Eligible carers can receive a gift card for providing feedback on the National Carer Strategy

Key points:

• The Australian Government is seeking input from Australian carers on what needs improvement in the current National Carer Strategy through in-person and virtual consultations and online questionnaires by September 13, 2024
• Almost 2.5 million Australians provide unpaid assistance to people with disability and long-term health issues, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics
• Unpaid carers in Australia can access Carer Gateway’s free services such as counselling and support groups, an initiative by the Australian Government

Eligible carers who provide feedback on the National Carer Strategy during in-person or virtual consultation sessions will be given a gift card to share their story and improve conditions for carers. 

The Australian Government recently released a discussion paper on the National Carer Strategy and seeks feedback from carers on how it can be improved before September 13, 2024. 

The discussion paper outlines the National Carer Strategy, how unpaid carers are currently providing care and accessing services and how changes could improve the lives of carers and the people they care for. 

Australian unpaid carers are being encouraged to provide feedback on the paper through consultation sessions, questionnaires and video submissions. 

Some Australians may not consider themselves to be carers, but providing unpaid assistance to people with disability or long-term health conditions is a carer role. 

Three-hour in-person consultation sessions for carers will be held across Australia, including Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Townsville. 

Carers who cannot attend in-person consultations can add themselves to the waitlists for the two-and-a-half-hour virtual sessions. 

Each participant will be given a $30 dollar gift card and in-person participants will also be served refreshments. However, limited spots remain as only eight to 12 carers can participate in each registered session.

Approximately 2,476,700 Australians are unpaid carers according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. 

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth commented on the importance of hearing from all carers in Australia through the questionnaire. 

“We want to hear from unpaid carers, former carers and the support sector about their experiences and how we can better support them both in their caring role and other aspects of their lives,” she said.

“We’re also holding a series of face-to-face consultations around the country, including in metropolitan, regional and remote locations to ensure the strategy reflects the diverse experiences of all carers.” 

Caring situations can vary as 37 percent of unpaid carers look after a parent, 27 percent of Australians care for a partner and one in five people care for a child with disability. 

Minister Rishworth also highlighted current government initiatives that are being used to improve the National Carer Strategy, including the Carer Advisory Committee.

“Earlier this year, I appointed a National Carer Strategy Advisory Committee, which includes members from the carer community and sector representatives to advise on the development of the National Carer Strategy,” she said.

“We’ll be working closely with the Carer Advisory Committee and the broader community to establish a coherent national agenda for improving the lives of our unpaid carers.

“We need to ensure supports for carers are appropriately designed and prioritised, enabling them to better balance their caring role with all aspects of their lives, such as work, study and social participation.”

Members of the Carer Advisory Committee include Andrew Whitecross from the Department of Social Services, Annabel Reid who is the Chief Executive Officer of Carers Australia and carers from across Australia.

Free services and support are available for unpaid carers across Australia through Carer Gateway. Options include attending support groups, counselling and engaging with online skill courses. 

You can read the discussion paper on the Department of Social Services website. Easy-read and Auslan versions of the paper will be available soon. The discussion paper is available in multiple languages, including Arabic, Hindi and Korean. 

How do you think the National Carer Strategy could improve?

Let the team at Talking Disability know on social media. 

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