A woman who couldn’t fly without her assistance dog on Qantas has settled a discrimination case against the national airline.
Sydney’s Rachael Fullerton, who lives with multiple disabilities, has spent months challenging the decision after her beloved border collie Strike was banned from boarding.
Despite being allowed to fly on Virgin Australia and Rex flights and travel freely on public transport in New South Wales, Strike failed to meet Qantas’ certification requirements.
Fullerton took Qantas to the Federal Court after a failed conciliation attempt through the Australian Human Rights Commission.
She alleged disability discrimination and sought to change the airline’s policies, arguing that she had been “unfairly treated.”
“It’s given me the confidence to go places on my own,” Mrs. Fullerton told the alphabet in 2023.
‘He alerts me to medical problems before they… become a problem. It also does a lot of other things, like helping with anxiety.’
And almost a year after Fullerton brought the action, it settled the case against Qantas.
Rachael Fullerton took legal action against Qantas after her border collie assistance dog was not allowed to fly on the airline (pictured Ms Fullerton and Strike)
Ms Fullerton said Strike makes her independent and she wanted to change the airline’s policies for other people living with disabilities (pictured, Strike the assistance animal).
His legal team at Maurice Blackburn announced on Tuesday that Qantas has agreed to change its application and approval process for assistance animals so that other dogs like Strike can more easily get approved to fly. 9 news reported.
A Qantas spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the airline had sought to work with Ms Fullerton in 2022 and 2023 to learn details about her situation.
“In July 2024, when Ms. Fullerton provided us with additional information, we were able to be confident that Strike was safe to carry in the cabin of the aircraft,” he said.
“We are delighted to have resolved this matter and look forward to welcoming Strike in the future.”
Strike (pictured) passed the required entry test and is a registered assistance dog, and has since been approved by Qantas to fly with them.
The spokesperson added that the airline’s service dog policy, as well as the minimum standards they require for traveling service dogs “have not changed, and safety remains Qantas’ number one priority.”
Qantas has also updated its ‘more information’ form, which now provides more guidance to customers on the information and documents that can be included in a request to Qantas.
Fullerton described the ban’s reversal as “long overdue” and says it makes a big difference for those traveling with assistance dogs.
“It is inconceivable that people with disabilities still face so many barriers to accessing the service, but we hope this sets a precedent for improving disability standards and best practice for many businesses in the future,” he told Nine News.
“It’s been a very long process to get to this point, but the result has definitely proven to be worth it.”
The case was settled out of court and Qantas updated its ‘more information form’ to assist with requests to register an assistance animal (pictured, file photo of a Qantas aircraft)
Assist animals must be trained to the minimum standards of Assistance Dogs International or the Guide, Hearing, and Assistance Dogs Act to be allowed to fly in the cabin of an airplane.
Strike was not qualified for either standard, but had passed the required entry test and is a registered assistance dog.
Qantas had approved the strike after the discrimination claim was filed but before it was settled out of court.