Assistance dogs enable people with disability to participate in public life with greater safety, confidence and independence. However, inconsistent identification, deliberate misuse and limited staff training can create barriers for legitimate teams. Clearer guidance on access rights, acceptable evidence and behavioural standards would help protect handlers while giving businesses confidence to manage concerns appropriately.
Taking my assistance dog, Gigi, everywhere I go may look like a privilege. For me, her presence is essential. She is a highly trained form of disability support that enables me to move through the community with greater confidence, independence and safety.
An assistance dog is trained to perform tasks that reduce the impact of a person’s disability. These dogs support people with a wide range of physical, sensory and psychological needs, and qualifying assistance animals receive public access protections under Australian law.
Finding a way forward with Gigi
I began losing my vision in my mid-thirties while serving in the Navy. Australia was entering the COVID-19 pandemic, I was living far from my family and I was trying to understand what my changing vision would mean for the career and future I had worked towards.
I wanted to continue building my life and pursuing my ambitions, so I moved to Canberra and focused on finding a way forward. Through Defence Community Dogs, I was paired with Gigi, who had been trained to perform tasks tailored to my disability and mental health needs.
As my vision deteriorated, leaving the house became increasingly difficult. Shopping centres could trigger intense anxiety, particularly when I struggled to locate items or navigate an unfamiliar space. The frustration and embarrassment often became overwhelming, and I would sometimes leave without completing the task that had brought me there.
Gigi helps me manage those situations. She often recognises my anxiety before I do and responds by nudging me, drawing my attention towards her or encouraging me to pause. When I need time to recover, she can guide me to a seat so that I can reset before continuing. Her support has helped me become more confident, independent and productive in daily life and as a low vision athlete.
We have now been together for nearly seven years. During that time, she has given me the confidence to participate more fully in the world and supported me through moments when my disability and mental health placed my life at risk. The relationship we share is built on training, trust and thousands of hours spent learning how to work together.
Different dogs perform different roles
Clear public understanding begins with recognising the distinction between assistance dogs, therapy dogs and companion dogs.
Therapy dogs provide comfort and therapeutic benefits to groups of people in settings such as hospitals, schools and aged care facilities. Companion dogs are pets whose presence can support their owner’s emotional wellbeing and quality of life. Both perform valuable roles, while public access protections are attached to qualifying assistance animals that support a person with disability.
Guide dogs are the most widely recognised type of assistance dog, although the range of tasks these animals can perform is much broader. Assistance dogs may support people living with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, alert a handler to an impending seizure, detect changes in blood glucose levels or perform physical tasks that allow a person to live more safely and independently.
Growing awareness among veterans, first responders and the wider community has helped more people understand the contribution these animals make. It has also created opportunities for people to purchase jackets, harnesses and identification online and use them to present an untrained pet as an assistance dog.
Misuse affects every legitimate team
An assistance dog jacket carries little meaning without the specialised training and behaviour required of the animal wearing it. When an untrained dog becomes disruptive, acts aggressively, approaches other animals or creates hygiene concerns in a public place, the consequences extend beyond that individual incident.
Business owners and frontline employees can become wary of every assistance dog that enters their premises. Legitimate handlers may then face lengthy questioning, delayed entry or refusal of service while simply trying to book accommodation, buy groceries, attend an appointment or participate in community life.
Gigi and I have experienced refused accommodation and delayed hotel check-ins while employees sought guidance from managers. These interactions can be exhausting and distressing, particularly when a handler is already managing the physical or psychological effects of a disability.
I also understand the position of frontline employees who have received little training on assistance animal access. Some encounter animals that are clearly disruptive or uncontrolled but feel uncertain about the questions they may ask or the action they may take. Fear of complaints, confrontation or disciplinary consequences can leave employees unable to respond confidently, even when an animal’s behaviour creates genuine concern.
The law already recognises evidence and behaviour
Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, an assistance animal may be accredited under relevant state or territory law, accredited by a prescribed animal training organisation, or trained to assist a person with disability and meet standards of hygiene and behaviour appropriate for an animal in a public place.
The legislation also allows a person or business to request evidence that an animal is an assistance animal or has received appropriate training. According to Australian Human Rights Commission guidance, that evidence may include identification from a state or territory register, a card from a recognised training organisation or a medical certificate.
This provides a basis for balancing access with accountability. Businesses can ask for reasonable evidence without requiring a handler to describe private medical details. They can also assess the animal’s conduct in the same practical way they would manage other risks within their premises.
A legitimate assistance dog is trained to remain under control and behave appropriately in public. Accreditation or identification should never become permission for disruptive, unsafe or unhygienic behaviour. Clear guidance can give businesses the confidence to support genuine teams while responding appropriately when an animal’s conduct falls below the standards expected in a public place.
Better education would reduce conflict
Frontline staff need practical training that explains what assistance dogs do, what evidence may reasonably be requested and how concerns about behaviour should be handled. This information should form part of induction and customer service training in accommodation, hospitality, retail, transport and other industries where public access questions regularly arise.
Handlers also carry responsibilities. They need to understand the evidence relevant to their dog, maintain appropriate standards of training and behaviour, and communicate respectfully with employees who are following a reasonable process. Consistency from both businesses and handlers would reduce the confusion that frequently turns a straightforward interaction into a confrontation.
A clearer national approach to identification and public access could provide greater certainty across jurisdictions. At present, varying accreditation systems and uneven public understanding can make it difficult for businesses to recognise legitimate teams. Any improved system would need to preserve access for people who train an assistance animal through lawful pathways outside a formal accreditation organisation, while giving businesses practical tools for establishing that an animal meets the required standard.
Protecting access through shared accountability
False claims weaken public confidence and make community participation harder for people who depend on trained assistance animals. They also place business owners and employees in a difficult position when they are expected to manage access without adequate information or organisational support.
The rights of legitimate assistance dog teams can sit alongside a business owner’s responsibility to protect employees, customers and other animals. Reasonable evidence, appropriate conduct and informed decision-making create the conditions for both.
Gigi gives me the independence to work, compete as an athlete and participate in everyday life. Protecting that independence requires a system that recognises the training behind legitimate assistance dog teams and gives businesses the confidence to address misuse. Clear rights and clear responsibilities will help ensure that people with disability can enter public spaces with dignity while businesses maintain safe and welcoming environments for everyone.
