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National Carers Week, from 12 to 18 October 2025, is a time to recognise, celebrate and raise awareness about the 3 million Australians who provide care to a family member or friend.

This year’s theme is, “You are one, know one, or will be one,” highlighting the widespread nature of caring – it affects virtually every person at some point in their lives. Anyone can become a carer, at any time.

Being a carer can be both rewarding and challenging. According to the Carer Wellbeing Survey, carers who had good access to support had healthy levels of wellbeing compared to those who had no or limited access to help.

Palliative Care NSW would like to acknowledge all those who are caring for someone with a life-limiting illness. We recognise your hard work and enormous contribution so the people you care for can live as well and as comfortably as possible until the very end. We thank you for your dedication, compassion and strength. We also would like to acknowledge the contributions of palliative care volunteers who provide important psycho-social support and respite to carers as part of their role.

Are you a carer? Did you know most carers don’t even realise they are carers?

Caring often starts out of love – helping with paying the bills, preparing meals or simply being there for emotional support. Carers come from all walks of life, are of all ages and not just limited to supporting older adults.

Carers are people who provide unpaid care and support to family members or friends living with a disability, mental illness, chronic or terminal condition, alcohol or other drug issue, or who are frail aged – Carers Australia.

If you’re a carer, support is available from financial assistance (https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/carer-payment) to emotional support and respite care. The following organisations also have great resources, information and support available for Carers:

Carer Help: https://www.carerhelp.com.au/

Carers NSW: https://www.carersnsw.org.au/

Carer Gateway: https://www.carergateway.gov.au/

What is Respite Care?

Respite care provides temporary relief for unpaid carers by arranging for someone to look after that person for a short period. It can be provided by family or friends, volunteers or by a professional caregiver. Respite care can be for a short-time (a few hours a week) or longer, including overnight. This then allows the carer to have a break, reducing physical exhaustion and mental fatigue and preventing burnout.

Types of respite

• In-home respite – this where a professional caregiver provides care in the recipient’s home
• Community respite – the care recipient participates in community group and activities and may involve outings and excursions
• Residential respite – the care recipient stays at an aged care home or respite centre
• Children’s hospice respite – Bear Cottage offers both planned and emergency respite offering short-term breaks. For more information about Bear Cottage, please click here
• Adolescent and young adult respite – The Manly Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice (AYAH) is Australia’s first dedicated service for young people with life-limiting illness. The service is for 16 to 30-year-old patients with life-limiting illness and offers respite care as one of their services. Find out more here.

How to access respite care

• For those already accessing aged care or disability services, they should be able to put you in contact with a professional caregiver.
  • If the older person is not already accessing services, contact My Aged Care – 1800 422 737
  • For those under 65 years not already accessing NDIS services – 1800 800 110
• Community and Private Services may be available through your local community organisations and private care providers.
• Emergency respite where the caregiver is ill or injured, call Carers Gateway – 1800 422 737 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

Palliative Care NSW resources for carers

Free resources and help for carers looking after someone with a life-limiting illness can be found on our website, by clicking here.

Download our Palliative Caring Booklet here.

The Healthy End of Life Planning Program (HELP)

HELP’s approach supports Australians approaching the end of their lives. It enables them to remain connected to the people, places and possessions most important to them, and receive the right help – at the right time.

The program aims to help people build their own end-of-life support network with the free HELP App. It allows you to coordinate the social and practical support that people need when receiving palliative or end-of-life care. Click here for more information.

Dementia support resources

With dementia now the leading cause of death in Australia, according to the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report, we would like to highlight dementia programs and resources available to support those wanting to better understand dementia, healthcare professionals, family members and for people diagnosed with dementia.

Please click here to access these resources.

Resources for Volunteers

As part of Palliative Care New South Wales, the Volunteer Services Support Program champions palliative care volunteering across the state. We provide resources, education, and support to palliative care volunteers and volunteer services and work towards building capacity in the sector. Click here to access more information and resources.