An Aussie woman on the NDIS who was refused permission to travel with her assistance dog on a Qantas flight is taking the major airline to court.
Sydney woman Rachael Fullerton lives with multiple disabilities and her loyal Border Collie named Strike has helped her live an independent life since he was placed with her a few years ago.
The pair typically travel everywhere together without any issues but recently Qantas refused to let Strike on board flights between Wagga Wagga and Sydney.
Other airlines, including Rex Airlines and Virgin , have had no issue with the dog on their planes and he is also free to travel on public transport in NSW.
Rachael Fullerton (pictured) is taking Qantas to court after the airline refused to let her travel with her assistance dog
‘He’s allowed me the confidence to be able to go places by myself,’ Ms Fullerton told the ABC.
‘He alerts me to medical issues before they… become an issue. He also does a lot of other things, like helping with anxiety.’
Ms Fullerton is taking Qantas to the Federal Court after a failed conciliation attempt through the n Human Rights Commission.
She has alleged disability discrimination and is seeking to change to the airline’s policies arguing she was ‘unfairly treated’.
The case has been taken up by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and will be heard in early 2024.
PIAC senior solicitor Sheetal Balakrishnan said Ms Fullerton could not fly without her beloved dog as he is vital in mitigating the serious impacts of her disabilities.
She said for Qantas to stop the pair from travelling together was discrimination.
Ms Fullerton said Strike (pictured) has helped her to live her life independently
According to Qantas rules, assistance dogs must be trained to a level that meets standards set by Assistance Dogs International (ADI) or the Queensland Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Act (GHAD).
Qantas also considers dogs trained by other organisations or trainers but they need to show they can meet the ADI or the GHAD criteria.
Strike has not been accredited by the ADI or GHAD but has been recognised as an assistance dog by the NDIS and the New South Wales government.
Ms Fullerton said she tried to get Strike accredited by a GHAD-approved organisation, but they did not have any in New South Wales willing to certify a dog it hadn’t raised or trained itself.
Ms Fullerton said she was told she would need to fill out a form from Qantas after first making contact in September last year informing the airline of of Strike’s training.
‘The form was impossible to fill out if you didn’t have a dog that was certified by ADI or GHAD,’ she said.
Ms Fullerton said things then ‘went round in circles’ over the following months and the airline kept giving her a generic response that failed to answer her queries.
Qantas said in a statement that it recognised the important role assistance dogs played for their owners and that it allowed ‘many’ on board each year (stock image pictured)
Ms Balakrishnan argued Qantas’s requirements for assistance animals were narrower than what is required under the Disability Discrimination Act, which PIAC argues Strike meets.
‘Qantas is making its own rules, which we say is arbitrary and unfair and inconsistent with what is required and allowed under the national laws,’ she said.
Qantas said in a statement that it recognised the important role that assistance dogs perform for travellers and that it ‘carries many assistance dogs each year’.
‘Qantas consults with customers with disability who want to travel with an assistance dog in advance to obtain all relevant information to ensure it is safe to carry the dog in the aircraft cabin,’ the statement read.
Ms Fullerton hopes her struggles with Qantas will help make air travel for others with assistance animals more accessible in the future.
‘I want to make changes so that it’s accessible for everybody,’ she said.