The manager of the Royal Hotel in Orange is looking to use an "unfortunate situation" at the pub to create a disability-friendly environment.
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Josh Shearman, 21, who has a rare genetic disorder - Pettigrew syndrome - and non-verbal autism, and attended the hotel with his support worker for after work drinks and lunch on August 21.
Royal Hotel manager Adam Isbester said he is "lost for words" after a staff member made a judgment to refuse alcohol service the support worker who intended to buy a drink for Mr Shearman.
"The staff member made a quick decision and thought it was the right thing to do, but turns out it wasn't," he said.
"It did not come from a place of discrimination and I can't tell you how deeply disappointed and saddened I feel.
"We will be turning this negative event into a positive to make better decisions for future patrons."
Mr Isbester also said the staff member has been counselled over the event.
"We want to be able to support them to make better decisions in the future," he said.
"The staff member regrets their decision."
He added he called Josh's mum Vannessa Shearman and the support worker to apologise.
"I called them separately last week and they both acknowledged and accepted the apology," Mr Isbester said.
In light of the incident, he said he will approach disability services and a support worker to discuss how they will be able to to better approach future situations.
"We would like our staff to be further trained on disability inclusion," Mr Isbester said.
"We can't undo the events that occurred and our staff can only learn from this situation so it doesn't happen again."
A Facebook post written by Mrs Shearman about the incident has been liked and shared to more than 1,000 people.
She said Mr Shearman "has every right to enjoy an alcohol beverage just like everyone else".
However Mrs Shearman said she is grateful for the apology from Mr Isbester.
"We are pleased that the hotel will be moving forward in a positive direction to support people with disabilities," she said.
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