Our pets and animals often provide us with comfort and unconditional support. But for some people, they're essential for navigating daily life. Even though people with assistance animals should be protected under federal law, they still face discrimination because of their support companion.
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00:00Maverick is not your average dog. He's trained to pick up the signs that Daria is about to suffer a medical episode.
00:10I don't have to wait for things to get worse and to have all those symptoms. He's able to tell me before anything happens.
00:20Trained assistance animals like Maverick help people with disabilities live full lives by being their eyes and ears or monitoring symptoms of chronic conditions.
00:30Under federal law, people who rely on trained assistance animals should be protected from discrimination.
00:37But in Tasmania, Daria says she and Maverick are often turned away from businesses like supermarkets.
00:44Tasmania has laws covering seeing and hearing dogs but not other types of assistance animals.
00:50The Anti-Discrimination Commission says making state laws the same as federal laws would prevent conflict.
00:57It's all very unclear and confusing for not just the people who rely on assistance animals but also people who have businesses and provide services.
01:09The Tasmanian government is part of a working group which drafted national principles for assistance animals.
01:15It says it will consider feedback from public consultation on those principles.
01:20For Daria, change is urgent as her health worsens and she relies on Maverick more than ever.
01:27If something isn't done now, it's only going to be worse long term. I'm only going to have more issues.