Train Dogs to Help People in Need.
Learn How for Just $25 per Week.

This course is designed for adult learners in Australia who want to work professionally with therapy or assistance dogs, whether as trainers, allied health professionals, disability support workers, or volunteers setting up a therapy dog visiting program. It suits people entering the field as well as those already working with dogs who want to formalise their knowledge. No prior formal training qualifications are required to enrol.

You will develop skills across the full pipeline of therapy and assistance dog work, including conducting temperament assessments, building task-specific training plans for mobility, psychiatric, and medical alert work, and training handlers as part of a working team. The course also covers how to set up a therapy dog visiting program and work professionally within aged care, hospital, and disability support settings. Lessons are applied and hands-on in focus rather than purely theoretical.

The course is specifically built around the Australian context. It covers the Australian legal framework for assistance animals, state-by-state public access rights, Assistance Dogs Australia accreditation standards, and NDIS-adjacent support roles. There is dedicated content on working within aged care and hospital facilities under Australian professional expectations, so the material is directly applicable to your work here.

The course is structured around 126 hours of study across 50 lessons and 5 modules. If you have existing experience and want to move through the content efficiently, the fast-track option allows you to complete it in approximately 14 hours by focusing on the core assessed material. Most learners will fall somewhere in between depending on how deeply they engage with each topic.

Upon completion you will receive a Certificate in Therapy and Assistance Dog Training. The course holds ICOES certification and carries CPD recognition, which supports its standing for continuing professional development purposes. While it is not a government-accredited VET qualification, it demonstrates verified, structured learning in a specialist field with growing professional demand.

This course provides structured, sequenced learning across a curriculum designed specifically for the Australian therapy and assistance dog sector, covering areas that free online content rarely addresses in depth, such as legal frameworks, certification pathways, handler training, and working within clinical environments. It culminates in a capstone assessment where you design a complete therapy or assistance dog program, giving you a tangible, professional output. You also receive a recognised credential upon completion, which carries weight when working with organisations or clients.