Assistance Animal National Principles

Assistance animals are animals trained to support the independence and wellbeing of people with disability. Assistance animal users have a right to have their animal with them, the same as any other disability support.

Despite this, assistance animal users experience a number of barriers in their daily lives, including assistance animals being refused entry to businesses or transport. There is also a lack of recognition of the important support assistance animals provide.

Not all states and territories have rules for assistance animal accreditation. Those that do have rules are not consistent with one another.

Since people all over Australia use assistance animals, we think that the rules should be nationally consistent. This means that the same rules should apply to everyone, no matter where you live.

National consistency will lighten the burden on assistance animal users and reduce confusion for the businesses and services that they access.

It will make it easier to understand when an assistance animal meets public access requirements. It will also make it easier for individuals to travel with confidence knowing that their assistance animal will be recognised.

National Principles

The Department of Social Services has worked with states, territories and other Government agencies to develop draft National Principles for the regulation of Assistance Animals. The draft Assistance Animal Principles are:

1. nationally consistent accreditation requirements for assistance animal trainers and/or training organisations
2. nationally consistent minimum assistance animal training standards
3. a single national Public Access Test for assistance animals
4. nationally consistent requirements for evidence of disability and a need for an assistance animal
5. national identity card and logo, and
6. wellbeing of the assistance animal, including during and after its working life.

We are holding this consultation to seek your opinion on the draft Assistance Animal Principles.

You can find more information about the draft Assistance Animal Principles in the Consultation Paper.

Have your say

We invite you to make a submission to help shape the future of assistance animals in Australia.

You can choose to respond to guided questions about the Assistance Animal Principles, or to make a written submission, or both. We will not share your response unless you give us permission to do so.

Please direct any questions to sector.engagement@dss.gov.au.