AustraliaDisability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002, fare systems, information and booked services (WCAG 2.1 Level AA for online information)
Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 (Cth), s. 25.2 and Parts 27 and 28
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding private bodies.
- Criminal exposure
- No
- Private right of action
- Yes
- Conformance standard
- WCAG 2.1 AA
As of .
What it requires
- If you operate a public transport service, or supply or maintain its conveyances, premises or infrastructure, make information about the service that you provide in an online format, such as a website or mobile web system, meet at least Level AA conformance under WCAG 2.1 (s. 27.7); this applies to new, or substantially refurbished or altered, digital services provided on or after (s. 35.23).
- Make any information and communication technology you intend for public use accessible to persons with disabilities, for procurements made on or after (ss. 27.10 and 35.23).
- Make the hardware and software of a fare system that members of the public use comply with sections 8 and 11 of AS EN 301 549 (2020), and the system's audio output and tactile speech-mode features comply with its clauses 5.1.3.1, 5.1.3.3 and 8.5, for fare system elements installed on or after ; do not require more of a person with a disability than of others, and provide another way of paying that does not cost more (ss. 25.2 and 35.22).
- Make general information about your transport services accessible to all passengers, and where you cannot supply information in a passenger's preferred format, give equivalent access by direct assistance (ss. 27.1 and 27.2).
- Reproduce a document about transport services in large print on request, in at least 18 point sans serif type weighted semi-bold or bold, left justified with a ragged right margin, and black on a light background or with a luminance contrast of at least 75% (s. 27.3).
- After the 5-year transitional period that began on , do not provide general information about transport services (timetables, routes, fares, payment methods, next stop and next service information) solely in an online format; provide infrequently requested formats in a timely manner and braille on request; provide information about a planned disruption in a variety of formats; and publish the accessibility features of your conveyances, premises and infrastructure (ss. 27.1(2) and (3), 27.2(2) and (3), 27.5, 27.8, 27.9 and 35.23).
- If you run booked coach, ferry, dial-a-ride or train services, ask for no longer advance notice of a requirement for accessible travel than you ask of other passengers (s. 28.2); on booked services, including aircraft, keep accessible seats for passengers with disabilities (s. 28.4), and after the 5-year transitional period let them book seats suited to their traveling needs in each class of travel (ss. 28.4(3) and (4) and 35.24).
- A requirement does not apply to the extent that compliance would impose unjustifiable hardship, judged on the factors in section 33.7(3), but you must comply to the maximum extent not involving it; you may meet a requirement by equivalent access after consulting passengers with disabilities, and the Commission may grant an exemption for up to 5 years (ss. 33.3 to 33.7 and 33A.1).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Australian Human Rights Commission (complaints of unlawful discrimination, which include a contravention of a disability standard); the Federal Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) hear an application once the President has terminated the complaint
What it reaches
Instrument type
a regulation made under an act
Applicability criteria
Unless Part 35 provides otherwise, the Standards as in force before continue to apply to operators and providers of existing conveyances, premises and infrastructure (s. 35.3).
- As of
- Combinator
- Any of
- Criteria
- is an operator: a person or organization that provides a public transport service to the public or to sections of the public (s. 1.20)
- is a provider: a person or organization responsible for the supply or maintenance of conveyances, premises or infrastructure (s. 1.22)
What this law does
The Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 are disability standards under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, and the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport Amendment 2026, made under subsection 31(1) of that Act, rewrote their fare system, information and booked-service provisions. The Standards apply to all operators and the conveyances they use to provide public transport services, and to providers and supporting premises and infrastructure.
An operator is a person or organization that provides a public transport service to the public or to sections of the public, and a provider is a person or organization responsible for the supply or maintenance of conveyances, premises or infrastructure.
A public transport service is an enterprise that conveys members of the public by land, water or air, including foreign aircraft and vessels that carry passengers to, from, or in Australia, and does not include adventure travel except to the extent that it moves the public from one location to another distant location.
Information about public transport services that an operator or provider provides in an online format, such as a website or mobile web system, must at least meet Level AA conformance under WCAG 2.1 (section 27.7). Section 27.7 applies to new, or substantially refurbished or altered, digital services provided on or after the commencement day.
Any information and communication technology that an operator or provider intends for public use must be accessible to persons with disabilities, and this applies to procurements made on or after the commencement day (section 27.10).
A fare system must not require actions from a person with disabilities that exceed what is required of a person without a disability, and hardware and software of a fare system to be used by members of the public must comply with sections 8 and 11 of AS EN 301 549 (2020) (section 25.2). A person whose disability affects that person’s use of the standard fare system must be provided with another way of paying the fare that does not cost more and facilitates independent access.
Section 25.2 applies to new conveyances, premises and infrastructure and to fare system elements installed on or after the commencement day. General information about transport services must be accessible to all passengers, and if information cannot be supplied in a passenger’s preferred format, equivalent access must be given by direct assistance (sections 27.1 and 27.2).
On request, an operator or provider must reproduce a document about transport services in large print, in at least 18 point sans serif type weighted semi-bold or bold (section 27.3). After the end of a 5-year transitional period beginning on the commencement day, general information about transport services, which includes timetables, routes, fares, payment methods, next stop information and next service information, cannot be provided solely in an online format.
After the same period, infrequently requested formats must be provided in a timely manner if not immediately available, information requested in braille must be provided, information about a planned disruption must be available in a variety of formats, and operators and providers must publish information about the accessibility features of their conveyances, premises and infrastructure (sections 27.2, 27.5, 27.8, 27.9 and 35.23).
Operators of booked services may request advance notice of a requirement for accessible travel, and any notice required must not exceed the period of notice specified for other passengers (sections 28.1 and 28.2). After the 5-year transitional period, passengers with disabilities must be able to book seats in parts of the conveyance appropriate for their traveling needs, in each class of travel a service provides (section 28.4).
It is not unlawful to fail to comply with a requirement of the Standards if, and to the extent that, compliance would impose unjustifiable hardship, but compliance is required to the maximum extent not involving unjustifiable hardship (section 33.7). Compliance may be achieved by equivalent access, using alternative means of access with equivalence of amenity, availability, comfort, convenience, dignity, price and safety, but not separate or parallel services (section 33.3).
The Commission may grant an exemption from compliance with some or all of the Standards for a period of no more than 5 years (section 33A.1). The Standards were made on , and the compilation that includes the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport Amendment 2026 is dated . It is unlawful for a person to contravene a disability standard (section 32 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992).
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface.