Service dogs in Melbourne, Victoria

Melbourne VIC 3000

It only takes one minute and it's free.

Organisations that train and place guide, hearing and assistance dogs. Typically $20,000-$50,000+ (training and placement), $3,000-$5,000/year ongoing, funded through NDIS, charities or private fees.

12 providers cover Melbourne · 2 minutes to first enquiry acceptance in Melbourne

Assistance dog providers in Melbourne

12 providers in Melbourne
Funded via NDIS, charities or private fees
Assistance dog organisations and training
Free. One request, providers contact you.

It only takes one minute and it's free.

Assistance dog providers in Melbourne

12 providers in Melbourne
Funded via NDIS, charities or private fees
Assistance dog organisations and training
Free. One request, providers contact you.

Recent activity in Melbourne

Measured to 23 October 2026

83
care requests from Melbourne: 5,501
providers reached: 1,492
opened the contact details

Carevo platform activity, not a measure of care quality or availability. A provider opening enquiry details records an intention to make contact, not an appointment or care delivered. How we measure this.

Activity figures describe Carevo enquiries, not appointments or care quality. Acceptance timing excludes unclaimed enquiries. Confirm current capacity directly. Measurement period and method.

See all providers in Melbourne, VIC

About Service Dogs in Melbourne

This guide compares service dogs providers in Melbourne, ordered by service match, distance, register status and activity on Carevo. There are currently 12 service dogs providers serving Melbourne.

Frequently Asked Questions

How quickly do providers respond to enquiries in Melbourne?

Based on 1426 accepted enquiries on Carevo in Melbourne, providers accept enquiry details with a median of 2 minutes. 76% of enquiries in Melbourne have enquiry details accepted within 1 hour, and 90% within 24 hours. This covers every service in Melbourne, so it differs from the service dogs figure below.

How many service dogs providers are in Melbourne?

There are currently 12 service dogs providers serving Melbourne listed on Carevo.

How much does service dogs cost in Melbourne?

Service Dogs in Melbourne typically costs $20,000-$50,000+ (training and placement), $3,000-$5,000/year ongoing. Rates depend on the provider and the type of support required.

How do I choose a service dogs provider in Melbourne?

Look for providers who are NDIS registered, have experience with your specific needs, and service Melbourne. Use our directory to compare providers, check the registration details they report, and view their service offerings.

Can I choose my own service dogs provider in Melbourne?

Yes. Carevo lists 12 service dogs providers serving Melbourne, and you are free to choose the one that best fits your needs. You can compare providers by their services, reported registration, and coverage area before making a decision.

What qualifications should service dogs providers in Melbourne have?

Providers should hold relevant industry qualifications, current police checks, and appropriate insurance. NDIS-funded services require providers to meet the NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators. Always confirm a provider's credentials before engaging their services.

What happens if I'm not happy with my service dogs provider in Melbourne?

You have the right to change your service dogs provider at any time. If you are unhappy with the service in Melbourne, contact the provider directly to raise your concerns. If the issue is not resolved, you can switch to another provider on Carevo or lodge a complaint with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

Is service dogs available on weekends in Melbourne?

Many service dogs providers in Melbourne offer weekend and after-hours support. Weekend services may attract higher rates under NDIS pricing arrangements. Contact providers directly through Carevo to confirm their weekend availability.

How do I know if a service dogs provider in Melbourne is NDIS registered?

You can verify a provider's NDIS registration on the NDIS Commission's public register at ndiscommission.gov.au. Providers listed on Carevo display the registration details sourced from the public registers on their profile. If you are plan-managed or self-managed, you can also use non-registered providers for some services.

Care services available in Melbourne

How many providers cover each type of support in Melbourne.

Support Workers1047 providers

Social Support1001 providers

Personal Care983 providers

Cleaning969 providers

Transport919 providers

Life Skills892 providers

Supported Independent Living825 providers

Support Coordination810 providers

Respite Care705 providers

Nursing609 providers

View all services →

How Much Does Service Dogs Cost in Melbourne?

Service Dogs in Melbourne typically costs $20,000-$50,000+ (training and placement), $3,000-$5,000/year ongoing. Rates vary depending on the provider, time of day, and complexity of support required. Weekend, evening, and public holiday rates are generally higher.

Common funding options: NDIS Assistive Technology, NDIS Capacity Building, Charitable funding, Private.

Source: NDIS pricing schedule 2026-27

What does service dogs cost? Full pricing and funding guide

How to Pay for Service Dogs in Melbourne

Service Dogs in Melbourne can be funded through NDIS Assistive Technology, NDIS Capacity Building, Charitable funding, Private. Many providers also accept private payment. Your funding type affects which providers you can access and how services are invoiced. If you have an NDIS plan, check that your plan includes the relevant support category. For aged care packages, your package coordinator can help arrange services.

What Service Dogs Is Like in Melbourne

Finding service dogs in Melbourne starts with understanding your needs and matching them to the right provider. Carevo connects you with providers who list coverage of Melbourne and surrounding areas. A listing is not an endorsement, so confirm registration and suitability yourself. Once connected, providers will typically arrange an initial consultation to discuss your support requirements, scheduling preferences, and any specific needs.

How to check a provider's credentials

Carevo shows register-sourced status fields and links you to the official Australian registers so you can confirm the current entry yourself. Here is what each listing shows and where to check it. A listing on Carevo is not an endorsement.

NDIS registration

Listings show whether a provider reports being NDIS registered. You can confirm a provider's current registration and approved support types yourself on the NDIS Commission's public provider register.

Source: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

Aged care approval

The aged care approval label is sourced from the Australian Government's My Aged Care provider register. Confirm the current entry and the services listed there before choosing a provider.

Source: My Aged Care (Department of Health and Aged Care)

ABN you can check

Most listings include the provider's Australian Business Number, shown on the profile. You can look it up on the Australian Business Register to confirm the business is registered and active.

Source: Australian Business Register

Complaints process

If you have a concern about any provider, you can lodge a complaint with the NDIS Commission or the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission at any time. We also accept complaints via our own channel.

Source: NDIS Commission / Aged Care Commission

Service Dogs at a glance

Funding: NDIS Assistive Technology, NDIS Capacity Building, Charitable funding, Private
Availability: Waitlist typically 12-24 months
Wait time: Confirm current availability and a start date directly with the provider
Cost: $20,000-$50,000+ (training and placement), $3,000-$5,000/year ongoing
Hours: By appointment for assessment
Median enquiry acceptance: 2 minutes

Most requested support in Melbourne

Based on 513 actual requests from participants and families in Melbourne on Carevo.

Cleaning 193 requests · 969 providers

Personal care 135 requests · 983 providers

Therapy 70 requests · 488 providers

Gardening 47 requests · 336 providers

Transport 35 requests · 919 providers

Meal Services 33 requests · 324 providers

Real care requests submitted by people in Melbourne through Carevo. Updated each build from inquiry records.

Care demand in Melbourne

In the last 90 days, participants, families and coordinators in Melbourne made 296 care requests through Carevo, and 38% were marked urgent. The funding mix was 39% NDIS, 54% Home Care Package or aged care, and 7% privately funded.

Based on real requests submitted to Carevo. Updated each build.

Victoria Regulations & Compliance

In Victoria, NDIS providers may be registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, and registered providers comply with the NDIS Practice Standards. Registration is mandatory only for specified supports and circumstances, such as specialist disability accommodation, plan management, and supports involving regulated restrictive practices. Self-managed and plan-managed participants may generally choose registered or unregistered providers; NDIA-managed participants must use registered providers. Aged care providers operate under the Aged Care Quality Standards. Victoria also maintains its own Disability Worker Registration Scheme, requiring disability workers to meet additional state-level standards. Registered providers are audited by the NDIS Commission.

NDIS Quality & Safeguards Commission

Phone: 1800 035 544

Website: ndiscommission.gov.au

Aged Care Quality & Safety Commission

Phone: 1800 951 822

Website: agedcarequality.gov.au

Statement of Rights Complaints Policy Privacy Policy

About Melbourne

Population 65+, Greater Melbourne

745,089 (15.1%)

State avg 18.6%

Need help with daily activities

274,090 (5.5%)

State avg 6.1%

Nearest hospital

Royal Melbourne Hospital

Public transport

Free Tram Zone

Pharmacies

Chemist Warehouse Bourke Street • Priceline Pharmacy Melbourne Central

Community support

City of Melbourne Seniors Festival • Multicultural Hub programs

Australia's most multicultural city. Diverse international communities including Greek, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Indian.

Flat CBD grid with excellent tram accessibility. Free City Circle tram. Most buildings have lift access.

Postcode: 3000

Data: ABS Census 2021 (Greater Melbourne)

The response time above is based on 1,426 requests of all types in Melbourne. We do not yet have enough assistance dog support providers requests in Melbourne to report how many providers respond to a typical request here. How we calculate our numbers

How we rank providers

Rankings in Melbourne use directory relevance and observable activity on Carevo: service match, distance, register-sourced status fields, whether an enquiry can reach the provider, and recent response and connection activity. Rankings are recalculated daily. They do not assess care quality or recommend a provider.

How this list is built. Providers shown here are registered with the NDIS for Assistance Animals, or offer assistance animals. Generalist providers who only mention this service in passing are excluded, so the list reflects genuine, demonstrated capability.
Activity on Carevo. We measure recent actions such as connecting on an enquiry, opening its contact details, responding, and an inquirer reporting whether a connection helped. These are platform activity signals, not an assessment of the support delivered.
Service match. Providers are ranked by how closely their registered services and capabilities match what you are searching for.
Register-sourced status. NDIS registration fields come from the NDIS Commission provider register. Aged care approval fields come from the My Aged Care register. These statuses are ranking inputs, not Carevo endorsements, and you should confirm the current register entry before choosing a provider.
Carevo enquiries. Providers who have paused requests from us are moved down among providers with the same relevance. They stay visible and are marked as not receiving Carevo enquiries.
Recent activity. Providers active on Carevo recently (a connection, a login, or a profile update) get a small boost, the same signal shown as "Active this week" on their card. It is deliberately small: stronger relevance and condition evidence outweigh a recent login.
Local presence. Providers confirmed in Melbourne rank above those covering only the broader region.

What the enquiries status means

It answers one question: would a request sent through Carevo today actually reach them? It is not a rating, it is not about the provider's books, and it is not a statement about their capacity, their waiting list, or the quality of their care.

Receiving: At least one contact on their account is set up to receive new requests from us, and someone has signed in recently enough for us to say a person is there.
Not receiving: Every contact on the account has unsubscribed or paused, so we have no way to pass an enquiry on.
No status shown: We cannot tell either way, so we say nothing rather than label the provider. The account is set to receive enquiries, but nobody has signed in recently, or there are no contact details on file. It is not a negative mark, and most listings sit here.

A provider who is not receiving our enquiries may well be taking new clients directly. Providers set this themselves and can turn it back on at any time from their Carevo account or from any email we send them. Providers not receiving our enquiries are moved down the list and never hidden. It is refreshed daily, so a provider who resumes, or signs in, reappears within a day.

What the Carevo activity rating means

The Strong activity rating describes how a provider behaves on Carevo, not the care they deliver.

Where it starts: Every provider starts at a baseline of 50.
What moves it: Enquiries from the last 90 days. The strongest positive is a care seeker naming that provider as the one who helped them. The clearest negative is connecting on an enquiry and never opening the contact details.
How it is kept honest: Recalculated daily from scratch, shown only above the baseline and only with at least two scored signals, and removed automatically when either stops being true. It cannot be purchased.

It is not an endorsement, a recommendation, or an assessment of care quality, and we do not screen providers for complaints. Complaints are handled by the NDIS Commission and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. See the full activity rating methodology.

providers in Melbourne

35,248

providers nationally

How we calculate provider numbers

Sources and content responsibility

Carevo maintains this service guide. The funding and directory wording was checked on 15 September 2026. This is not a clinical review. Confirm a practitioner's qualifications, suitability, fees and current availability before booking.

Travel must be agreed before booking under the applicable funding rules. Carevo does not publish a verified 2026-27 per-kilometre cap. Ask for an itemised quote. Send a correction.

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Service dogs in Melbourne, Victoria

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Not finding the right match?

Recent activity in Melbourne

About Service Dogs in Melbourne

Frequently Asked Questions

Care services available in Melbourne

How Much Does Service Dogs Cost in Melbourne?

How to Pay for Service Dogs in Melbourne

What Service Dogs Is Like in Melbourne

How to check a provider's credentials

Service Dogs at a glance

Most requested support in Melbourne

Care demand in Melbourne

Victoria Regulations & Compliance

About Melbourne

How we rank providers

Sources and content responsibility

Browse by condition in Melbourne

Other services in Melbourne

Need support in Melbourne?

Service Dogs providers near me

Rosie & Co Therapy

Al Marwa Care

Empower Care Services

Not finding the right match?

Morison

Sterling Care Australia

Pro Home Care Enterprise

Beacon Bliss

Nationwide Asset Management Consolidated

Helora Support

Client Centred Support

Not finding the right match?

Recent activity in Melbourne

About Service Dogs in Melbourne

Frequently Asked Questions

Care services available in Melbourne

How Much Does Service Dogs Cost in Melbourne?

How to Pay for Service Dogs in Melbourne

What Service Dogs Is Like in Melbourne

How to check a provider's credentials

Related pages in Melbourne

Service Dogs at a glance

Most requested support in Melbourne

Care demand in Melbourne

Victoria Regulations & Compliance

About Melbourne

How we rank providers

Sources and content responsibility

Browse by condition in Melbourne

Other services in Melbourne

Need support in Melbourne?