What is the difference between Assistance Dog and Service Dog?

In Australia, there is no difference between an Assistance Dog and a Service Dog — these terms refer to the same thing.

The term Service Dog is more commonly used in North America, whereas the term Assistance Dog is more commonly used in Australia.

All Assistance Dogs are also Service Dogs, and there is no right or wrong term.

One way to identify a legitimate Assistance Dog is by their vest. Click here to learn more about why Assistance Dogs wear vests.

As you may already know, our Assistance Dogs help people who are living with physical disability, autism, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Some of the tasks Assistance Dogs have been specifically trained to do include opening doors and drawers, using body pressure to calm down a highly distressed human, and alert barking in case of emergencies.

Assistance Dogs are different to Emotional Support Dogs. For more information about the legal rights of Emotional Support Dogs compared to Assistance Dogs, follow the link.

If you’d like to find out more about the Public Access Rights of Assistance Dogs, click here