13/10/2026
"I'm not a carer. I just help Mum out."
If you've ever said that, this one's for you.
It's National Carers Week, and this year's theme is making carers visible. Around 3 million Australians give unpaid care. 1.2 million are someone's primary carer. Plenty of them never use the word.
That matters for a practical reason. The support is attached to the word. If you don't see yourself as a carer, you don't go looking for help that's already there.
So, plainly. If you do unpaid care for someone, you're a carer. Carer Gateway is free, it's national, and it's on 1800 422 737.
Swipe through for five things carers should know early. The full guide, including how to plan what comes next before a crisis decides it for you, is in the first comment.
Know a carer? Tag them below. Then ask how they're actually going, and wait for the real answer.
Source: ABS Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers 2022.