Australian Disability Discrimination Act 1992

The DDA protects people with disabilities including people with permanent disabilities like physical, intellectual, sensory, neurological, learning and psychosocial disabilities, or temporary disabilities like medical conditions, illnesses or injury. The law covers disabilities in the past, present and ones that may be incurred in the future, as well as assumed disabilities. It also protects people who are personally connected or affected by people with disabilities, like a parent, friend, child, or coworker, if they are somehow discriminated against based on their relationship to the person with a disability.

The DDA also protects against discrimination and harassment of people because of the following factors:

• They are accompanied by an assistant, carer, interpreter, or reader
• They require the presence of a trained assistance animal, such as a guide or hearing dog
• They use equipment or aids, such as a wheelchair, canes, or a hearing aid

The DDA applies to all persons and institutions working in the following areas:

• Employment
• Education
• Access to premises used by the public
• Provision of goods, services and facilities
• Accommodation
• Buying land
• Activities of clubs and associations
• Sport
• Administration of Commonwealth Government laws and programs
   

Under the DDA legislation, the provision of information and online services through the web is a fundamental human right and a legal requirement. Individuals and organizations that own or develop a website must provide equal access to people with disabilities in this area where it can be reasonably provided.

This includes websites and other web resources, like PDFs and documents, that are involved in:

• Employment
• Education
• Provision of services including professional services, banking, insurance or financial services, entertainment or recreation, telecommunications services, public transport services, or government services (including federal, state, and local government councils, departments, and agencies)
• Sale or rental of real estate
• Sport
• Activities of voluntary associations
• Administration of Commonwealth laws and programs

Web accessibility guidance is provided by the document: World Wide Web Access: Disability Discrimination Act Advisory Notes (current version, 4.1). The advisory notes are not legal requirements but are more guidelines to assist individuals and organizations that own or develop web resources in the requirements of the DDA. While not having a legal force, this document is still used by the Australian Human Rights Commission as a reference when dealing with any DDA complaints filed.EN 301 549 also specifies the functional accessibility requirements for ICT products and services, including web content, which could be used in public procurement or to support other policies and legislation.

The DDA offers individuals with disabilities a means to file complaints and seek redress for disability discrimination in the listed areas of public life. If a person feels like they have been discriminated against or harassed on the grounds of their disability, they can submit a written complaint detailing the events that ensued to the Australian Human Rights Commission via their online form.

The Commission will then launch an investigation on the issue by looking into the events recounted by both parties. Most cases will result in conciliation, an informal process that allows both parties to discuss the issue at hand to try and resolve it. If there is no resolution via conciliation, the person who filed the complaint can take the case to the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit Court.

As an example, a woman with vision impairment filed a claim against the supermarket chain, Coles, in 2014 over the accessibility of their online shopping service. The claimant faced significant difficulties completing an online order on the Coles website and the case made it to the Federal Circuit Court.