Significant amendments to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA), which came into effect on 5 August 2009, clarify its operation in many areas, align some of its key definitions with other federal discrimination Acts and represent a significant improvement in the protection of the rights of people with disability. This article will examine some of the most important changes, namely the:
Arguably, the most significant change to the DDA is the introduction of an explicit duty to make reasonable adjustments. The DDA now expressly provides that the failure to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ may constitute either direct or indirect discrimination.
It is accordingly unlawful not to make reasonable adjustments where:
MALAYSIA passed the Persons with Disabilities Act (PWDA) in 2008 as part of its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN Convention). According to the PWDA, those persons with disabilities shall have equal access to the following in Malaysia:
Malaysia also amended the Uniform Building Bylaws in 1990, making it compulsory for buildings to provide access and facilities for disabled persons. Existing buildings were given three years to make modifications to comply with the bylaw.
In addition, then Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in September 2006 that all buildings and public amenities, including existing buildings, must be disabled friendly.
But two years after the Act and nearly two decades after the bylaw amendment, have there been substantial steps taken in providing equal access for persons with disabilities? If not, why not?
No change
Writing’s on the cinema wall when it comes to equal accessBefore I was five, like most people, I knew my place in the community and soon discovered many of its benefits, including access to the public library, swimming pool and, of course, the local cinema. If I had thought about anyone missing out on these basics, it would simply have been that there must be a good reason for it. That’s what entitlement means. People with disabilities would not have crossed my mind back then as they were still largely hidden from view in institutions. As for deaf people, I’d never met one.
Then a chance visit to the doctor when I was in my 30s resulted in surgery that, eight years ago, left me completely deaf. Acquired disability is a challenging thing. It is easy to think one has liberal ideas on disability and to applaud the recent drive to make communities accessible to the disabled. The confronting truth is that being on the receiving end of these attitudes is a different matter. On one hand, the message from government is that people with disabilities should have equal access to community life; on the other, the prevailing attitude from community organisations and industry, no matter how liberal in tone, is that allowing people with disabilities to come to your event is an act of largesse.
Having been sidelined from the community in their formative years, and denied decent access to education, health and leisure, many people who have grown up with a disability may unwittingly support this view. They may be encouraged by talk of how they can participate in community life, but hesitant about asking to access aspects of it, such as going to the movies.
Flintshire wheelchair man loses pub toilet claimDavid Jones, who has multiple sclerosis, brought a county court claim against the Cross Foxes public house.
But it was dismissed by a judge in Caernarfon who said it was unreasonable to make changes inside the pub which did not have outside disabled access.
Mr Jones was ordered to meet the legal costs of the Victorian pub’s landlady, Susan Williams.
Judge Anthony Seys Llewellyn QC made the ruling after hearing that 55-year-old Mr Jones had been earlier offered £2,000 by the landlady and her husband to settle the claim.
Costly modifications
Delivering his decision, he said: “After very considerable reflection it seems to me it’s not reasonable to require the publican of this Victorian building to provide wheelchair access within the pub when there is no obligation to provide wheelchair accessibility at the point of entry.”
Disabled accessFor North Carolinians in wheelchairs, a store’s failure to provide disabled access can be a deal breaker. If the merchant can’t be bothered to provide that access, then the customer will just do business elsewhere.
Unfortunately, we can’t take our business elsewhere when the “merchant” is the Division of Motor Vehicles. In most towns, it’s the only place where we can buy our plates or get our licenses renewed.
Yet the DMV has a widespread problem with accessibility, according to a study it conducted of itself. DMV offices and independent contractors often fail to provide handicapped parking spots, ramps and curb cuts, bathrooms and water fountains adapted for wheelchairs and service counters at the appropriate height.
This is an inexcusable case of a government agency in violation of the law, specifically The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
We’re sure that the U.S. Department of Justice, which enforces the act, would find it inexcusable, too. So would private businesses that are required to comply with the law.
The DMV study came as no surprise to people with disabilities. Vicki Smith, executive director of Disability Rights North Carolina, an advocacy group, told McClatchy Newspapers recently that she’s been hearing about DMV accessibility issues for a while.
Woman says she missed flight after being quizzed over deafnessA WOMAN with a hearing disability claims she was asked by airline staff to prove she was deaf.
Lesley Stewart was refused access to a flight at London’s Gatwick Airport to Edinburgh with her registered hearing assist dog Molly, despite arriving at the check-in desk in plenty of time.
When staff from the budget airline EasyJet asked for proof of her disability, the 49-year-old pulled back her hair to reveal her hearing aids.
But by the time an airline manager came to speak to her, after a wait of an hour and 40 minutes, Ms Stewart had missed her flight.
It was only after the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People sent a fax to the airport confirming Molly’s status, that the airline relented and allowed her to fly on the next flight.
But Ms Stewart, of Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, was charged an extra £43 as a result.
She is now demanding an apology and compensation for the way she was treated by EasyJet staff.
She is being backed by he local MP, Michael Moore, and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.
Rail stations ‘not meeting disabled access guidelines’Disability groups say some of the Hunter’s busy railway stations are failing to meet access guidelines.
The CEO of Disability Advocacy, Mark Grierson, says many disabled people need to use public transport to get around, but struggle to access train stations.
He says the issue needs to be addressed.
“It’s a bread and butter issue that’s got to be constantly looked at,” he said.
“Our system is designed for cars and pedestrians – no-one ever thinks about someone in a wheelchair or a scooter or a walking frame who has to get around the city in our area.
“Some of the railway stations like Cardiff has been an ongoing problem and the Broadmeadow station ramps don’t meet the access guidelines still.”
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