Recognising the rights of people with disability who have assistance animals

Today Abigail gave notice of a motion about the alarming prevalence of discrimination reported by disabled passengers with assistance animals across the taxi and rideshare industry.

Abigail said:

(1) That this House notes that:

for years, an alarming number of people with disability with assistance animals have come forward to share their experiences of repeatedly having rides refused or cancelled by taxi and rideshare drivers;
although the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person with disability on the grounds that they have an assistance animal, a lack of accountability and deeply embedded systemic ableism has created an environment where individuals and companies frequently breach this basic legal requirement with little to no repercussions;
according to the Point to Point Commission, only a handful of taxi and rideshare drivers and companies are fined and even fewer are disqualified every year, with just 11 fines issued to taxi drivers and companies and 9 fines issued to rideshare drivers for refusing passengers with assistance animals since 2023;
a 2024 survey commissioned by Guide Dogs Australia found that nearly 50 percent of guide dog handlers had been refused a rideshare or taxi trip in a 24 month period;
a Victorian woman, who is blind and uses a guide dog, is currently taking legal action against Uber in the Federal Court after experiencing persistent discrimination for years with dozens of Uber drivers refusing to pick her and her guide dog up after booking trips, a case which could set an important precedent if successful;
in September 2025, Paralympic swimmer Jeremy McClure reported being refused service by three Uber drivers in Perth after they pulled up and saw his guide dog, saying he should have booked Uber Pet, a service for transporting companion animals, with the third driver only agreeing to accept the ride after police intervened; and
the ongoing prevalence of people with disability and their assistance animals being discriminated against in the taxi and rideshare industry is reflective of the ableism ingrained in our society, inadequate anti-discrimination laws which are rarely enforced and the limited avenues for disabled people to seek justice.

(2) That this House calls on the NSW government to:

urgently review the NSW Point to Point Commission’s complaint-handling system, its powers to investigate discrimination and harassment and its resourcing capacity to enforce compliance across the taxi and rideshare industry particularly over large corporations like A2B and Uber;
mandate education and training for all taxi and rideshare drivers regarding their legal obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act, particularly in relation to assistance animals, and the importance of upholding the human rights of people with disability;
advocate for a nationally-consistent assistance animal framework which promotes greater recognition of the rights of people with disability who have assistance animals; and
commit to working with the disability community to co-design reforms that seek to not only eliminate disability discrimination and hold perpetrators to account, but actively prevent it from happening in the first place.

15 October 2025

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Recognising the rights of people with disability who have assistance animals

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

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