Facts about carers

A carer is any individual who provides care and support to a family member or friend who lives with a disability, mental illness, alcohol or drug dependency, chronic condition, terminal illness or who is frail due to age. There are more than 2.65 million carers across Australia.

Many carers don't use the word ‘carer’ to describe themselves. However, each one of us is likely to become a carer for a family member or friend at some stage in our lives. Carers come from all walks of life, cultural backgrounds and age groups.

For many, caring is a 24 hour-a-day job with emotional, physical and financial impacts that can also affect their participation in employment, education and community activities.

* Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers

** Deloitte Access Economics 2020 The value of informal care in 2020

*** Carers NSW 2020 National Carer Survey

1 in 10 Australians

is a carer*

260,700 carers

are aged 25 years and under*

8 million hours

of care are provided by Australian carers every week*

$77.9 billion

is how much it would cost every year to replace carers**

1 in 3

carers are highly socially isolated***

About the Carer Knowledge Exchange

Connecting research to practice

The Carer Knowledge Exchange is a partnership project delivered by Carers NSW and the Institute for Public Policy and Governance at the University of Technology Sydney, proudly funded by the NSW Government. The project brings together carers, researchers, students, decision makers, professionals and service providers to share their knowledge about carers and learn from each other with the aim to improve outcomes for carers across Australia. It features an interactive digital platform and a range of events and opportunities. Find out more below.

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