The Australian Rail Authority recently called for submissions regarding a draft version of a new Rail Code of Practice. The Code has been developed in response to a lack of specifications for rail providers under the Disability Standards on Accessible Public Transport (DSAPT). The Standard was completed in 2002, and the Australian Rail Authority was only created in 2000, well into the negotiations for the Standard. As a result, there have been a number of temporary exemptions applied for under DSAPT. Negotiations between the rail industry and the Australian Human Rights Commission have led to the creation of the Code of Practice, which will be used as a measure of accessibility should complaints be lodged with the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Further consultations on the Code will be undertaken in the future. AFDO would like to thank Margo Hodge, our retiring external representative, for all her hard work in this area.