All Australasian dog guide providers are members of the International Guide Dog Federation, which has clearly defined standards of service for member agencies (IGDF, 2013).
There is no O&M equivalent to the IGDF. The need for a certification program for O&M specialists in the region has been acknowledged since 1971.
The professional development of dog guide instructors, however, has been evolving at many schools over the last decade or more, spurred on, in part, by the quality of information exchange experienced by participants in the biennial conferences of the International Guide Dog Federation (
IGDF).