The Government has responded to the findings and recommendations of the second review of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002, which reported on the effectiveness and efficiency of the standards 10 years after their introduction.
In particular, the review indicated that local government, while having the best intentions to ensure accessibility for people with disability to public transport, especially through providing accessible bus stops, bears a large part of the burden of providing the required infrastructure with little or no financial assistance.
Submissions to the review from several local government bodies detailed the difficulties of providing accessible bus stops without definitive guidance on accessible bus stop design. To address these concerns, the review recommended that:
The Australian Government, jointly with state and territory governments, commence a process for updating and modernising the Transport Standards. This work should be undertaken in close consultation with industry, local government and the disability sector, and include research on the technical issues raised in this review, the development of options, and assessment of the impact of any proposed changes to the standards, with this work to be completed by 30 June 2017.
The Government's response to this recommendation was favourable; it noted that the standards may not provide sufficient guidance to providers and operators in their efforts to fulfil their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act. The Government will commence a process for updating the Transport Standards involving close consultation with industry, all levels of government and the disability sector.
Read the final report and the Government's full response at this link.