Reform of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 (Transport Standards)

• Image of tram doors with the international symbol of accessibility on the left door and an image of a bike on the right door.

Access to public transport is critical for people to work or study, visit family and friends, and access critical services such as healthcare. This is why the Australian Government is reforming the Transport Standards. The reforms aim to improve public transport accessibility and remove discrimination against people with disability. The reforms were developed in collaboration with people with disability, the public transport industry and state and territory governments.

 

Next steps

An exposure draft of the amending instrument to implement the reforms to the Transport Standards was released for public consultation between 10 October and 4 December 2025. Feedback received during consultation will be considered when finalising the updated Transport Standards and supporting guidelines. Further information is available on our Have Your Say page.

Outcomes of working groups

As part of the reform package, the government agreed to convene five working groups consisting of representatives from disability representative organisations, the public transport industry, state and territory governments and subject matter experts to conduct further work to finalise reform areas.

The outcomes of four of the working groups are now available. The government is now actioning the recommendations outlined in each paper:

  • Reporting—tasked with developing a non-mandatory reporting framework to encourage public transport operators and providers to develop and publish reports on their compliance with the Transport Standards.
  • Hearing augmentation—tasked with developing new guidance related to the feasibility of installing hearing augmentation systems in public transport environments and the viability of emerging digital solutions.
  • Braille—tasked with finalising regulatory reforms for the provision of braille in embossed formats and on signage.
  • Removable gangways—tasked with finalising regulatory reforms for the design of removable gangways for ferries.

The final report of the point-to-point working group will be published shortly.

Frequently asked questions

The Transport Standards were introduced in 2002 to provide certainty to operators and providers of public transport services about their responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. There have been significant changes in public transport technology and usage since the Transport Standards came into effect over twenty years ago, including the use of rideshare services, electronic ticketing, and greater availability of passenger information delivered online and in real-time. As such, there is a need to modernise the Transport Standards to meet Australians’ current and future needs.

Feedback received on the exposure draft of the amended Transport Standards will be used to finalise the updated Transport Standards. Once finalised, the instrument will be tabled in parliament. The updated Transport Standards will come into force following a disallowance period. Information will be available to users and operators and providers of public transport in the lead up to the updated Transport Standards coming into effect.

In addition to changes to the Transport Standards, there will be changes to the guidance material that supports the Transport Standards: the Transport Standards Guidelines and the Whole Journey Guide. The Transport Standards Guidelines help operators and providers of public transport understand their responsibilities under the Transport Standards. The Whole Journey Guide helps operators and providers think beyond compliance with the Transport Standards, and to how they can make travelling on public transport a more accessible experience. Updates to this supporting material will occur alongside the legislation updates. More information will be available in the lead up to the release of new guidance.

Once the updated Transport Standards are in force, some of the existing requirements will be maintained, while some will be updated. There will be no changes to the compliance dates set out in Schedule 1 of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002. The reforms do not provide existing assets within any additional time to comply with the current requirements of the Transport Standards.

Reform areas were identified and developed by the National Accessible Transport Taskforce, comprising representatives from the disability community, the public transport industry, technical subject matter experts and governments.

More than 500 participants took part in a range of consultation events and activities including surveys, webinars, focus groups and written submissions.

Some reform areas were agreed in principle or required further work. To conduct this further work, the Department established working groups with people with disability, industry and government. Working groups were established for the following reform areas:

  • Braille (reform areas 15 and 16)
  • Removable gangways (reform area 42)
  • Hearing augmentation (reform areas 9 and 10)
  • Reporting (reform area 1)
  • Point-to-point transport (reform area 3).

Public submissions to the Stage 2 Consultation RIS can be viewed at the Stage 2 Reforms Have Your Say page.

We have heard about the barriers people with disability have when travelling by air through the:

The Australian Government wants to make sure air travel is accessible for people with disability.

In addition to the reforms, we are creating new aviation-specific disability standards (Aviation Disability Standards) as a schedule to the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002. Creating new Aviation Disability Standards builds on the reforms to the Transport Standards. The new Aviation Disability Standards are currently being developed through a co-design process with people with disability.

More information, including updates on the co-design process, is available on our Aviation Accessibility page.

Summary of the reform package

The decision summary document outlines the reform process and the chosen option for each of the 76 reform areas at a high level. The decision summary is available here:

Easy Read is sometimes called Easy English or simple English. Easy Read format presents information in a way that is easy to understand.

The Decision Summary is available in Auslan here:

The Decision Summary is available in languages other than English here:

Background

The reform process has been undertaken in two stages. The Department developed Decision Regulation Impact Statements (Decision RIS) for both stages of the reform, which outline the options for each reform area, findings from the public consultation, the costs and benefits for each option, and a preferred option. The chosen option can be different from the preferred option. The Decision RIS identifies where this has happened.

The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Decision RIS' are available here:

Further supporting documentation can be requested via email at DisabilityTransport@infrastructure.gov.au or telephone on 1800 621 372.