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New South Wales (NSW)


Companion Animals Act 1998 (NSW)

1998 - SECT 59 Person with a disability entitled to be accompanied by assistance animal




59 Person with a disability entitled to be accompanied by assistance animal (1) A person with a disability is entitled to be accompanied by an assistance animal being used bona fide by the person to assist the person, into or onto any building or place open to or used by the public or on any public transport.


(2) The person is not guilty of an offence merely because the person takes the animal into or onto or permits the animal to enter or be in or on any such building or place or any public transport while the person is using the animal bona fide to assist the person.


(3) This section applies despite the provisions of any other Act or instrument made under an Act.


1998 - SECT 60 Assistance animal not to be denied entry 60 Assistance animal not to be denied entry: (1) An occupier or person in charge or control of a building or place open to or used by the public or a person in charge or control of any public transport must not, without reasonable cause, refuse to permit a person to take an assistance animal into or onto, or while accompanied by an assistance animal to enter or be in or on, that building or place or public transport if the person has a disability and is using the animal bona fide to assist him or her. Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.


(2) A person prosecuted for a contravention of this section is not entitled to any defence to that prosecution that relies for its efficacy on the presence of the animal concerned.


COMPANION ANIMALS ACT

1998 - SECT 61 Unlawful to impose charge for entry of assistance animal




61 Unlawful to impose charge for entry of assistance animal: (1) An occupier or person in charge or control of a building or place open to or used by the public or a person in charge or control of any public transport must not impose a charge on or in respect of a person with a disability who is accompanied by an assistance animal used bona fide by the person to assist him or her and who is taking the animal into or onto, or is entering or is in or on, that building or place or public transport, unless the charge would have been imposed on or in respect of that person if the person had not been accompanied by the animal. Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.


(2) A person ( "the defendant" ) does not contravene subsection (1) by imposing a charge in respect of an animal accompanying a person if the defendant proves that: (a) in the circumstances it was reasonably necessary for the defendant to supply accommodation for the animal additional to that supplied for the person, that the charge was imposed for that additional accommodation, and that the charge was a reasonable charge in the circumstances, or

(b) the defendant reasonably incurred additional expense because of the presence of the animal, that the charge imposed was to recompense the defendant for that additional expense, and that the charge was a reasonable charge in the circumstances.


(3) When a person is convicted of an offence under this section in respect of a charge imposed on another person, the court may, upon application made by that other person, order the convicted person to refund the amount of that charge.


(4) The court’s order operates as an order for the payment of money under the Local Courts (Civil Claims) Act 1970 and is enforceable as such an order under that Act. The order can for the purpose of enforcing it be entered in the records of the court exercising jurisdiction under the Local Courts (Civil Claims) Act 1970 at the place where the order was made, in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made under that Act.


Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW)ANTI-DISCRIMINATION ACT 1977 - SECT 49B

What constitutes discrimination on the ground of disability




49B What constitutes discrimination on the ground of disability
(1) A person ( "the perpetrator" ) discriminates against another person ( "the aggrieved person" ) on the ground of disability if, on the ground of the aggrieved person’s disability or the disability of a relative or associate of the aggrieved person, the perpetrator: (a) treats the aggrieved person less favourably than in the same circumstances, or in circumstances which are not materially different, the perpetrator treats or would treat a person who does not have that disability or who does not have such a relative or associate who has that disability, or


(b) requires the aggrieved person to comply with a requirement or condition with which a substantially higher proportion of persons who do not have that disability, or who do not have such a relative or associate who has that disability, comply or are able to comply, being a requirement which is not reasonable having regard to the circumstances of the case and with which the aggrieved person does not or is not able to comply.


(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) (a), something is done on the ground of a person’s disability if it is done on the ground of the person’s disability, a characteristic that appertains generally to persons who have that disability or a characteristic that is generally imputed to persons who have that disability.


(3) For the purposes of, but without limiting, this section, the fact that a person who has a disability of or relating to vision, hearing or mobility has, or may be accompanied by, a dog which assists the person in respect of that disability, is taken to be a characteristic that appertains generally to persons who have that disability, but nothing in this Act affects the liability of any such person for any injury, loss or damage caused by the dog.


(4) A reference in this section to persons who have a disability (“the particular disability”) is a reference to persons who have the particular disability or who have a disability that is substantially the same as the particular disability.


NSW Department of Transport
31 Seating for aged persons or persons with a disability




(1) An operator may, by appropriate notices, set aside seating in a bus for persons who are aged or have a disability.
(2) A passenger who is not aged and does not have a disability must not continue to occupy a seat set aside for the aged and persons with disabilities if an aged person or a person with a disability wanting to use the seat (or a person on behalf of that person) asks the passenger to vacate it. Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units. _


42 Animals
(1) A passenger must not take into or on any bus any dog, cat, bird or other animal, except with the consent of the driver of the bus. Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.
(2) Subclause (1) does not apply in respect of an assistance animal or an assistance animal in training. _

Passenger Transport (Ferry Services) Regulation 2000
33 Animals




(1) A passenger or intending passenger must not, except with the permission of an authorised officer, take into or on, or attempt to take into or on, any ferry or ferry wharf any dog, cat, bird or other animal. Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.
(2) Subclause (1) does not apply to:
(a) an assistance animal accompanying a person with a disability, or
(b) an assistance animal in training.
(3) In this clause: assistance animal means an animal referred to in section 9 (Disability discrimination guide dogs, hearing assistance dogs and trained animals) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 of the Commonwealth, and disability has the same meaning as it has in that Act. _


Rail Safety Regulation 1999 (NSW)
26 Unauthorised occupation of seats for aged persons or persons with a disability




(1) The accredited operator for a railway may, by appropriate notice attached to (or in the vicinity of) seating in a train used on the railway, set aside that seating for persons who are aged or have a disability.
(2) A person who is not aged and does not have a disability must not continue to occupy a seat set aside for the aged and persons with disabilities if an aged person or a person with a disability wanting to use the seat (or a person on behalf of that person) asks the person to vacate it. Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units. _


43 Animals on trains
(1) A person must not take an animal onto a train intended for the conveyance of passengers, or have an animal in his or her charge on such a train, except under the conditions imposed by the accredited operator for the relevant railway for the conveyance of the animal. Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.
(2) This clause does not apply to:
(a) an assistance animal accompanying a person with a disability, or
(b) an assistance animal in training. _


Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 (NSW)
Restrictions on by-laws




49 Restrictions on by-laws
(1) By-law cannot prevent dealing relating to lot No by-law is capable of operating to prohibit or restrict the devolution of a lot or a transfer, lease, mortgage, or other dealing relating to a lot.
(2) By-law resulting from order cannot be changed If an order made under Chapter 5 has effect as if its terms were a by-law, that by-law is not capable of being amended or repealed except by a by-law made in accordance with a unanimous resolution and, in the case of a strata leasehold scheme, with the consent of the lessor of the scheme.
(3) By-law cannot restrict children A by-law for a residential strata scheme has no force or effect to the extent to which it purports to prohibit or restrict persons under 18 years of age occupying a lot. This subsection does not apply to a by-law for a strata scheme for a retirement village or housing exclusively for aged persons.
(4) By-law cannot prevent keeping of guide dog A by-law has no force or effect to the extent to which it purports to prohibit or restrict the keeping on a lot of a dog used as a guide or hearing dog by an owner or occupier of the lot or the use of a dog as a guide or hearing dog on a lot or common property.


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