For small businesses, disability discrimination is often practical rather than abstract. It can be a ramp, a website form, an interview process, a quiet workspace, an assistance animal at the door, or how a manager responds when someone asks for flexibility.
Main laws
Commonwealth Act
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)
The Disability Discrimination Act affects hiring, workplace adjustments, premises access, services and digital customer journeys.
In forceCommonwealthPlain-English guide5 practical checks
Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Use the linked official source for section-level detail, and get advice for your situation.
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Quick read
- This law can affect both workplace decisions and the way customers use a business.
- For small businesses, the practical questions are access, adjustments, assistance animals, website usability and staff training.
Likely relevant if
- Employers hiring, managing or dismissing workers with disability
- Retail, hospitality, health, education, professional service and venue businesses serving the public
- Online businesses, SaaS companies and ecommerce operators designing digital customer journeys
Check first
- Avoid direct and indirect disability discrimination in work and customer-service settings.
- Consider reasonable adjustments or practical alternatives before refusing access, work or service.
- Review goods, services, facilities, premises and digital journeys for barriers.
Start here
Key points
- Do not treat access requests as annoyances.
- Train front-line staff on what to escalate.
- Document what you considered before saying no.
- Check digital access as well as physical access.
Accessibility checks
Sense check
- Review recruitment steps for accessibility, including forms, interviews and tests.
- Check premises access, signage, seating, counters, waiting areas and emergency procedures.
- Review website checkout, booking, contact and complaint flows for obvious barriers.
- Set a process for considering workplace adjustments and customer access requests.
- Train staff on assistance animals, disability aids, carers and respectful communication.
Plain-English glossary
- Indirect discrimination
- A rule or requirement that seems neutral but disadvantages people with disability and is not reasonable in the circumstances.
- Unjustifiable hardship
- A legal concept used when an adjustment or access step would impose hardship that the law treats as unjustifiable in context.
- Assistance animal
- An animal that assists a person with disability and is dealt with specifically under the Act.
Common questions
Does this apply to websites and apps?
It can. The Act covers goods, services and facilities, and disability-access risk can arise in digital customer journeys as well as physical premises.
Can a business refuse an adjustment request?
Sometimes, but the business should first understand the request, consider practical options and get advice before relying on unjustifiable hardship or another exception.
What about assistance animals?
Assistance animals are specifically dealt with in the Act. Customer-facing businesses should train staff before access issues occur at the door.