Audience: Registered Occupational Therapists seeking advanced professional education and credentialing in Assistance Animal Occupational Therapy.

Prerequisite: Current AHPRA registration as an Occupational Therapist, together with the applicable entry, screening, insurance and prerequisite-training requirements outlined below.

Recommended Professional Experience: Applicants are strongly encouraged to have completed at least two years equivalent full-time professional practice as an Occupational Therapist before commencing AAOT. Applicants with less than two years’ experience may be considered where they have substantial relevant assistance-animal experience, including experience as an assistance-animal handler, subject to WAFA approval.

Academic Level: The AAOT Credential has been designed at a level comparable in complexity and depth to AQF Level 9 postgraduate learning. It is a professional credential issued by WAFA and is not currently a TEQSA-accredited higher-education qualification or AQF qualification.

Goal: Equip Occupational Therapists with the advanced knowledge, professional reasoning, practical skills and interdisciplinary understanding required to assess, recommend, support and review assistance-animal interventions safely, ethically and competently.

Length: The credential is designed to be completed over approximately 18–24 months by Occupational Therapists balancing study with professional practice and other responsibilities.

AAOT is completed at your own pace. There is no arbitrary fixed completion deadline provided WAFA can see reasonable ongoing progress and you remain engaged with the credential. If you need to take time away because of work, disability, illness, caring responsibilities or other significant circumstances, contact your trainer.

The credential should not be treated as a short course to be rushed through. Even where an applicant has substantial time available for study, they should not expect to complete the developmental process simply by working intensively through portal content over a few months.

CPD: AAOT learning and professional-development activities may contribute to your individual professional-development planning. Credential holders must also meet WAFA’s ongoing AAOT CPD and supervision requirements after graduation.

Availability: WAFA Tier 3 Professional Credential

Delivery: Online, self-paced professional learning supported by workbooks, applied case studies, practical activities, professional consultation, Community of Practice participation, supervision and trainer support.

Support: Each participant will be allocated a WAFA point-of-contact trainer for the credential. Participants may contact their trainer by email, seek formative feedback on workbook material, and discuss appropriate professional questions through the AAOT Community of Practice.

WAFA encourages participants not to work through AAOT in isolation. Professional discussion, interdisciplinary consultation and learning from other practitioners are important components of the credential.

Participants can join the Assistance Animals for Occupational Therapists Community of Practice to communicate with WAFA professionals, trainers and other AAOT students.

About the AAOT Credential

Assistance Animal Occupational Therapy sits at the intersection of:

• Occupational Therapy;
• disability and human rights;
• occupational performance;
• assistance-animal assessment;
• animal behaviour and learning;
• animal health and welfare;
• veterinary care;
• public-access law;
• ethics and governance;
• risk management;
• safeguarding;
• environmental and social context;
• interdisciplinary practice; and
• professional decision-making.

The role of an AAOT extends well beyond completing an NDIS form or writing a letter supporting an assistance animal.

An Occupational Therapist involved in assistance-animal practice may need to determine:

• what occupational problem is actually being addressed;
• whether an assistance animal is an appropriate intervention;
• whether other interventions should be attempted first;
• what disability-related tasks are required;
• whether the proposed animal is suitable;
• whether the person’s environment and circumstances can support the intervention;
• what risks exist for the handler, animal and wider community;
• what evidence is required;
• whether animal welfare can be maintained;
• what training and ongoing supports are necessary;
• how the intervention should be reviewed; and
• when another profession should take the lead.

AAOT therefore develops specialist professional reasoning, rather than teaching Occupational Therapists simply how to endorse assistance-animal applications.

Course Structure

AAOT begins with an extensive Introduction and Foundation Learning program before participants commence the ten core units.

The introductory material establishes expectations for postgraduate professional learning, reflective practice, research, academic integrity, use of artificial intelligence, professional contribution and Capstone development.

Participants then complete prerequisite and Foundation Learning activities covering areas that repeatedly arise in real assistance-animal practice.

These include human rights, disability models, supported decision-making, NDIS participant rights, cultural safety, neurodivergence, refugee rights, LGBTQ+ inclusion, safeguarding, trauma, addiction, suicide awareness, modern slavery and homelessness.

The core curriculum then consists of:

1. Work Health and Safety (WHS) in the Assistance Animal Industry
2. Environmental Sustainability in the Assistance Animal Industry
3. Infection Prevention, Biosecurity and One Health in the Assistance Animal Industry
4. Applied Canine Behaviour, Communication and Problem Solving in the Assistance Animal Industry
5. Assistance Animal Industry, Law, Ethics and Governance
6. Animal Behaviour, Welfare and Learning in the Assistance Animal Industry
7. Animal Health, Veterinary Care and First Aid
8. Assistance Animal Selection, Training and Placement
9. Occupational Therapy Assessment for Assistance Animals
10. The Assistance Animal Profession

The units differ substantially in size and complexity.

Learning Resources

Each unit contains a combination of resources appropriate to the subject matter. These may include:

• core AAOT learning material;
• unit workbooks;
• detailed case studies;
• reflective activities;
• professional-reasoning exercises;
• templates;
• policies and procedures;
• forms and checklists;
• example documentation;
• suggested readings;
• peer-reviewed literature;
• legislation and regulatory material;
• professional guidance;
• videos and external learning resources;
• practical activities; and
• material that can contribute to your Reflective Portfolio or Capstone.

The resources provided by WAFA are intended to support your learning rather than prescribe every source you must use.

You may choose to explore all suggested resources, select those that are particularly useful to your existing knowledge and practice, or identify credible professional, academic, government or industry resources independently.

You may already have excellent resources available through your workplace, university, professional memberships, library access or previous study.

Part of postgraduate learning is developing the ability to locate, evaluate and appropriately apply evidence independently.

The objective is therefore not to demonstrate that you clicked every link supplied by WAFA.

The objective is to demonstrate that you can understand, evaluate, integrate and apply appropriate evidence to AAOT practice.

Assessment and Applied Learning

AAOT uses a broad professional portfolio approach rather than relying upon a single examination.

Depending upon the unit and stage of the credential, participants may complete:

• reflective workbooks;
• applied case studies;
• professional-reasoning exercises;
• policy and procedure development;
• practical demonstrations;
• video evidence of relevant animal-training or handling skills;
• assessment and observation activities;
• literature-based activities;
• professional interviews or conversations;
• interdisciplinary learning activities;
• written case work;
• reflective portfolio evidence;
• practical projects;
• integrated professional activities;
• and Capstone work.

The emphasis is on demonstrating that you can apply knowledge in professional context.

Many reflective activities do not have one predetermined correct answer. Strong responses may involve identifying uncertainty, recognising that additional evidence is required, considering competing rights or welfare issues, or recognising that another professional should be consulted.

Your reasoning matters.

Reflective Portfolio

Throughout AAOT, participants develop a Reflective Portfolio documenting learning, practical experience, professional growth and applied competence.

The portfolio may incorporate evidence from across the credential, including:

• reflective learning;
• case work;
• practical activities;
• professional conversations;
• supervision;
• interdisciplinary engagement;
• policy development;
• client or professional feedback where appropriate;
• training activities;
• and Capstone development.

Participants are encouraged to build the portfolio throughout the credential rather than leaving it until the end.

Capstone Project

AAOT includes an overarching Capstone Project through which participants can make a meaningful contribution to assistance-animal education, practice, professional development, rights, responsibilities, access, welfare or another relevant area.

The Capstone is deliberately flexible.

Projects may include, for example:

• a professional resource;
• public education material;
• an assistance-animal access initiative;
• a practice guideline;
• a policy proposal;
• an advocacy resource;
• training material;
• a research-informed project;
• a professional tool;
• a service-improvement initiative; or
• another approved contribution relevant to assistance-animal practice.

Participants are encouraged to begin identifying possible Capstone ideas early in the credential rather than waiting until the final unit.

Required Nationally Recognised and Specialist Training

Before commencing the credential, applicants must meet the applicable prerequisite requirements, which currently include:

• HLTAID011 — Provide First Aid
• ACMGEN309 — Provide Basic Animal First Aid
• 11379NAT — Course in Initial Response to a Mental Health Crisis, or the approved Mental Health First Aid pathway
• CHCDFV001 — Recognise and Respond Appropriately to Domestic and Family Violence

These requirements provide a consistent safety foundation for AAOT practice.

The credential then asks participants to apply that training to assistance-animal-specific situations through the AAOT Prerequisite Training Reflection & Application Workbook.

Additional Costs and Resources

Depending upon your circumstances, additional costs include:

• external prerequisite qualifications prior to enrollment;
• renewal of prerequisite training;
• required professional checks (e.g. police clearance,WWCC);
• books or other learning resources you choose to purchase;
• access to databases or publications you choose to purchase;
• travel associated with practical or professional activities; or
• other incidental professional expenses.

Participants will require reliable internet access and appropriate computer equipment, as well as access to a mobile phone or video camera for some assessments.

Access to academic literature is also essential. Many university alumni programs provide low-cost library access, while State Libraries, the National Library of Australia and many public libraries provide free access to substantial collections and research databases.

WAFA will provide suggested resources wherever possible, but participants are expected to develop independent postgraduate research and information-literacy skills.

Reasonable Adjustments

WAFA is committed to disability inclusion and recognises that Occupational Therapists undertaking AAOT may themselves require reasonable adjustments.

Applicants are not required to disclose disability unless they wish to request an adjustment or the information is otherwise relevant to a specific professional requirement.

Adjustments may relate to areas such as:

• timeframes;
• assessment format;
• practical activities;
• communication;
• accessibility;
• use of assistive technology;
• breaks;
• alternative ways of demonstrating learning;
• or other reasonable modifications.

Where a participant experiences illness, disability impacts, caring responsibilities or significant life circumstances affecting progress, please communicate with WAFA.

Life happens.

The credential is designed to support meaningful professional learning rather than penalise participants simply because their circumstances temporarily change.

Continuing Requirements After Graduation

AAOT is an active professional credential.

Graduation does not end your responsibilities to WAFA.

Credential holders must continue to meet applicable:

• annual renewal requirements;
• annual membership fee;
• AHPRA registration requirements;
• insurance requirements;
• safeguarding and screening requirements;
• prerequisite-training currency;
• WAFA CPD, supervison and engagement requirements;
• annual declarations;
• practice statistics and reporting requirements;
• Registry requirements; and
• professional standing obligations.

Credential holders are responsible for keeping their information and required training current and notifying WAFA of material changes between renewal periods where required.

WAFA aims to keep additional fees and ongoing requirements proportionate and affordable, recognising that Occupational Therapists already maintain substantial professional obligations through AHPRA.

Course Objectives

By completing the AAOT Credential, graduates should be able to:

• apply advanced Occupational Therapy reasoning to assistance-animal intervention;
• determine when an assistance animal may or may not be an appropriate intervention;
• undertake comprehensive assistance-animal OT assessment;
• distinguish disability-related tasks from companionship, therapeutic benefit and other animal roles;
• understand relevant Australian assistance-animal law and governance;
• integrate human rights, supported decision-making and disability-affirming practice;
• assess the interaction between the person, animal, occupation and environment;
• recognise and appropriately respond to animal health, welfare and behavioural concerns;
• work constructively with veterinarians, trainers, psychologists, medical practitioners, support providers and other professionals;
• understand animal selection, training, placement and ongoing maintenance;
• evaluate evidence provided by other professionals without substituting it for their own assessment;
• identify and manage relevant professional, human and animal risks;
• recognise safeguarding concerns involving people or animals;
• work within professional scope and seek appropriate interdisciplinary input;
• develop sustainable professional policies, procedures and systems;
• produce defensible professional documentation and recommendations;
• support assistance-animal teams throughout assessment, working life, review, retirement and transition;
• engage in reflective and evidence-informed professional practice; and
• contribute positively to the developing assistance-animal profession.

Award

Participants who successfully complete all requirements will be eligible for conferral of the:

WAFA Assistance Animal Occupational Therapist Credential — AAOT

Only after formal conferral may the graduate use the AAOT postnominal and applicable WAFA credential marks.

Graduates will also be included in the WAFA Credential Holder Public Registry, subject to meeting applicable professional standing and ongoing credential requirements.

The credential remains active only while the holder continues to satisfy WAFA’s applicable renewal, professional-development, supervision, reporting, professional standing and other ongoing requirements.

Your AAOT Journey

AAOT is intentionally comprehensive.

You are not expected to begin the credential already knowing everything contained within it.

You are expected to engage, question, research, practise, reflect, consult, reconsider and develop.

By the time you graduate, the goal is not simply that you know more about assistance animals.

It is that you can bring together Occupational Therapy, disability rights, animal welfare, evidence, professional judgement and interdisciplinary practice to make safe, ethical and defensible decisions for real assistance-animal teams.