Advice Support Tool — Assistance animals: Capital Purchase, Maintenance

MR25/00038 | FOI 24/25-0317 DOCUMENT 2

Advice Support Tool

Theme: Assistance Animals

Sub-Theme(s): Assistance Animal (Capital Purchase), Assistance Animal (Maintenance). Please note: Sub themes have been combined as the same reasonable and necessary considerations apply for a Capital (new) purchase animal or a request for ongoing maintenance costs. If a participant already has an assistance animal, and requests maintenance costs only, we first need to decide if the animal itself meets NDIS funding criteria.

References: [include any relevant referenced documents]

NDIS Act 2013 Section 34 1. (a) - (f) and 2.

NDIS Support for Participant Rules 2013

Assessment Template- Assistance Animal

Assistance Animals (including dog guides) Operational Guideline Would we fund it quide- Assistance animals | NDIS

Would we fund it quide- Therapy animals | NDIS

Would we fund it guide- Pets and companion animals | NDIS

Note: All criteria need to be met for the supports to be funded through the NDIS.

Criteria for reasonable Is criteria Considerations (including evidence used) and necessary supports met? 34.1(a) Enabling the ( ) ; 9 UU Yes The participant may or may not have a goal explicitly participant’s goals and oo. related to the assistance animal however, advisor objectives ONo should consider how the support of an assistance (supports will assist the animal is likely to assist the participant to achieve their participant to pursue the NDIS plan goals. S47E(ay=\certain operations of agencies goals and objectives in their plan) 34.1(b) Assist the OO Yes To determine whether the animal will assist with social participant’s social and and economic participation, consider the following: economic participation ON . . oo. ° e What social or economic activities the (supports will assist the participant does currently or will do. participant to undertake ; ; ; . activities to facilitate their e The specific tasks the animal will be trained to social and economic perform. participation ) e The specific environment(s) the participant and the animal will require access to. Please note: All assistance animals must pass the Public Access Test (PAT). S47E(@)=icertainjoperationsjoragencies Version 1.0 24/08/2023 Page 1 of 7

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s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies

Criteria for reasonable & necessary supports	Is criteria met?	Considerations (including evidence used)
34.1(c) Value for money (supports represents value for money, ie the costs of support are reasonable, both in terms of the benefits achieved and the cost of alternative support)
Yes
To determine whether the support of an assistance animal represents value for money, consider:

• Have alternative supports redacted been explored and implemented? What was the outcome of those interventions? Are there any planned interventions and what is the expected outcome of those? | No |

s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies

are there comparable support options which would achieve the same outcome at a substantially lower cost? What alternative supports were considered?

is there evidence that the support will substantially improve the life stage outcomes and be of long-term benefit to the participant?

is there evidence that funding support is likely to increase independence and reduce funded support costs in the long-term?

is there evidence the support will increase the participants’s independence.

e What specific (measurable) tasks will the animal be trained to actively assist with, how often and in what environments?

e How will the support of a specially trained animal facilitate independence and reduce the need for other supports for example, capacity building supports redacted: s47e(@ye

s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies

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Criteria for reasonable Is criteria Considerations (including evidence used) is supports met?

s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies

The text appears cut off here.

Is there evidence the quoted support cost is comparable to expected cost of same kind of supports? a= de

34.1(d) Support is effective

☐ Yes To determine whether the support will be, or is likely to be effective and beneficial, consider: s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies

☐ No

(supports will be, or are likely to be, effective for desired effect and beneficial for the participant, having regard to current good practice). Consider NDIS Support for Participant Rules 2013 Part 3.2 and 3.3

What are the expected benefits of the support provision?

HHow will effectiveness of achieved outcome be measured?

When will effectiveness of achieved outcome be achieved? e Whether the animal meets the NDIS definition of an assistance animal i.e.,

o It must be trained to perform minimum 3 active tasks to mitigate the impact of the participant’s disability. The tasks are things that the animal wouldn’t perform naturally, nor benefits achieved simply by its presence, rather specially trained active tasks for example, guiding a person with a vision impairment, or opening /closing doors for someone with a physical impairment. Generally, the animal performing these active tasks will result in

Criteria for reasonable Is criteria Considerations (including evidence used) and necessary supports | met?

improved independence for the participant, and a reduced need for other types of supports.

o The animal has or will pass the Public Access Test (PAT).

o The animal has been or will be trained by an accredited assistance animal provider

Have they completed a trial with an assistance animal to determine its likely effectiveness?

o Information may also be provided by the participant (i.e., lived experience) or medical professionals as needed for example, treating Psychiatrist.

e Assessing providers are strongly encouraged to

use the Assessment Template- Assistance Animal, or may provide equivalent information/evidence on their own template.

Consider who will be the primary handler of the animal, s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies

34.1(e) Support 0D Yes coordinates with but does

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| Criteria for reasonable and necessary supports | Is criteria met? | Considerations (including evidence used) | :––––––––––––––––––––––– | :———––: | :—————————————— - | not replace informal support

(funding or provision of supports takes account of what it is reasonable to expect families, carers, informal networks and the community to provide)

Consider NDIS Support for Participant Rules 2013 Part 3.4 | O No | s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies

34.1(f) Support is most appropriately funded by the NDIS

(supports are not more appropriately funded or provided through other general service systems or universal service obligations

Consider Schedule 1.

OO Yes O No |

• Consider whether the animal meets the NDIS definition of an assistance animal, who will own the animal and be its primary handler and what environments the animal will be used.
• There are other types of animals in disability assistance roles for example, therapy animals, visitation animals, emotional support animals etc., which are used in a clinical, residential, and educational settings. In the case that the animal will be trained to work in a specific setting, to bring enjoyment to clients or students, and/or animal ownership is retained by someone else, this support would not be most appropriately funded by NDIS.
• Consider whether a compensable scheme is involved, s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies

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Criteria for Reasonable Supports & Considerations

A table outlining criteria for reasonable supports and associated considerations:

Criteria
Support will not cause harm (Supports will not be funded if it is likely to cause harm to the participant or pose a risk to others, or the support would be contrary to a law of a jurisdiction)
Consider NDIS Support for Participant Rules 2013 Part 5.1and 5.3
Is criteria met? Yes / No
Considerations (including evidence used)
e Consider whether there are any risks to the participant, or risks to the animal’s welfare, including: s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies o Whether the home environment is suitable (incl. consideration of home environment, other pets, occupants, potential stressors to the animal). o Whether the participant (or others in the household) have behaviors of concern. s47E(d) - certain operations of agencies
Support is directly related to the participant’s disability (supports will not be funded under the NDIS if they do not relate to the participant’s disability or are day-to-day expenses or income replacement) Consider NDIS Support for Participant Rules 2013 Part 5.1 and 5.2
To determine whether the animal is a disability related support, consider: e The specific (minimum 3) active tasks the animal will perform to alleviate the impact of the participant’s disability. e How the animal helps with their disability needs more than a pet or companion animal would. e It’s acknowledged that pets provide many benefits to people, whether they have a disability or not. Research evidence shows that animal ownership can have a number of physical and psychological benefits including but not limited to, increased

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Criteria for Reasonable and Necessary Supports

The table below outlines criteria that must be considered when determining whether a support is reasonable and necessary.

| Criteria for reasonable and necessary supports | | Is criteria met? | | Considerations (including evidence used)| | Physical activity, companionship, mental health benefits etc. The benefits of an assistance animal need to be considered, over an above those of a companion animal or pet. || N/A Support does not duplicate other supports (supports do not duplicate other supports delivered under alternative funding through the NDIS such as Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) funding.) Consider NDIS Support for Participant Rules 2013 Part 5.1 || Yes O No Are all of the above criteria met for all supports? ||Yes ONo