Western Australian Acting Equal Opportunity Commissioner Dr John Byrne has called on entertainment venue staff to be mindful of impairment discrimination laws following discrimination claims made against a venue in Northbridge reported in the media today.
Dr Byrne said the Commission had previously received enquiries and complaints from people with a disability who felt they had been discriminated against by bouncers, security guards and venue managers.
“Over the past two years there have been 19 impairment discrimination complaints lodged under the area of access to places and vehicles and 30 enquiries,” he said.
Commission statistics reflect a higher number of impairment discrimination complaints made in the area of goods, services and facilities with 60 complaints being lodged in the past two years under that ground and area.
Dr Byrne said in many cases complaints may have been avoided with greater awareness about equal opportunity laws.
He said it was unlawful to refuse entry, goods or a service to someone because of a disability and if a person with a disability felt this had occurred, they were able to lodge a complaint with the Commission.
“Equal opportunity training should be a part of all customer service training for staff as it is just good business sense,” Dr Byrne said.
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