Vision Impairment
Vision impairment can be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act.
The Act makes it against the law to discriminate against a person because of his or her disability in many areas of public life including in employment, education, getting or using services, renting or buying a house or unit and accessing public places. There are some limited exceptions and exemptions.
Example: A company does not provide its customers with invoices in a format that is accessible to people with vision impairment. This could be disability discrimination.
Employers have a responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to the workplace so that an employee with a disability can do their job effectively. Failure to do so may amount to discrimination.
There are a range of adjustments that can be made in the workplace to accommodate a person with a vision impairment. These include:
- modifying workspace by taking away clutter or improving lighting
- providing written information in alternative accessible formats, such as accessible Word documents, Braille or audio
- providing screen reading software or other vision aids such as hand held magnifiers.
The Federal Government can provide financial assistance for workplace adjustments for employees with disabilities. See http://jobaccess.gov.au/content/employment-assistance-fund
It is not unlawful to discriminate against an employee on the basis of disabilities if the person cannot perform the inherent requirements of a job after reasonable adjustments have been made.
