How Can Animals Help Those With Health Issues & Disabilities?
By Zest Care · Originally published 5 June 2019
Identify which kind of animal support you are considering
Ask what the animal will help you do and who trains and cares for it. A pet that provides companionship is different from an assistance animal trained for disability-related tasks. An animal used during a clinician’s session is also a different arrangement.
Use NDIA assistance-animal guidance for funding questions and the federal legal definition for access rights. Do not buy an animal or pay for certification on the assumption that one document guarantees both public access and NDIS funding.
Original article and dated context
Zest Care offers plan management, support coordination and direct supports. You can also find more on their blog here.
It’s widely documented that guide dogs are used to help those who are blind and visually impaired to go about their daily lives independently. However, animals can also help those who have other illnesses and disabilities—sometimes in an official capacity, and sometimes not. It is undeniable that animals have, for many years, provided great companionship to humans. But the reality is that they do so much more!
[Clickability update, October 2026: The original claims about cholesterol, stroke, heart attack survival and children’s immunity are not verified clinical recommendations in this refresh. Do not treat pet ownership as prevention or treatment for a condition.]
What Are The Health Benefits Of Owning Animals?
Statistics suggest that even people who haven’t already been diagnosed with health conditions or a disability could actually benefit from animal ownership.
Having an animal around can lower cholesterol, reduce your chance of stroke and even affect the likelihood of survival after suffering a heart attack.
Such animals can also help your children, by building their immune system and helping them to develop skills they’ll use to socialise better with others. In children with ADHD, it can be beneficial to them to learn routines related to caring for the animal, which can come in useful in other areas of their life.
What Can Service & Assistance Animals Be Trained For?
A service or assistance animal takes things a few steps further, and as such, they are not to be thought of as “pets”. They are highly trained animals which can help with a range of illnesses, disabilities and conditions. In addition to guide dogs and the work they do in helping those who have problems with sight, service animals can be trained to recognise loss of consciousness, to sense seizures in those with epilepsy, to sense changes in the blood sugar of diabetics and to work as hearing dogs—but this list is not exhaustive.
More recently, animals can be used to provide emotional support to people who have conditions such as anxiety or PTSD. They can even be used to respond to the needs of those on the autism spectrum.
Service animals are quite commonly referred to as working animals, and their responsibilities vary. They can be trained to use a basic phone, to bring things to people, or to alert others if something bad has happened. They shouldn’t be disturbed from their duties, so please don’t pat another person’s service animal!
How Do Animals Improve Mental Health?
When someone is suffering from depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions, it can help to have animals around for comfort. They reduce your stress levels, improve your mood and even help you to socialise.
Animals can sometimes give a person a sense of purpose, and a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It’s also sometimes a positive distraction to have responsibility for caring for something other than yourself, and in turn, you’re more likely to look after yourself if you know an animal is relying on you.
There are numerous benefits to exercise, which is something which is often difficult for people struggling with mental health conditions. However, having an animal which requires regular walks gives people a reason to get up and about. It can also help with social anxiety—the animal acts as an ice breaker in a social setting.
[Clickability update, October 2026: Sections 9 and 54A of the Disability Discrimination Act cover the definition, evidence and exceptions. Accreditation is not the only qualifying route under the federal definition; a medical letter alone does not establish that the animal meets it.]
What Does The Law Say About Service Animals In Australia?
(a) is accredited under a State or Territory law to assist a person with a disability to alleviate the effects of disability; or
(b) is accredited by an animal training organisation prescribed in the regulations; or
(c) is trained to assist a person with a disability to alleviate the effect of the disability and meets standards of hygiene and behaviour that are appropriate for an animal in a public place.
This means that you have to go through proper channels and training programs to get your animal registered, with medical professionals signing off on your need for it in order to get legal rights.
In theory, service animals can basically go anywhere, except for certain wards in hospitals, operating theatres and commercial kitchens. However, you should still notify places such as your new building management or airlines in advance, to show them your proper paperwork. People do not have to let you into their private homes with your service animal. However, denial of service to anyone with a service animal in public places amounts to direct discrimination. Providing your animal is properly registered and your animal has legal recognition, you must not be treated any differently because you have one.
[Clickability update, October 2026: The final claim below that certification as an assistance dog is the only route is inaccurate as a statement of the federal definition. Check the Act. NDIS assistance-animal funding is a separate assessment under NDIA guidance.]
What About Emotional Support Animals?
Typically, there are some legal distinctions between emotional support animals/therapy animals and service animals. In Australia, the law surrounding emotional support animals is more complicated. This is because they often cannot be trained to perform specific tasks, unlike service animals which can. In those instances, while they provide companionship, they have the same legal status as pets and therefore cannot usually be taken everywhere with you.
There are some exceptions, which aren’t based on a certain diagnosis, but rather what the animal can actually help you do. If you’re in need of an emotional support animal to help you live your life, a doctor can write a letter confirming your disability or condition, prescribing an assistance animal to you. The application requires them to state how an assistance animal’s presence can help make you better and improve your condition. The only way to give your pet legal rights is by having it certified as an assistance dog.
Clickability editorial update: October 2026
Explain the service without blending three different promises
Describe whether you provide an assessment, training for an assistance animal or therapy in which an animal is used. Explain who is responsible for welfare and ongoing costs, and what evidence your service supplies. Do not market ordinary contact with animals as guaranteed therapy or automatic funded support.
The NDIA’s animal-assisted therapy guidance distinguishes evidence-based therapy from recreational activities involving animals. Make the actual treatment, qualifications and costs clear before the participant agrees.
Questions readers ask
Are pets and emotional support animals automatically NDIS assistance animals?
No. Use the separate NDIA criteria and funding process. Official guidance
Does a doctor’s letter alone establish all public access rights?
No. The animal must meet the legal definition and applicable requirements. Official guidance
Is animal-assisted therapy the same as taking an assistance animal home?
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