ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal rules Garran Surge Centre disabled access 'unreasonable'

It was "unreasonable" for the man to be required to move across a gravel surface from disabled parking to ramps near the entrance of the former Garran Surge Centre, the tribunal found.

The $14 million centre was built in just 37 days on the Garran Oval in early 2020 and was intended to be an emergency department for COVID patients.

The centre was never used for this purpose, instead serving as a vaccination hub, a testing facility and a COVID-specific walk-in centre.

Michael Hollmann sued the ACT government, namely ACT Health, claiming it discriminated against or victimised him while providing services relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordered on Thursday that Mr Hollmann be paid $5000 within 28 days.

The tribunal heard Mr Hollmann required a wheelchair, and also had an acquired brain injury and various physiological conditions and needed an assistance animal.

Mr Hollmann made six claims against ACT Health, which arose from his experiences trying to access a COVID-19 vaccine, testing and subsequent treatment.

These included allegations government clinics available to him were not wheelchair accessible.

The man gave evidence saying he was not offered any assistance in accessing the Garran facility, and no-one available at the road entrance or in the proximity of the disabled car park to ask for help.

However, lawyers on behalf of the government denied this, submitting that the use of gravel on the surface of the car park was reasonable given the availability of assistance from clinical staff.

They argued replacing the surface with something more accessible would involve an unjustifiable hardship and Mr Hollmann had access to other sites, including the Access and Sensory clinic.

Parking arrangements for the Access and Sensory clinic were established in December 2021 and included laying rubber tiles in the area.

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The tribunal found that ACT Health had indirectly discriminated against Mr Hollmann on at least two occasions, "in requiring him to wait before being able to access the testing facility at Weston Creek, and by not adequately providing access to assistance to move across the gravel surface".

It also found that the government had indirectly discriminated against him by providing disabled parking which required the wheelchair user to move over a gravel surface without assistance.

"It is clearly difficult for a person with Mr Hollmann's mobility disabilities to be able to move across the gravel surface presented at the Garran facility without considerable assistance," the decision published on Monday read.

"In our view, even with the requirements of urgently establishing a temporary facility, it was unreasonable to require Mr Hollmann to move across the gravel without assistance in order to access the facility.

"It would not have been an unjustifiable hardship for the respondent to have provided additional means to ensure that assistance or an alternative means of access to a suitable testing facility was available."

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