Can a Taxi or Rideshare Driver Refuse an Assistance Dog in Victoria?
Carrying assistance animals
Assistance animals help hundreds of Victorians to live independent lives. They assist their owners by giving them a greater sense of freedom and helping them with their daily tasks.
Under the Commonwealth’s Disability Discrimination Act 1992, you cannot discriminate against a person with a disability because they possess, or are accompanied by, an animal trained to assist them to alleviate the effect of the disability.
Drivers must take a passenger with an assistance animal in the passenger area of the commercial passenger vehicle.
Assistance animals can include dogs for people who are vision or hearing impaired, medical alert animals, mobility assistance animals and psychiatric service animals.
The regulations require that Commercial Public Vehicle (CPV) drivers transport passengers with their assistance animals.
Refusing to carry an assistance animal is an offence under the current Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Regulations 2018 and may result in penalties against a driver who is found to be in breach of these regulations.
https://safetransport.vic.gov.au/on-the-road/multi-purpose-taxi-program/mptp-providers/
MPTP
The Multi Purpose Taxi Program (MPTP) assists with the travel needs of people with accessibility and mobility needs by offering subsidised CPV fares to members.
Members get 50 per cent off the total fare, up to $60, with some restrictions. If the subsidy changes, payment terminals will be updated automatically. Drivers don’t have to do anything.
CPV registration conditions state that vehicles that can provide unbooked services (services hailed on the street or at a taxi rank) must be able to provide services for the MPTP.
Been refused a ride? Here’s how to make a complaint
Passengers with assistance animals who have been unfairly treated or refused service when using a taxi or rideshare can lodge a complaint with Safe Transport Vic https://safetransport.vic.gov.au/support/complaints-and-reports/
or call on 1800 638 802.
In addition, you can also:
File a complaint to the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) by visiting their https://www.humanrights.vic.gov.au/ or calling them on 1300 292 153.
Report the incident to the Booking Service Provider you booked the ride with.
For incidents occurring on or after 1 August 2026, the driver, Booking Service Provider and other relevant CPV duty holders are required by law to ensure ST Vic is https://safetransport.vic.gov.au/on-the-road/cpv-industry/cpv-industry-reforms/#expanded-notifiable-incident-reporting
"Two-strikes" rule
From July 1 2026, the “two-strikes and you’re out” rule came into effect. This means drivers may lose their accreditation if they are found guilty of two or more of these offences within 10 years.
This rule applies to repeat offending involving:
charging or asking for more than the permitted fare for an unbooked service
charging an excessive non-cash payment surcharge
not using the fare calculation device when required
not stopping the fare calculation device at the end of the trip
not providing a receipt when requested
refusing to carry an assistance animal
From 1 August 2026, refusing to provide an unbooked CPV service without a valid exception will be added to this list.
This reform targets serious and repeated misconduct, not one-off mistakes.
Sourced from : https://safetransport.vic.gov.au/on-the-road/cpv-industry/cpv-industry-reforms/#expanded-notifiable-incident-reporting
The CPV Industry Act 2017
If you’re keen on legislation then, take a look at the full Act.
https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/acts/commercial-passenger-vehicle-industry-act-2017/029
Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Regulations 2018
Part 6: Operational Requirements
26 Assistance animals
(1) The driver of a commercial passenger vehicle being used to provide a commercial passenger vehicle service must accept an animal for carriage in that vehicle if—
(a) the animal is an assistance animal; and
(b) the animal is accompanied by a passenger of the commercial passenger vehicle.
Penalty: 10 penalty units.
(2) In this regulation—
assistance animal has the same meaning as it has in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 of the Commonwealth.
