Frequently asked questions: Assistance animals
- See now report on assistance animals (November 2003); exemption regarding rail operators (September 2007); and Disability Services Qld Assistance Dogs Review
Can a service or accommodation provider exclude a person because he or she is accompanied by a guide or hearing dog?
No.
This is unlawful under the DDA unless unjustifiable hardship can be shown,
which in the Commission's view will very rarely be possible. See the
decision of the Commission in Brown
v Birss Nominees
. Note also the Commission decision in Jennings
v Guan Lee
that it was discriminatory to require a guide dog to be left outside.
Does the DDA apply to companion animals?
The DDA applies directly to discrimination because a person is accompanied by a guide dog, hearing dog or other animal trained to alleviate the effects of a person's disability. A companion animal is not within this definition. The fact that an animal is house trained or has had obedience training is not likely to be sufficient for this purpose.
Note the following decision by the President reviewing a decision by the Disability Discrimination Commissioner to decline a complaint:
Companion dog not assistance animal for DDA purposes
A man complained that he had been discriminated against by a country rail service provider's refusal to permit him to be accompanied in the passenger carriage by his companion animal, a chihuhua dog. The President confirmed the Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner's decision to decline the complaint. She found that the fact that the man had trained the animal to provide him with companionship was not sufficient to establish that it had been trained to alleviate the effects of his disability (2 December 1998).
DDA section 9 prohibits discrimination only against people with a disability. It does not apply to anyone who does not have a disability but wishes to be accompanied by an animal. A need or desire for companionship does not in itself amount to a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act.
Assistance animals other than guide or hearing dogs are covered by the DDA. Note, however, that access to premises with these animals is not necessarily covered by rights of access provided for guide dogs under other legislation. Any right of access under the DDA is subject to possible claims of unjustifiable hardship and would also require evidence of the animal being trained to meet a need for assistance because of a person's disability.
What is the position of assistance animals in relation to health and hygiene regulation?
See an update on assistance animals and health regulation issued by the Disability Discrimination Commissioner in 2000.