Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dog puppies in training took over Australian Parliament House on September 9 to meet with ministers in hopes of calling for uniformity and standardised accreditation for assistance animals.
The event aimed to raise awareness on the challenges of not having a standard national approach for the accreditation of assistance animals, creating confusion the wider public and reduced access for handlers.
“We are seeing proliferation of assistance animals across Australia, however the current legislation differs across jurisdictions and provides little clarity about the training and other standards assistance animals should meet,” Chris Edwards, Director Government Relations and Advocacy at Vision Australia, said.
“While some assistance animals, like Seeing Eye Dogs undergo rigorous and extensive training, others are failing to meet that same standard.”
Vision Australia is calling for the establishment of a national register of accredited assistance animals, which would provide handlers and the wider public with greater assurance that assistance animals meet training and behaviour standards and address the lack of understanding about the legal access rights of accredited animals.
“Eva, my Seeing Eye Dog underwent around two years of training before we were matched, including how to behave on public transport or in other public spaces, such as restaurants or hotels,” Chris said.
“As not all assistance animals receive that same training, there can be a wide variance in their behaviour in public, which people then use as justification for refusing handlers like myself from accessing public places we’re legally entitled to.
“Those refusals greatly impact my ability to move independently in the community and a nationally recognized proof of accreditation would significantly help me to prevent them from occurring.”
Vision Australia representatives, including a cohort of Seeing Eye Dog puppies took this issue direct to Parliament at a special event in the House of Representatives Courtyard on Monday, September 9, granting members, senators and staff the opportunity to learn more about the importance of Seeing Eye Dogs and the need for better regulation.
Vision Australia will be taking photos and video on the day for media distribution.
