❓ Hon. Louise Kingston asks about registering non-dog assistance animals and recognising emotional support animals under WA law. The Minister responds that only dogs can be registered under the Dog Act 1976, but the Commonwealth DDA may offer avenues for other animals.
AnsweredQoN 844Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
DISABILITY — ASSISTANCE ANIMALS
844. Hon LOUISE KINGSTON to the minister representing the
Minister for Local Government:
The commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992
recognises a broad spectrum of disabilities under the definition of ''disability'', including a disorder,
illness or disease that affects a person's thought processes,
perception of reality, emotions or judgement, or that results in
disturbed behaviour or, simply put, mental illness. The act recognises assistance animals, which are defined
as a ''dog or other animal''. The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries has an assistance dog approvals policy.
(1) What avenues are there to register animals other than
dogs as assistance animals?
(2) What steps
are being taken to recognise emotional support animals for people with mental
illness as assistance animals?
844. Hon LOUISE KINGSTON to the minister representing the
Minister for Local Government:
The commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992
recognises a broad spectrum of disabilities under the definition of ''disability'', including a disorder,
illness or disease that affects a person's thought processes,
perception of reality, emotions or judgement, or that results in
disturbed behaviour or, simply put, mental illness. The act recognises assistance animals, which are defined
as a ''dog or other animal''. The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries has an assistance dog approvals policy.
(1) What avenues are there to register animals other than
dogs as assistance animals?
(2) What steps
are being taken to recognise emotional support animals for people with mental
illness as assistance animals?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the
question. The question has been redirected to the Minister for Local
Government, given that the member noted the registration of these animals is
under the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. The
following response has been provided by the Minister for Local Government.
(1)–(2)
The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries advises that
under the Dog Act 1976, permits can be issued
only for dogs to become assistance animals. If a person wishes to use another
kind of animal as an assistance animal, they may be able to register
under the commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
The WA assistance dog policy
recognises both non-physical and physical disabilities.
question. The question has been redirected to the Minister for Local
Government, given that the member noted the registration of these animals is
under the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. The
following response has been provided by the Minister for Local Government.
(1)–(2)
The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries advises that
under the Dog Act 1976, permits can be issued
only for dogs to become assistance animals. If a person wishes to use another
kind of animal as an assistance animal, they may be able to register
under the commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
The WA assistance dog policy
recognises both non-physical and physical disabilities.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.