Ask DSC: Getting funding for assistance animals

I’m supporting a participant who wants to explore funding for an assistance dog to help manage their physical disability (for things like opening cupboards, bringing water bottles, etc). I’m a support coordinator in a regional area, and I’ve never helped anyone access an assistance animal before. What are the eligibility criteria, and how do we apply?

One should never play favourites, but- nevertheless- assistance animals are my favourite NDIS support. From unloading washing machines to helping people navigate public spaces, those pups are nothing short of amazing. And yes, technically, assistance animals don’t have to be dogs. But if anyone knows how to train a cat to follow orders, please email me- I have so many questions.

To obtain NDIS funding for an assistance animal, the NDIA makes people jump through a few bureaucratic hoops. These animals are too smart to be cheap. But your question comes at a good time, as the NDIA has recently updated its Operational Guidelines for Assistance animals including dog guides. So let’s take a look at what qualifies as an assistance animal, the evidence the NDIS requires and what’s included in the funding.

What is an assistance animal?

When does a dog become a worker? Well, the NDIS has quite strict rules about what qualifies as an assistance animal. According to the transitional Rules to define an NDIS support, an assistance animal can be an NDIS support if the animal has met one of the following criteria:

Accredited under state or territory law to assist people with disability.
Accredited by an animal training organisation under the Disability Discrimination Act.
Accredited by a provider registered with the NDIS Commission to provide assistance animals.
Has been training to alleviate the impacts of disability and meet public access standards.

In 2016, the NDIA commissioned a report from La Trobe University that sought to differentiate between assistance animals and other animal supports that aren’t funded by the NDIS, including companion animals and emotional-support animals (La Trobe University report- Key terms for animals in assistance roles). The definition in the La Trobe report, which has been adopted by the NDIA, says that an assistance animal must:

Have a high level of obedience and be able to safely visit public spaces that are usually off-limits to animals (aka- must not steal food in a butcher, even if it smells like tasty sausage).
Perform at least 3 tasks or behaviours that a person can’t do because of their disability.

The three tasks need to be things that the dog is specially trained to do and wouldn’t do naturally (like look super cute). The tasks should result in the person needing less other supports. The examples you included in your question- opening cupboards or bringing water bottles- would likely qualify as tasks if the person you support can’t do these activities independently because of their disability. Tasks can also be things like providing reassurance during times of anxiety, helping people navigate spaces, etc.

The NDIS Operational Guidelines also state that the types of assistance animals they fund are:

Guide dogs or seeing eye dogs
Physical assistance animals
Assistance animals for people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

The NDIA has previously conducted an analysis of evidence on the effectiveness of assistance animals for people with autism. It concluded that ‘it is likely that some individuals will respond well to animal-assisted supports’ but ‘the current evidence does not suggest that assistance dogs are more effective than pets.’ However, there’s nothing specifically in the Operational Guidelines on assistance animals for people with autism, so it’s not clear if it’s a hard no.

What are the funding criteria for assistance animals?

As with any other NDIS support, assistance animals must meet the reasonable and necessary funding criteria. Specifically, this means the support must be related to the person’s disability; help the person achieve their goals; increase their social and economic participation; represent value for money; be likely to be effective and beneficial; take into account what is it reasonable to expect informal supports to provide; and be an NDIS support (as per the transitional Rules) for that participant.

However, the NDIA looks at some additional considerations when it comes to assistance animals. One of them is the welfare of the animal. During the application process, the participant or supporting provider will need to nominate a primary handler responsible for the animal’s welfare. The NDIA will want evidence that the animal will be properly cared for, in a safe environment and that the task the animal will perform won’t put it at risk. The Operational Guidelines say that the NDIA generally won’t fund assistance animals if the participant has:

behaviours of concern, including violent and aggressive behaviours
been admitted to hospital for suicide attempts or self-harm in the last 12 months
has misused drugs or alcohol in the last 12 months.

The NDIS also won’t fund an assistance animal if it poses a risk to the participant or others, or if the animal will act as a mechanical restraint.

How do people apply for assistance animals?

Now, for the fun part. If filling out forms is your idea of fun.

To fund assistance animals, the NDIA will want to see:

Evidence that the animal meets their definition of an assistance animal.
An assessment by an allied health professional recommending an assistance animal. The NDIA's website has templates for these assessments. Using the templates isn’t compulsory, but they do contain all the information the NDIA wants addressed.
A suitability assessment- this is an assessment conducted by the assistance animal provider to evaluate whether the person is suitable for an assistance animal. If the participant you’re supporting doesn’t have an assistance animal provider in mind, this is something you’d want to look into before applying. The assessment will look at how the animal will help the person, what training is required, other supports the person has explored, if the person is able to look after the animal and where the animal will live. For dog guides, the suitability assessment must be conducted by a dog guide mobility instructor.
Evidence that the animal has passed the public access test (and ignored the sausages!).
Any lived experience evidence, if the person has had an assistance animal before.
A quote- which should include the cost of assessments, matching the person to a suitable animal, training milestones, equipment, training for the person, and ongoing animal maintenance costs.

This is what I meant when I said the NDIA makes people jump through bureaucratic hoops. The dogs might also need to jump through literal hoops.

What’s included when the NDIS funds assistance animals?

Now for the fun part, if spending money is your idea of fun.

If funding for an assistance animal is approved, the NDIS will fund:

An assessment to match the participant with the right assistance animal (apparently it’s a bit more complicated than a dog-human version of Tinder).
The cost of the pup.
Milestone payments as the dog is being trained.
Ongoing maintenance costs for the working life of the dog, including: food, grooming (cause the dog has to look its best), medication, flea and worm treatments, vaccinations, vet services and yearly reviews with the assistance animal providers.

Once the dog is qualified, it usually takes an additional 3-4 weeks for the assistance animal provider to train the participant and dog to work well together. In your question, you said that you work in a regional area. If there are no assistance animal providers in the participant’s area, the NDIA might pay for accommodation near the training centre. However, the cost of this will be considered when deciding whether the support is value for money.

Under the NDIS support lists, the NDIS can’t fund pet insurance, taxidermy, pet burials, cremations, or funerals. The taxidermy thing is really quite weird (what’s the story behind that?).

After the working life of the animal

The NDIS will only fund ongoing maintenance for the assistance animal’s working life. This means that when the animal is no longer able to perform its tasks, whether due to age or illness, the NDIS will no longer pay for food, vet bills, etc. The person can apply for another assistance animal at this time.

It’s probably worth having a conversation with the person you support to make sure they are prepared and can start thinking about what they want to do when this happens. If they have the resources, they might want to keep the animal as a pet, or they might want to look at re-homing it.

Conclusion

Animals are more intuitive than we give them credit for. The other day, I had a terrible migraine and curled up on the couch for a nap. My cat understood this was the perfect time to curl on top of my head for a nap of her own. It’s unclear if she was trying to be helpful or just wanted to punish me for an earlier transgression. But either way, it was surprisingly effective.

Anyway, that story wasn’t at all relevant. But here are some links that might actually help you: