Qantas has agreed to change and clarify its application processes for assistance dogs after being sued for disability discrimination.

Rachael Fullerton, a Sydney woman, sued Qantas in the Federal Court in October last year, alleging discrimination and seeking to change the airline’s policies, after it refused to let her pet dog Strike assistance traveling with it.

ABC NEWS reported on the case last year, which is now settled.

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Ms Fullerton, who lives with multiple disabilities, said the outcome would make “a huge difference” to people who rely on assistance dogs to travel safely and independently.

“It was a very long process to get to this point, but the result definitely proved it was worth it.”

What happened?

Ms Fullerton told ABC NEWS last year that Strike had helped her achieve a level of independence she had never had before.

Among other things, it can warn him of medical problems before they become problematic and help him manage his anxiety.

She said it was essential to lessen the impact of her disability and she couldn’t fly without it.

Strike is recognized by the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the NSW Government as an assistance dog and had previously been approved to fly on Rex Airlines and Virgin Australia.

However, in 2022, when Ms Fullerton asked Strike to travel with her on Qantas, the airline refused because he did not meet its specific assistance dog requirements.

This involved providing what Ms Fullerton’s legal team described as “detailed information”, including evidence of compliance with standards set by one of two specific organizations – Assistance Dogs International (ADI) and the Queensland Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Act (GHAD) – which were “inaccessible to a large number of assistance dog teams.”

Ms Fullerton said she had “gone in circles” for months with Qantas to try to resolve the situation, but continued to receive “generic responses that didn’t answer the questions”.

His legal team argued that Qantas’ requirements went far beyond what the Disability Discrimination Act required for assistance dog qualifications.

Qantas allowed Strike to fly in the plane’s cabin after the discrimination complaint was filed, but before it was resolved.

In consultation with Ms Fullerton, the airline changed a key exemption form which she said was “impossible” to fulfill and prevented her from moving forward with her original request for Strike to fly.

Call for greater consistency

Earlier this year, ABC NEWS heard hundreds of stories from people with disabilities who said transportation systems across the country, including the air system, had failed.

In addition to problems with service dogs, people with disabilities have reported being humiliated during air travel, having critical mobility aids broken, being knocked out of a wheelchair and having to pay extra fees.

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In August, the federal government promised a series of accessibility reforms, including new aviation-specific disability standards, with no timetable set for these.

Bridie Murphy, senior associate at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, said Ms Fullerton’s case could have been avoided if these standards had already been in place and there was national consistency for the accreditation of assistance dogs.

“The few airlines that people have access to in Australia should not make the situation worse by making their own rules that make the process even more complicated and inaccessible.”

Sheetal Balakrishnan, senior attorney at the Center for Justice and Equity, said all people with disabilities should receive “fair and consistent treatment” regardless of where they fly or with which airline.

“A comprehensive and enforceable national standard can define the rights of people with disabilities when traveling by air and require all operators to improve accessibility, so this is no accident.”

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