Who Are Carers?
Carers are people who provide unpaid care and support to family members and friends who have a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, terminal illness, an alcohol or other drug issue or who are frail aged.
Carers are an integral part of Australia’s health system and are the foundation of our aged, disability, palliative and community care systems.
What Does A Carer Do?
Caring may include help and support with any of the daily activities of living of the person being cared for. It may include physical and personal care such as dressing, lifting, showering, toileting, feeding or providing transport.
Commonly, carers are responsible for the management of medications, and also provide emotional and social support. Caring may also involve help with organising and attending appointments, banking and dealing with emergencies.
Carer Statistics
There are over 2.65 million carers across Australia *
Carers make up nearly 11% of Australia’s population *
Around 861,000 carers are primary carers, those who provide the most informal support to a family member or friend ^
The weekly median income of primary carers aged 15 - 64 is $800 compared to non-carers, who receive a median weekly income of $997 ^
7 out of 10 primary carers are women *
The average age of a primary carer is 54 *
1 in 11 carers are under the age of 25 *
One-third of primary carers provide 40 hours or more of unpaid care per week ^
More than half of primary carers provide care for at least 20 hours per week ^
Over one-third of primary carers have a disability (twice the rate of non-carers) ^
* data drawn from the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC)
^ data drawn from the Value of Informal Care in 2020