Mr Jackson called Ticketek hundreds of times on Monday. Credit:Justin McManus Ticketek requires disabled people to book through a phone hotline but, said Mr Jackson, when seeking tickets for a highly sought-after concert or game that hotline is busy. He thinks that wheelchair users or companion card holders should be able to fight for tickets online along with everyone else. "I'm in a wheelchair and a Richmond member and frustratingly when you want to go to any event in Melbourne you can't go online you have to ring that number," he said. "Just another example of companies such as Ticketek not providing equitable access to services."

"Instead we get this cumbersome process that on days when demand is high, it completely collapses. "It is discrimination that as a person with a disability, I can't go online and purchase tickets and it's just part of the unnecessary frustrations encountered when you have a disability trying to get on with everyday things." In the hours after membership tickets went on sale, Mr Jackson dialled "literally hundreds of times". Such was the demand, the AFL Fans Association said tickets for Richmond's preliminary final on Saturday were already being legally resold for more than $400. Standing room tickets were being resold on Viagogo for more than $200. The AFL announced by mid-afternoon that club member and general public allocations for both the Richmond-GWS and Adelaide-Geelong matches had sold out.

Any unused club or AFL member tickets will be released for sale at 2pm on Thursday. When Mr Jackson used the online form after having no luck getting through to the special needs booking hotline, he received an automated response saying that he would be contacted about his request "within one or two business days". "If you ring the mainline, it normally puts you on hold for ages but [on busy days] it directs you back to the website, which is no use to me," he said. He said he had a similar problem getting tickets to the qualifying final against Geelong. Mr Jackson said airlines have a simple tick box or a drop down box for people with special needs that is part of their normal booking process.

"I'd like Ticketek to introduce a simple tick box or somewhere online where you can book tickets," he said. "It isn't complicated." "We're not asking for special treatment. If tickets to an event are sold out, then they are sold out. But what people with disabilities are seeking is the right to access tickets in the same way as able-bodied people". He also said that the system was discriminatory to disabled people wanting seats at other big events. "This problem doesn't just apply to football tickets, but any popular event where tickets are sold through companies like Ticketek. It is particularly bad for very popular concerts." By Tuesday morning, after being contacted by Fairfax Media, Ticketek had been in touch with Mr Jackson.

A Ticketek spokesman said that the company had taken less than 24 hours to respond to Mr Jackson and that he now had seats to the big game. Ticketek is concerned that opening up the special needs seats to an online system would leave those seats vulnerable to being snatched up by people without genuine needs. Loading The company said the special needs phone line is prioritised and that if people seeking special needs seats email the agency they try and respond within 24 hours. The Ticketek spokesman said it has engaged with the Human Rights Commission and Fair Trading departments to address the concerns of customers who need accessible seating.



With Tom Cowie and Daniel Cherny