PWDA submission to the Department of Social Services in support of a nationally consistent approach to assistance animals.
3 June 2025
PWDA appreciate the opportunity to the respond to the Department of Social Services regarding their work with states, territories and other Government agencies to develop draft National Principles for the regulation of Assistance Animals.
Clearer laws and practices will remove barriers and ensure people with disability can access the benefits assistance animals provide.
PWDA and partners, led by the Australian Autism Alliance, called for the establishment of a National Assistance Animal Framework. The framework aims to meet the needs of people with disability and remove unequal access barriers.
PWDA agrees in principle with the draft Principles outlined in the consultation paper. The draft principles for the regulation of Assistance Animals which include:
- nationally consistent accreditation requirements for assistance animal trainers
and/or training organisations
- nationally consistent minimum assistance animal training standards
- a single national Public Access Test for assistance animals
- nationally consistent requirements for evidence of disability and a need for an
assistance animal (noting this must have consistency with other federally led
disability evidence requirements)
- national identity card and logo, and
- wellbeing of the assistance animal, including during and after its working life.
The principles must be considered in a way that best serves the needs of people with disability and address the key issues in our submission.
We support the work of the Australian Autism Alliance, who are seeking to expand the
recognition of, access to, and support for the use of assistance animals for people
with disability.
Recommendations
Recommendation 1: Provision must be made to enable the training and accreditation of assistance animals nation-wide, including in rural and regional Australia.
Recommendation 2: The cost, administrative and procedural burden of training and accrediting an assistance animal must not exclude people with disability from low socio-economic environments and low incomes from accessing an assistance animal.
Recommendation 3: The Australian Veterinary Association should be consulted to ensure the welfare of animals is protected when setting parameters for the age, work-life duration, health and welfare standards, and suitability of species to be used as assistance animals.
Recommendation 4: Research should be conducted on how many assistance animals there are, what types they are, what they do, what needs they have, how they're cared for, and experiences from handlers, trainers, and the wider community.
Recommendation 5: Research be used to inform ongoing changes to the national principles and any additional training, regulation or legislation needed to give effect to them.
Recommendation 6: That the principles are reviewed every two years based on research, reporting and the experience of people with disability.
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