Public Access Rights

Assistance Dogs can help with a range of conditions. They can help people with physical disabilities and limitations complete day to day tasks around their homes and in the community. They can help people with psychological conditions, like PTSD and Autism Spectrum Disorders, feel safe, calm and confident when out in public spaces.

They provide highly specialised skills to address specific needs a person might have. Guide dogs for the blind and deaf are technically Assistance Dogs.

The rights of a person with an Assistance Dog are protected under Federal Law through the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA 1992). The DDA recognises that a suitably trained Assistance Animal is a tool facilitating the functioning of a person with a disability, similar to a wheelchair. The DDA recognises both physical and psychosocial disabilities and acknowledges that an Assistance Animal can assist in either case. The DDA allows qualified Assistance Dogs to accompany their handler into all public spaces. The only exceptions to this may be spaces in which a person’s disability is being addressed by other means, or areas with stringent sterility requirements, for example: 

• Specific Clinical Settings
  • Surgically sterilised areas
  • Industrial food preparation areas (kitchens)
  • Quarantined areas 

Assistance Dogs are a necessary aid to allow a person with a disability to engage in their community. You wouldn’t ask someone who needs a walking stick to leave it at the door.

You are legally allowed to ask for some documentation showing that the Assistance Dog is qualified, accredited, and serving the person they are with. We encourage you to do this, but ask that you do so with sensitivity and respect.

An Assistance Animal will have a jacket with branding from the organisation that qualified it – a photo of Assistance Dogs Australia’s jacket on a dog is included as an example below. You can expect the dog to be clean, well maintained, very well behaved, and highly obedient to its handler.

It is best to just ignore the Assistance Dog as much as possible. You can think of the dog like a wheelchair. If you would not, touch, stare at, or ask about a person’s wheelchair, then it’s best to do the same for their Assistance Dog.