00:00 Go! Go, go! Yes!
00:04 Strike is a three-year-old border collie.
00:06 Good boy!
00:08 And for most of his life, he's been an assistance animal
00:11 to his owner, Rachel, who lives with disabilities.
00:14 Good boy.
00:15 I can't imagine my life without him now.
00:17 He's changed my life significantly.
00:20 And, yeah, I've done things now that I never dreamt of being able to do
00:23 before I had him.
00:25 That includes air travel.
00:27 Rachel and Strike have been on plenty of flights in the last two years,
00:32 travelling on Virgin and Rex for Rachel's work.
00:35 He alerts to medical issues before they're detectable.
00:39 So it just gives me a chance to be able to address them
00:42 before they become an issue.
00:43 But he also does a lot of other things, even just helping with anxiety.
00:48 But Strike isn't allowed on Qantas flights.
00:51 That's because he wasn't trained by the accredited agencies
00:55 specified under Qantas's rules.
00:58 He is, however, recognised and funded as an assistance dog
01:01 by the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
01:04 It doesn't matter what I supply to Qantas,
01:06 they're refusing to acknowledge his status as a qualified assistance dog.
01:10 Rachel is now taking the airline to court,
01:13 accusing the national carrier of breaching disability discrimination laws.
01:17 Qantas is making its own rules, which we say is arbitrary and unfair
01:21 and inconsistent with what is required and allowed under the national laws.
01:26 The airline has told the ABC it recognises the important role
01:29 that properly trained assistance dogs perform for travellers
01:32 with specific needs, and it carries many on board each year.
01:37 But Rachel says there are many more like her.
01:40 We're hoping to achieve policy change so that it's easier
01:43 for other handlers like myself to be able to access flights with Qantas.
01:48 A leap of faith.
01:50 Good boy!
01:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]
