The Report

The Draft Review Report has been released for comment from stakeholders. It is available by clicking on this link 'Draft Report'.

Due to the large number of comments provided by stakeholders in response to the draft, and the significant comments made by the Office of Best Practice Regulation in pursuit of a report compliant with Regulatory Impact Statement requirements, the completion of the final report has been delayed.

It is anticipated that the final report will be available for the Government’s consideration by the end of 2008. The website will be updated as timings become firmer.

The Review

Section 31 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 provides that the Attorney-General may formulate standards in relation to, relevantly, the provision of public transport services and facilities. The Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 (the Transport Standards) were made under section 31, and took effect on 23 October 2002.

Information on the Transport Standards is available on the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department website. Further background information for this review is provided on our background information page.

Part 34 of the Transport Standards requires the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, in consultation with the Attorney-General, to review the efficiency and effectiveness of the Transport Standards. A review is required within five years of the Transport Standards coming into effect and every five years thereafter.

The Allen Consulting Group has been engaged to undertake the 2007 review of the Transport Standards.

In line with the requirements of Part 34 of the Transport Standards, the objectives of the project are to review the efficiency and effectiveness of the Transport Standards and:

assess whether discrimination has been removed, as far as possible, according to the requirements for compliance set out in Schedule 1 of the Transport Standards;
assess the need for any amendments to the Transport Standards; and
make recommendations for any necessary amendments to the Transport Standards.

The review's issue paper is available for download.
Right click (Windows) or control click (Macintosh) to save the file to your computer.

The following is a shortened issue paper for people with an intellectual disability.
Right click (Windows) or control click (Macintosh) to save the file to your computer.

The review's terms of reference are available for download.
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The Review is to inform the Australian Government's consideration of the future direction, structure and operation of the Transport Standards.

The timetable for the remaining stages of the Review of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport has been revised as follows in view of the delays that have arisen as a result of the election process.

Deadline for written comments on Review Draft Report
5pm Monday March 31st 2008

Provision of Final Report to Minister
Expected late 2008