{"id":5540,"date":"2025-09-04T06:46:29","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T06:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/?page_id=5540"},"modified":"2025-09-08T14:45:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T14:45:02","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Research<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Working Animals Federation of Australia (WAFA) is committed to advancing ethical, inclusive, and evidence-informed practice across the working animal sector. One of the Federation\u2019s core roles is to support the responsible collection, analysis, and sharing of data to improve outcomes for animals, handlers, trainers, and the wider community.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Addressing the Sector\u2019s Data Gaps<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The number and types of working animals registered or reported by member organisations. Currently, there is limited reliable, up-to-date information available about the working animal landscape in Australia. Questions as basic\u2014and critical\u2014as how many assistance animals are currently active in the country, what types of roles they perform, where they are located, or how often they and their handlers experience discrimination or public access issues remain unanswered or inconsistently documented.\u00a0<\/p>

These gaps in sector-wide knowledge limit effective policymaking, hinder service planning, and leave working animals and their handlers vulnerable to under-recognition, exploitation, or harm.<\/p>

WAFA seeks to improve this by supporting the ethical gathering of incidental, de-identified data from a range of sources. Examples of this kind of data may include:<\/p>

  • The number and types of working animals registered or reported by member organisations<\/li>
  • Locations or industries where working animals are most active<\/li>
  • Common barriers to public access or discrimination incidents<\/li>
  • General patterns in training pathways, handler demographics, or welfare concerns<\/li><\/ul>

    None of this data would identify individuals, animals, or organisations without explicit, informed consent.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t

    Ethical Framework, Privacy, and Internal Policy Compliance<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

    All WAFA research and data activity is underpinned by strong ethical principles and compliance with Australian law. This includes:<\/p>\n\n

      \n
    • The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which govern how personal or sensitive information is collected, used, and stored<\/li>\n
    • The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (NHMRC, 2023), which provides guidelines for involving people, including those with disability, in safe, respectful research<\/li>\n
    • The Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes (NHMRC, 2013), which sets standards for any data or projects involving animals in a research context<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

      In addition to these legal and ethical standards, WAFA abides by its own Research Policy, which outlines our commitment to transparency, inclusion, voluntary participation, and the respectful treatment of both people and animals involved in research-related activities. This internal policy ensures accountability, protects contributors, and aligns our practices with the lived values of our sector.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

      \n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\t

      Collaborative Research and Optional Participation\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

      From time to time, WAFA may collaborate with universities, government agencies, or independent researchers on ethically approved studies. These may focus on areas such as:<\/p>\n\n

        \n
      • The welfare and role of working animals<\/li>\n
      • The lived experiences of handlers<\/li>\n
      • Legal and social barriers to public access<\/li>\n
      • Community perceptions and sector training needs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

        If WAFA is invited to participate or share a research opportunity, members and subscribers may receive an invitation via our website or newsletter. Participation will always be optional, with no impact on membership or services for those who choose not to take part.<\/p>\n\n

        Examples of optional research engagement may include:<\/p>\n\n

          \n
        • Completing a short anonymous survey or quiz on a topic relevant to working animals<\/li>\n
        • Participating in a community discussion or online workshop for research purposes<\/li>\n
        • Contributing experiences to an ethics-approved university study<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

          From time to time, WAFA may also run its own community-based research activities\u2014such as polls, feedback sessions, or forums\u2014to support shared learning and elevate voices from within the sector. These initiatives will also follow our internal Research Policy and be clearly marked as optional.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

          \n\t\t\t\t
          \n\t\t\t\t\t

          Building a Shared Evidence Base<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
          \n\t\t\t\t
          \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

          WAFA is also working toward the creation of a shared, de-identified data repository to support transparency, advocacy, funding applications, training evaluation, and long-term research.<\/p>\n\n

          We believe that collective, ethically sourced data\u2014contributed voluntarily and used responsibly\u2014can improve outcomes for everyone in the sector, including:<\/p>\n\n

            \n
          • Handlers and people with disability<\/li>\n
          • Animal welfare professionals<\/li>\n
          • Trainers and assessors<\/li>\n
          • Businesses, service providers, and access officers<\/li>\n
          • Researchers and policymakers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

            This community-informed knowledge base will help build a fairer, safer, and more evidence-driven future for all those who rely on or work with animals in service roles.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Research The Working Animals Federation of Australia (WAFA) is committed to advancing ethical, inclusive, and evidence-informed practice across the working animal sector. One of the Federation\u2019s core roles is to support the responsible collection, analysis, and sharing of data to improve outcomes for animals, handlers, trainers, and the wider community. Addressing the Sector\u2019s Data Gaps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5540","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5540"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5723,"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5540\/revisions\/5723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/workinganimals.com.au\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}