News

Access means business

Is inclusion on your menu?

According to reports received from our Guide Dog Handlers in 2024, cafés and restaurants are the most common industry illegally refusing people access to their services across NSW and the ACT. This needs to change. Let’s work together to create a hospitality industry that upholds the rights of people with low vision or blindness, fosters an inclusive and welcoming space for dining and gathering and ensures businesses can benefit from a broader and more diverse customer base. Access means business.

Why is an accessible café or restaurant important?

From Guide Dog Handler and Guide Dogs NSW/ACT staff member Dan Searle: 

“Food and dining out holds a significant place in Australian culture. Most life events are celebrated over food, and we often socialise and work with a coffee in hand. 

I want to feel comfortable to participate in these experiences just like everyone else. Dining out often comes with additional challenges for me. I often have multiple worries before my journey starts, such as whether I will get to the venue safely, wondering whether they will attempt to refuse me with my Guide Dog, if the ordering, serving and payment process will be accessible and whether the acoustics of the venue will allow me to follow a conversation with my friends and work colleagues. 

There are often very simple things that you can do that will allow me to walk away from my dining experience feeling I’ve been treated with dignity and respect.  

I am excited about sharing our resources, learning materials and conversations with businesses so that people like me can be included. I want to feel welcome. I want to ensure that you are meeting your obligations as an inclusive service so that our wonderful diverse community also benefits from dining experiences that are so important to Australia’s culture.” 

Working with the City of Sydney

In collaboration with the City of Sydney, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT ran campaign activities in the Sydney Local Government Area (LGA). We targeted hospitality businesses with a plan to provide education, create opportunities for conversations, and ensure people travelling within the CBD are aware of our campaign via public advertising.