Who are carers?

Carers are people who look after someone who needs help with their day-to-day living.

There are more than 2.65 million carers in Australia, which means about 1 in 9 people in Australia are carers.

People become carers in different ways. Sometimes they start helping someone out bit by bit. Sometimes it happens suddenly, because of an accident or illness.

Carers can be any age. Children and young adults (under 25 years of age) are called young carers. There are more than 235,000 young carers in Australia. If you are a young carer, you may be able to get special help and support.

The definition for carer (under the Australian Government Carer Recognition Act 2010) is someone who gives care and support to a relative or friend who:

• has a disability
• has a medical condition (terminal or chronic illness)
• has a mental illness
• is frail because they are old (known as ‘frail and aged’)

You are not considered to be a carer if you are employed to look after someone, if you work as a volunteer for an organisation, or if you are doing work experience as part of a course.

Carer Gateway is for anyone who is an unpaid carer. Whether you are receiving a government carer payment or not, all carers can get support through Carer Gateway.

You may be an unpaid carer if you are providing care and support to a family member or friend with disability, a medical condition, mental illness, or someone who is frail due to age.

Carers can be any age. Carers can provide any type of care – some carers provide support 24 hours a day and help with daily living, while other carers provide fewer hours of support and help with occasional transport or cooking. Some carers provide support to someone who doesn’t live with them. For example, the person they care for may be living in an aged care home.

You don't need to be a new carer to use Carer Gateway services – any carer can use the services at any time in their caring journey.

Using Carer Gateway services will not affect services delivered through My Aged Care or the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), or any state or territory carer services or carer payments you may be receiving.