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Assistance Animals and Companion Animals
Tweed Holiday Parks (THP) maintains a strict no-pets policy across all holiday parks to ensure the safety, comfort, and enjoyment of all guests and the protection of our natural environments.Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and the Companion Animals Act 1998 (NSW), a person with disability is legally entitled to be accompanied by a genuine assistance animal.
An assistance animal is not a pet. It is an animal (most commonly a dog) that has been: specifically trained by an accredited organisation, or trained by its owner to meet recognised standards of hygiene, behaviour, and public safety, to assist a person with disability in alleviating the effects of that disability.
Assistance animals include guide dogs, hearing dogs, mobility assistance dogs, and other trained support animals.
The following are not classified as assistance animals and are not permitted in THP parks:
- Companion pets (dogs or cats)
- Therapy animals (used for emotional comfort, counselling, or wellbeing support)
- Animals without recognised disability-related training and standards compliance
A letter from a doctor or general obedience training alone is not sufficient evidence of an assistance animal.
THP is entitled to request reasonable evidence that an animal is a genuine assistance animal. Acceptable evidence may include:
- Documentation or certification from a recognised assistance animal training organisation
- Identification, accreditation, or official handler documentation
- Confirmation that the animal is trained to meet public access standards (behaviour and hygiene)
Recognised training organisations may include (but are not limited to):
- Assistance Dogs Australia
- Guide Dogs NSW/ACT
- Guide Dogs SA/NT
- Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dogs
- Lions Hearing Dogs
- Righteous Pups Australia
- Australian Support Dogs (ASDOG)
- Royal Society for the Blind Guide and Assistance Dog Service
To support clear understanding and community awareness, THP requires that assistance animals:
- are appropriately identifiable (e.g. harness, vest, or jacket) when in public areas of the park
- remain under effective control of their handler at all times
- THP complies fully with anti-discrimination legislation and recognises the rights of guests with assistance animals.
- However, THP does not permit pets or therapy animals under any circumstances.
- Where there is uncertainty about an animal's status, staff are authorised to request supporting documentation.
- If a dispute arises, guests should be referred to THP Head Office for resolution.