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Who we are

Established in 1960, Guide Dogs Queensland is a leader in the provision of Guide Dogs and mobility services to Queenslanders of all ages, with little or no vision. We are the only agency in Queensland providing Guide Dogs as well as a complete range of Orientation and Mobility programs. All services are free of charge.

Guide Dog Queensland’s Breeding and Training Centre is based on acreage on Brisbane's northside - at 1978 Gympie Rd, Bald Hills.
We have seven regional offices throughout Queensland which offer a local point of referral - they are on the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton and Toowoomba.
Our mission through partnership with our stakeholders, is to produce services which reduce the disadvantage of vision impairment. In doing so we aim to help people achieve their optimal level of mobility.

Our Services

All services, including Guide Dogs, are provided at no cost to the client.
We provide Guide Dogs but the majority of people come to us for Orientation and Mobility training with the White Cane and an increasing range of Electronic Travel aids.
We provide services directly to around 1,500 Queenslanders each year.
Services include Guide Dog mobility, White Cane training at all levels, Orientation and Mobility, Special Children's and Student programs, Young People's networks, Counselling, Low Vision clinics, Support Groups and referral to support agencies.
Blindness is primarily an age-related condition and demand for our services is increasing rapidly due to the ageing population. Experts predict blindness will almost double by the year 2020 (Eye Research Australia).
GDQ currently supports around 240 Long Cane clients with services and training.
GDQ has trained more than 60 clients in the UltraCane (an advanced cane fitted with sonar).
GDQ trains clients in the GPS Trekker and GPS Breeze (a hand-held Global Positioning System).
There are 30 Low Vision Support Groups throughout the State, which our services support.
Rehabilitation Services Orientation and Mobility instructors travel over 110,000km each year, providing support programs and training statewide.

Guide Dogs

Throughout Queensland there are around 85 people using a Guide Dog as their primary mobility aid. One person could work with several Guide Dogs over their lifetime.
It costs $30,000 to breed, train and place each Guide Dog.
We currently have around 30 dogs in the Guide Dog Training Program and around 60 pups being raised in South East Queensland by volunteer Puppy Raisers.
Not every dog makes it through the training program and our success rate of around 50 per cent is in line with international standards.
There are around 15 clients on the waiting list for a Guide Dog. They will wait an average of between six and 12 months for us to find a suitable match.
In 2011, we qualified another 17 Guide Dog teams - a team being a Guide Dog and a client.
We have our own Breeding Program and aim to produce 80 to 100 puppies each year.
Our Guide Dog colony includes 30 broods and 8 studs. We also source frozen straws from leading international Guide Dog Schools.
We feed our dogs an exclusive raw diet and have developed our own food - 'Leading Raw' - which is available to dog lovers from GDQ offices and selected pet stores.

Our Funding

GDQ receives less than seven per cent in Government funding to provide some specific, fee-for-service rehabilitation programs.
We receive no funding to breed, train and place Guide Dogs, nor do we receive any Government funding for our services in regional and rural QLD.
However, all our services are provided free-of-charge, including our Guide Dogs, which cost more than $30,000 each to produce.
Guide Dogs Queensland relies on puppy sponsorship, fundraising, bequests and volunteer help to offer our life-changing services.
Community donations are directed to our services. We cover operational costs with fundraising activities such as our Op Shop, merchandise sales, and Art Unions.