Published on 30 January, 2026
Carers Australia invites you to participate in two online consultations on recognising carers in Australia’s health system. As a carer, we are keen to hear from you about your lived experience engaging with Australia’s health systems and your ideas on how health systems can better identify, recognise and refer carers to supports. Your insights will help inform future policy and advocacy.
Some background
Unpaid carers play a critical and often invisible role in Australia’s health system, providing essential care, coordination, advocacy, and emotional support to people with chronic illness, disability, mental health conditions, ageing-related needs, and complex health conditions. Despite their contribution, carers frequently report that they are not recognised, identified, or supported within health care settings.
The consultations will build on discussions from the National Policy Forum 2025 held in Canberra, in November 2025. This forum brought together a range of health stakeholders to discuss barriers preventing carer recognition in health systems.
These consultations will continue to shape practical, carer-centric approaches to improving recognition and support of carers within health systems. They will also inform Carers Australia’s strategic goal of strengthening systemic recognition of carers across the health system and ensure proposed solutions reflect carers’ needs and priorities.
Who can apply?
Carers Australia is seeking a wide range of carers who provide 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.
More about the online consultations
Drawing on a list of identified barriers preventing carer recognition in health system, participants of the National Policy Forum 2025 voted on the two most urgent areas requiring attention. The two focus areas for the online consultations are:
1) Barrier one: Making health care systems more proactive at referring carers to supports
This consultation will explore how health systems can adopt a “push” approach to referrals, that is, where health professionals actively identify carers and connect them to appropriate supports early in the care journey. The discussion will cover practical steps for embedding referral processes into routine health interactions.
2) Barrier two: Strengthening carer identification and recognition in health systems
The second consultation will discuss strategies for formally recognising carers within health records and care planning processes. The discussion will cover how recognition can improve carers’ inclusion in decision-making and reduce duplication across fragmented systems.
Each consultation will be approximately 2 hours and will be held online.
Dates: Monday 23rd February 2026 and Wednesday 25th February 2026
Time: 1:00-3:00pm AEDT
How to apply?
To express your interest in participating in the online consultations, please respond by completing the survey located here: EOI for Consultation on ‘Recognising carers in health systems in Australia’
No policy experience is required – it is lived experience that matters.
Please respond by 11:59pm Sunday 8th February 2026.
The information provided in the survey will help us select a diverse range of participants to undertake the online consultations. No personal details will be shared.
We will reply to all carers who express an interest in participation in the consultations by no later than 11th February 2026.
Should you have any questions, please email us at: policy@carersaustralia.com.au
