed recommendation to grant exemption
• Request for comments
• Submissions received (zip archive)
• Amendment to application: ACT ACTION buses now not included : received 26 May
• Additional information from ORTA: indications of bus numbers sought:received 7 June (MS Word document)
• Decision 27 June 2000

Notice

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has received an application under section 55 of the Disability Discrimination Act ("DDA") from the Olympic Roads and Transport Authority ("ORTA") for exemption from section 24 of the DDA.

The application is submitted on behalf of

• ORTA;
• Other relevant government agencies in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and Victoria as specified in the application;
• Bus 2000 Ltd, a company established to procure (under contract with ORTA) the required numbers of buses, coaches, drivers and support staff for the Olympic and Paralympic bus task;
• Public and private bus operators in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria from whom ORTA will be procuring accessible buses during the Olympic and Paralympic Games periods.

The exemption is sought for the period of ORTA's operations in connection with bus transport services for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, that is from 2 September 2000 to 4 November 2000, a total period of 9 weeks.

The purpose of the application is indicated to be to protect bus operators, ORTA and other parties concerned from liability which might otherwise arise from the temporary transfer of accessible buses from other services to Olympic and Paralympic related services. The application indicates that without such protection difficulty is being experienced in securing sufficient accessible buses for Olympics and Paralympics related services. In addition to services directly for Olympic and Paralympic events this includes a need for accessible buses to replace rail services in some New South Wales locations during this period.

Proposed recommendation to grant exemption

I propose to recommend to the Commission that an exemption be granted as applied for, with the specification that the exemption applies only in relation to the transfer of buses from other services to Olympic and Paralympic service and does not affect the obligations of relevant operators and authorities under the DDA in other respects.

This proposal to grant an exemption in these terms is made on the basis that it appears to me that to do so would be consistent with and would promote the object of the DDA to eliminate discrimination as far as possible. This view is based on the reasons and material provided by ORTA in its application and in particular on the following considerations.

• If an exemption is not granted, bus operators who have brought accessible vehicles into operation face a potential liability (in making those vehicles available to ORTA and therefore temporarily withdrawing them from other services) which is not faced by operators who have not made the same progress in providing non-discriminatory services (and who therefore have no such vehicles to provide to ORTA). It is appropriate for the Commission to use its exemption power to ensure that the DDA provides incentives rather than disincentives to measures to achieve access and equality.
• The potential complaints under the DDA which this exemption would preclude would, in essence, be concerned with which services accessible buses should be applied to in the relevant period, rather than with whether and at what rate operators should be required to acquire and deploy accessible vehicles. I endorse the view previously expressed by the Commission, in its reasons for granting an exemption regarding Melbourne trams, and by the Disability Discrimination Commissioner, in her decision on a complaint regarding access to Summer Hill railway station, that the Commission is not best placed to decide issues of allocation of accessible services as between different locations. The objects of the DDA are best served if these issues of allocation are determined by operators in consultation with users of services.

Request for comments

Pursuant to the Commission's policy on consideration of applications for temporary exemption, an opportunity for public comment on this proposed exemption is being provided.

Submissions are requested by 13 June 2000. I have set a four week period for responses (rather than the standard six weeks generally contemplated by the Commission s policy) pursuant to the recognition in that policy that a shorter period may be adopted where more urgent consideration is required.

Submissions by e-mail are preferred, to disability@humanrights.gov.au. Submissions may also be made by post to Disability Rights Unit, HREOC, GPO Box 5218 Sydney 1042.

Consideration of applications under State and Territory laws

The application indicates that similar applications will be made for exemption under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW), the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (SA), the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (QLD), the Discrimination Act 1991 (ACT) and the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (VIC). There are different decision makers and processes as between each of these Acts and the DDA, and each decision making authority is required to make its own decision. However, the Commission will take steps to ensure that each State and Territory body is fully informed of all stages of consideration of this application (including by publication of material on this site), and will be able to take into account any relevant information and views emerging from consideration of applications under the State and Territory laws.

Graeme Innes Deputy Disability Discrimination Commissioner 17 May 2000

Amendment to application

The following advice has been received from ORTA (26 May):

ORTA has received advice from the ACT Department of Urban Services that no ACTION low floor accessible buses will be contracted to Bus 2000 for use in Sydney during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Consequently there will be no disruption to Canberra bus services during this period as a result of ORTA's requirements. Therefore ORTA's application for exemption under the DDA section 55 should be amended to delete references to the ACT Urban Transport Authority (clause 1.2.2) and the Australian Capital Territory (clauses 1.2.4, 2.6 and 4.1.2). As a consequence ORTA will no longer need to make an application under section 109 of the Discrimination Act 1991 (ACT). Clause 10.1should be amended accordingly.