Toowoomba disability advocate Alyce Nelligan receives ID card with photo missing half her head due to fixed camera

Queensland Department of Transport has revealed it could scrap a major part of its process in creating IDs after a Toowoomba disability advocate’s botched ID card caused outrage.

The state government is considering scrapping its fixed camera systems for ID photos after a Toowoomba disability advocate’s botched card that cut off half her head made news across Queensland.

Alyce Nelligan, who has a disability and uses a wheelchair, called on the Department of Transport and Main Roads to improve the accessibility of its service centres after the camera inside the Harristown location was unable to photograph her properly.

The article in The Chronicle prompted a wave of backlash from Toowoomba residents and led to coverage from multiple outlets, including Seven News and 4BC.

Ms Nelligan was also contacted by several people with disabilities who reported similar experiences trying to get an ID photo taken.

The department has now revealed it was reviewing its camera systems following the incident.

“Once again, we offer our sincere apologies for the customer’s experience and will continue to improve our processes to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” a spokesman said.

“We are committed to the provision of accessible and inclusive transport and being an accessible and inclusive employer of choice.

“We will continue to improve the accessibility of our customer service centres across our network, including how we capture customer photos.”

Toowoomba disability advocate Alyce Nelligan holding her botched identification card due to the fixed-camera system used by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Ms Nelligan said transferring cameras onto a movable system would be a big step forward.

“As the story has spread, they have realised the access to their stores isn’t good enough,” she said.

“It seems they’ve taken that on board (and) that would be a massive win, because a place isn’t accessible unless everyone can go there.

“They’re going to replace my card free of charge and they appreciate that I flagged that the camera wasn’t accessible, which was lovely.

“But it’s not just about me, it’s about making sure this system is accessible for everyone.”

EARLIER: DISABILITY ADVOCATE ‘SHOCKED’ BY BOTCHED ID CARD

When Darling Downs woman Alyce Nelligan received her photo identification card in the mail from the Department of Transport and Main Roads, she was shocked and bemused to find out she was missing nearly half her head.

“It’s not often that I’m speechless, I was so shocked,” the disability advocate said.

“I knew it wouldn’t be a great photo but I did not expect half my head to be cut off.”

Ms Nelligan, who lives near Toowoomba with a rare condition called minicore myopathy and uses a wheelchair, has called on TMR to scrap fixed cameras in all its branches to better include elderly and disabled people.

She has also urged the department to revamp all its locations to become more disability-compliant, calling the incident a clear case of “benign ableism”.

Alyce Nelligan's proof of identification card, which is missing nearly half her head.

Ms Nelligan said problems arose when she visited the Harristown branch in early September to apply for the ID and get her photo taken.

“When I went to get my photo, the camera is fixed and only at one height,” Ms Nelligan said.

“The lady said to me that I was a bit short for the photo — she asked if I could lift the (motorised) wheelchair up, and I said I can’t because it’s 100kg.

“She took the photo and said it was not a great shot, but she said she and her supervisor would have a look and sign it off.

“At no point was I told that part of my head was missing — she never said she’d cut half my face off.”

Alyce Nelligan.

While she has seen the funny side to the incident, Ms Nelligan said the debacle highlighted how infrastructure could be ableist without anyone intending to cause harm.

“I can laugh about it because it’s ludicrous, but this is what people with a disability deal with day in, day out,” she said.

“It’s not like they were deliberately doing this — the world is made for able-bodied people and we’re not considered.”

A spokesman for TMR said the department had apologised to Ms Nelligan and offered the chance to get a new photo taken.

“We have contacted the customer to extend our sincere apologies, remedy the issue and cover costs of a new photo and card,” he said.

“The Harristown Customer Service Centre has two cameras where seats can be folded back to allow wheelchair access.

“The cameras are fixed but have a large range to capture images of people of different heights.

“In this instance it couldn’t capture the full image. While the image is legally usable we understand the customer’s concerns.

“We’re committed to providing accessible and inclusive services to all our customers.”