A recent case in Australia has highlighted an issue that will be familiar to guide and assistance dog users across Europe: access refusals happen, but how many are ever formally reported or recorded?
Janice Whittle, who is legally blind, had booked short-stay accommodation in Queensland. When she arrived with her guide dog, the accommodation provider refused to allow her to stay because of a “no pets” policy. He subsequently said she could stay if she paid an additional $100 cleaning fee.
Both refusing access and imposing an additional charge because of a guide dog are unlawful in Queensland.
The incident eventually reached the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which ordered the accommodation provider to pay Ms Whittle $3,500 in compensation. Separate proceedings arising from the same incident had previously resulted in a $2,800 fine.
But perhaps the most significant part of the story isn’t the compensation. It is how unusual it is for an access refusal to get this far.
Basic Rights Queensland, which provided legal advice to Ms Whittle, told ABC News that discrimination against guide dog users happens regularly, but cases rarely reach court.
Ms Whittle herself described experiencing refusals in restaurants, hotels, airports and other places. She had even bought smart glasses partly so that she could record what happened when she encountered problems.
How many refusals simply go unreported?
For every access refusal that results in a formal complaint or legal action, how many others are never recorded at all?
A guide or assistance dog user may challenge the decision at the time. They may find another restaurant, hotel or taxi, change their journey or their plans, complain directly to the organisation concerned – or simply decide that pursuing the matter requires more time and energy than they are prepared to give it.
That is entirely understandable.
Taking legal action will not be the right choice for everyone. But reporting an access refusal does not have to mean going to court.
Recording what happened helps to build evidence.
One incident may look like an isolated misunderstanding. Hundreds of reports can begin to reveal patterns: particular sectors where refusals are commonplace, recurring misunderstandings about guide and assistance dogs, differences between countries, or organisations where the same problems occur repeatedly.
Without that evidence, it is much harder to demonstrate the scale and nature of the problem – and to make the case for change.
Making access refusals visible
There are already initiatives seeking to capture this evidence.
The European Disability Forum has also developed a Transport Accessibility Discrimination Database, designed to collect reports of discrimination and barriers encountered when using transport. EDF says information collected through the database can provide anecdotal or statistical evidence to support its work to improve European laws and policies.
This kind of initiative demonstrates the value of collecting individual experiences – but also the importance of making reporting simple, accessible and widely used.
In France, EGDF member ANM’Chiens has developed OBAC – the Observatory for the Accessibility of Guide and Assistance Dogs to record access refusals and help improve accessibility.
In 2025, 375 access refusals were reported to ANM’Chiens – more than one every day.
But even these figures leave us with an important question: how many incidents are never reported at all?
Join the conversation in Toulouse
How we record access refusals – and how that evidence can be used to bring about change – is one of the issues we’ll be exploring at the EGDF Conference in Toulouse on 7–8 May 2027.
As part of a much wider programme looking at the future of independent mobility and the issues affecting guide and assistance dog partnerships across Europe, Stéphane Boutemy from ANM’Chiens will introduce OBAC and share what has been learned from recording access refusals in France.
We’ll also consider the wider question of whether better reporting could help us build a clearer picture of where and why guide and assistance dog access is still being refused across Europe.
The Australian case leaves us with an important question:
If most refusals are never reported or recorded, how can we demonstrate the true scale of the problem?
Join us in Toulouse and be part of that conversation.
👉 Find out more and book your place at the EGDF Conference 2027
Source: ABC News Australia, 21 September 2026.