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Service dogs are trained to assist people who have various disabilities to manage personal and other tasks. The popular term for these dogs in Australia is assistance dogs.

Guide dogs or seeing eye dogs are trained to help blind or visually impaired people get around safely and independently.

Hearing dogs are trained to assist people who are deaf or have hearing problems by alerting them to sounds.

What jobs can assistance dogs do?

Some assistance dogs are taught more than fifty tasks. The training for each dog is unique, and depends on the personality of the dog and the type of tasks that will suit the needs of their future owner, who is known as their handler.

The tasks that assistance dogs can be taught include:

pulling a wheelchair

helping people to balance if they have walking difficulties

turning on light switches

moving the arms or legs of people who are paralysed

opening and closing doors, drawers and fridges

assisting with making beds

retrieving or picking up items like mobile phones or keys

pushing pedestrian crossing buttons

picking up clothing and helping take washing from a machine

paying cashiers

barking to alert their owners to danger

alerting people to seizures (sometimes before they occur) or other medical issues, such as low blood sugar in a diabetic child

finding and leading another person to the owner or affected child.

Can owners take their assistance dogs into all public places?

Yes. Owners of assistance dogs have the right to take their animals into all public places and onto public transport, including buses and trains. The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person with a disability who is using an assistance dog.

Different states and territories have their own legislation relating to assistance dogs and may require the owner or handler to get certification. Find out more about the legal understanding of assistance animals.

Who can train an Assistance Dog?

1. Guide dogs for the blind

Guide Dog Handlers and their Guide Dogs are legally allowed to enter public places including:

shops and supermarkets

cafes and restaurants

pubs and clubs

cinemas and theatres

hotels, motels and other accommodation

medical/dental practices and hospitals (except in an operating theatre)

all forms of public transport, including taxis, buses, trains, trams and airplanes

2. Guide dogs for the deaf

Australian Lions Hearing Dogs

3. Assistance dogs

Why may people need an assistance dog?

Assistance or service dogs can help individuals who have:

Physical disabilities

Disabling illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis

Autism

Post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental conditions

Dementia

Before travelling interstate, it’s important that you contact the state government of where you’re planning to travel to get advice on the local laws and requirements around assistance dogs.

Permits or and identity card are required in some states for proof the Assistance Dog as eligible. Victoria – an Assistance Animal Pass is required and issued by Public Transport Victoria permitting assistance animals to travel on public transport. The pass is valid for 3 years.

Western Australia – The Public Transport Authority doesn’t require permits for assistance animals to travel on public transport. There is local government legislation providing for animals to have an ID card and a dog coat/harness.

Queensland – A Handler’s Identity Card is valid for 5 years allowing travel on public transport. Also, Translink (South East Queensland Transport Authority) issues an Animal Pass provided the dog meets certain standards of behaviour in public.

South Australia – The Dog and Cat Management Board issues a Disability Dog Pass that is valid indefinitely.

New South Wales – An Assistance Animal Permit is required for access to public transport, however Guide dogs and Hearing dogs do not require a permit. The permit must be renewed annually.

Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania – no system of accreditation exists and no specific passes issued.

Human Rights Disability Rights

What training is required for accreditation?

In Western Australia. Assistance dogs must be for a proven need and must be trained to a certain standard, and this is what is important rather than using a listed trainer (Western Australia only).

People with assistance dogs trained by the following organisations are automatically granted public access rights under the Dog Act 1976 regulations, including access to any building or place open to or used by the public for any purpose, or travel on public transport.

Assistance Dogs Australia

Lions Hearing Dogs

Seeing Eye Dogs Australia

Royal Guide Dogs Association of Australia and affiliated bodies

Public access rights for other assistance dogs may be granted on application to the Department of Local Government and Communities (DLGC). The applicant must be able to demonstrate that there is a need for an assistance dog and that the dog meets the specified training criteria.

The Dog Act 1976 has provision for assistance dogs not trained by a recognised organisation to be approved. To be approved, the dog and its handler must pass the Public Access Test (PAT). The PAT indicates the minimum standard that must be achieved in order to be considered safe and effective in accessing public areas and public passenger vehicles on a daily basis.

Independent PAT assessors are approved by DLGC. Applicants need to show that they are capable of administering the PAT and ensuring that the dog is capable of being well behaved in public places and on public transport.

Assistance dogs are trained to perform a range of tasks and behaviours for people with a disability. Assistance dogs can also be trained to help people with post-traumatic stress disorder, to access and participate in the community. Some assistance dogs know more than 50 assistive tasks.

Guide, hearing or assistance dogs are not to be confused with a therapy/emotional support/companion dogs. Such dogs are not considered an assistance or service dog, as the owner may not have a disability and/or the dog has not been trained to undertake specific, identifiable tasks and behaviours to reduce the person’s need for support. The dog is therefore is not recognised under the Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Act 2009.

In Queensland, the Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Act 2009 protects the public access rights of dogs and their handlers that have been through a certification process.

To gain certification, you must work with one of the following approved trainers or training institutions to train your dog and complete the public access test and certification process. You may then request the trainer to obtain a handler identity card for you, and a blue and white cloth badge for your guide, hearing or assistance dog to display on its coat or harness.

Authorised Queensland trainers

In Queensland Assistance dogs must be trained by certified trainers

Accreditation of Assistance Dogs South Australia

Registering an Assistance Dog in New South Wales. For registered trainers, they refer to the Assistance Dogs International accredited trainers list

The following prescribed accreditation bodies can accredit of assistance dogs under the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995:

the Board;

The Royal Society for the Blind of SA Inc;

The Guide Dogs Association of South Australia and Northern Territory Inc;

Lions Hearing Dogs Inc;

Assistance Dogs Australia;

Righteous Pups Australia Inc;

Vision Australia;

Guide Dogs WA;

Guide Dogs Queensland;

Guide Dogs NSW/ACT;

Guide Dogs Victoria;

Guide Dogs Tasmania;

Companion dogs

A companion dog has no special status or rights of entry.

Guide, hearing or assistance dogs are not to be confused with therapy/emotional support/companion dogs. Such dogs are not considered an assistance or service dog, as the owner may not have a disability and/or the dog has not been trained to undertake specific, identifiable tasks and behaviours to reduce the person’s need for support. The dog is therefore is not recognised under the Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Act 2009.

From Queensland Government - disability

Most travellers with dogs have them as a companion. Whether their owners think they have support needs or not, companion dogs do not have any rights to enter shops, food outlets or national parks where dogs are normally excluded.

Registered trained guide dogs are permitted in most national and state parks and reserves. If in doubt, enquire with the park management first. A registered trained assistance dog required for other needs may be permitted, and in some cases an application must first be submitted.