Air NZ twice denies woman with disability permission to fly with assistance dog

By Sarah Richards, ABC

A woman with post-traumatic stress disorder, who was twice refused permission to fly on Air New Zealand with her assistance dog, has settled a discrimination complaint on confidential terms.

Former paramedic Lisa Robinson said dog Lilly alerted her to elevating anxiety levels, allowing her to "face the world in ways I might not manage on my own".

"Without Lilly, my life is much narrower and harder," the Brisbane resident said.

In 2022 and 2024, Robinson attempted to book Air New Zealand flights between Brisbane and Christchurch, but on both occasions, she was told her bichon poodle could only travel in the plane's cargo, despite providing evidence Lilly was trained and recognised as an assistance animal by public transport operators in Australia.

"We were declined, because we weren't one of the recognised types of assistance dog that Air New Zealand would recognise," Robinson said.

After the first incident, she made a discrimination complaint to the Queensland Human Rights Commission.

"I wanted to fly home to New Zealand to visit friends and catch up," she said.

Her assistance dog had previously flown by her side on other airlines in Australia.

"We're not an inexperienced team," Robinson said.

The Justice and Equity Centre helped Robinson with her complaint, and with conciliation with the airline.

Sheetal Balakrishnan, a senior solicitor at the centre, said Air New Zealand's stance essentially treated Lilly as a pet.

"Assistance dogs are not pets," she said. "They're working animals that are highly trained to support a range of people with disability."

Balakrishnan said businesses had to provide their services in an accessible way and assistance animals had the right to access public spaces.

"That means, if a business refuses access to an assistance animal, it could be disability discrimination," she said.

'Committed to listening, learning and improving'

Robinson and Air New Zealand settled the complaint on confidential terms in August.

The airline has changed its policy this year to allow assistance dogs to travel in the cabin on flights between Australia and New Zealand.

Air New Zealand chief operating officer Alex Marren said the updated policy followed a two-year review.

She said, throughout the review process, the airline had engaged closely with customers, advocacy groups, training organisations, government agencies, Australian state bodies and other airlines.

"Taking the time to listen and prepare in this way has been essential to shaping a policy that supports those who rely on assistance dogs, and is safe for all customers and staff," she said.

Marren said the new policy had opened an approval pathway for assistance dogs accredited by an Australian state or territory, but without accreditation by either Assistance Dogs International or the International Guide Dogs Federation.

She said it also allowed customers to supply the airline with additional training information.

"Provided the required safety requirements are met, we will welcome these certified service dogs on routes between New Zealand and Australia, where a service dog is eligible for NZ MPI [Ministry for Primary Industries] entry requirements," she said.

Marren said the airline's website was being updated to reflect the changes.

She said the airline "deeply cared about making air travel accessible for everyone".

"We remain committed to listening, learning and improving, so that all our customers feel supported when they travel with us," she said.

Inconsistent rules across airlines

People with Disability Australia acting chief executive Megan Spindler-Smith said uncertainty surrounded rules for passengers with assistance dogs when boarding, leading to a "high level" of refusal and discrimination from airlines.

Spindler-Smith said there were inconsistent rules and requirements between airlines, and between Australian states and territories.

"That's because there isn't a national standard," they said.

Spindler-Smith said being able to travel by air was essential for people with disability to be independent.

"For those that have assistance animals, these animals make it possible for people to actually travel, engage in work and social lives for the first time in a long time," they said.

In a statement, a federal transport department spokesperson said the Australian government was committed to delivering greater protections for passengers flying with a disability.

"We are developing new Aviation Disability Standards that will specifically address the rights and needs of people with disability when travelling by air," the spokesperson said.

They said the standards were being co-designed with the disability sector and people with lived experience.

The spokesperson said the new standards were also being developed alongside broader national reforms aimed at removing discrimination, including a review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the development of National Principles for Assistance Animals.

Need to be 'more inclusive'

Under Air New Zealand's new policy, Lilly can fly in the cabin.

Robinson said she was pleased the airline had changed its requirements.

"Lilly is a Kiwi," she said. "I'm a Kiwi and it would have been a really sad thing to not have been able to fly on the Kiwi flag."

Robinson said there was still more work to be done in the aviation space.

"Lilly and I can fly on nearly every airline carrier in Australia, and we can fly on several overseas carriers," she said.

"There's just a small number of carriers that still need to make those changes to be more inclusive."

- ABC