To be eligible for a registration fee exemption, the person with the disability (or their legal guardian) is required to make an application to register their assistance dog with council.
You must provide evidence that:
• they (or their client) have a disability that requires an assistance dog
• the assistance dog is trained to ease the effect(s) of the disability
• the assistance dog has completed obedience training provided by a dog trainer
• the assistance dog is at least 12 months old
• the assistance dog is desexed.
Please Note: Obedience training can be completed as part of the assistance skills training to ease the effect(s) of the disability.
The exemption will not apply to:
• an assistance dog that is a declared dangerous, menacing, or is a restricted breed dog.
• the owner of an assistance dog that has been convicted of two or more offences under the Domestic Animals Act with the same assistance dog.
Dog trainer means a person who:
(a) provides training at a dog obedience training organisation approved under section 5B of the Act; or
(b) has a Certificate III in Dog Behaviour and Training or Certificate IV in Companion Animal
Services.
Obedience training means a training program that assesses an assistance dog in the following:
(a) heeling or walking with a handler, without sniffing, marking or wandering;
(b) sociability with other dogs;
(c) responsiveness to a handler’s commands, including staying on command (known as a stay test) and coming to a handler on command (known as a recall test);
(d) absence of aggression towards humans or other animals;
(e) absence of anxiety, stress, fear, or undue excitement when in public places; and
(f) standard of hygiene appropriate for a public place.