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The recent NDIS Supports Lists have created some confusion about when/if the use of animals in therapy can be considered an NDIS Support. So let’s lay out what solid information is in play right now:
- ‘Animal therapy’ is on the list of supports that are not generally NDIS supports. The examples given include “puppy therapy and goat therapy”. Which both sound, frankly, delightful.
- The NDIA put together a long list of Frequently Asked Questions which gave some more clarity about the difference between animal therapy and animal-assisted therapy.
What is the difference between animal-assisted therapy and animal therapy?
This FAQ outlines the difference, specifically that:
- Animal-assisted therapy: therapy delivered by an appropriate therapist who uses an animal as a tool to achieve therapeutic outcomes. This is a goal-direct, structured intervention where the animal assists engagement in therapy (the NDIA says animals used “as therapy tools, just like a board game, Lego, or a swing”). Animal-assisted therapy can be an NDIS support. Apologies to any animals reading this that are offended at being referred to as a ‘therapy tool’.
- Animal therapy: where a person simply has a positive experience playing with puppies or riding a horse or any animal. This is not an NDIS support.
Interestingly, the NDIS clarified that even when the service provider is an allied health professional, it’s the way that the therapy service is delivered that differentiates between animal therapy and animal-assisted therapy. If a qualified therapist delivers an animal-based support that is simply a positive experience for the person, rather than a structured therapeutic intervention, it still would be considered animal therapy. It’s the details of the service itself that matters - not who is delivering it.
As to types of animals, there’s no blanket ‘horses are ok, but fish are not’ rule in any Operational Guidelines.
Who decides whether a support is animal-assisted therapy?
All of this begs the question: who decides whether a service is animal therapy or animal-assisted therapy, if an allied health professional can do both? The NDIA has been silent on this, but the burden seems to lie with the support provider to prove that there is enough of a therapeutic structure and model behind the support.
A good place for providers to start is the evidence review the NDIA completed on animal-assisted interventions, which was last updated in May 2024 (meaning it wasn’t created directly in response to the new NDIS Act). It can help providers to get a sense of how to demonstrate that their services are genuine, high-quality therapeutic interventions with agreed therapeutic goals and an outlined therapeutic approach. But even this NDIA review outlined that ‘animal-assisted interventions are described using a variety of terminology and there is little standardisation in relation to intervention characteristics including the person delivering the intervention (e.g. therapist, animal handler) and consistency of procedures.
