Assistance Animals in ACT Independent Schools
Edited on March 29, 2023
Many Australians with disability use Assistance Animals as a disability support. For example, Assistance Animals have been assisting people with severe vision impairment to successfully navigate through their communities for decades.
People have used Assistance Animals to manage a range of needs, including social and emotional support, diabetes, and epilepsy (more examples are provided in section 4 of downloadable docx).
The implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in 2013 has seen a steady increase in the use of Assistance Animals. NDIS may fund the training of an assistance animal by an accredited provider if an assisted animal is effective and beneficial and meets the NDIS necessary criteria.
NDIS defines an Assistance Animal as an animal specially trained to help a person do things they can’t do because of their disability. In December 202, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) released New Assistance Animal Guidelines to support participants, providers, and assessors with simpler and clearer guidance on Assistance Animals.
The Association of Independent Schools of the ACT has created guidelines which may support Member Schools to develop policies surrounding Assistance Animals in schools and educational facilities.