It is National Carers Week and the theme this year is ‘Care for a carer: Making carers visible’. The website says ‘The 2026 theme shines a light on the invaluable contribution of unpaid carers and encourages all Australians to recognise, support and care for the carers in their families, workplaces and communities.’
In 2020 that care was estimated at three million unpaid carers in Australia that provide approximately $80 billion of unpaid care a year, that is $1.5 billion a week.
It is a nice sentiment that the government has promoted with one hand, while with their other hand slashing funding to the NDIS leaving carers, and those they care for, vulnerable and at risk. I know. I’m a carer.
I have been through the wringer on behalf of the family member I care for. An NDIS funding review slashed funding to their program. There was no transition funding. One day you have a program and care structure in place that you have carefully planned and the next you have a whole lot of employment and financial commitments you can’t meet. There was no ‘you have a week or a month to redo your program of care for this person’. One day there was funding, the next it had been radically slashed.
Suddenly, the structure of safety, care, and stability that surrounded my family member, myself, and my family had been ripped away. My partner and children stepped up further – my children have been providing what the NDIS call ‘informal care’ since they were in primary school. And luckily for me I did have kind and generous people who stepped up while I spent three months going through the process of seeking a review for the person I care for.
Without those generous offers of help that supplemented paid care, care I was unable to provide because I work, have children, and need sleep; the person I care for would have been left at significant risk of harm. Those many people who took the initiative and said ‘can I help?’ meant it, and stepped in, were life savers. Both for myself and my family member who I care for.
After three months the review finally came around. The NDIS reviewer said ‘I’ve looked at your previous program and the new one and I don’t understand why the funding was cut. I’ll have it restored by the end of the day.’
I was relieved and grateful. But in reality, that should never have happened. Unfortunately, it is happening across the board, leaving families and those in need of care vulnerable, at risk, and desperate.
Apparently, I will have to go through this whole process again in February 2027 when the government will automatically cut 50 per cent of all NDIS recipients’ social and community funding. Again, I will be left without the funds of the capacity to provide safety and care for the person I care for. Again, I assume I will have to go through a review to prove that the support is needed. Again, I will have to hope that my partner, children, family, and friends step up and help – them becoming, like me, one of those three million people who provide unpaid care to others in our community.
The bad actors who have ripped off the NDIS should absolutely be stopped. But that is the responsibility of the government. They need to put in the correct legislation and to run their NDIS funding reviews well and with humanity. It should not be done at the cost of those who provide care and those who need care. They are the most vulnerable of our community and should be treated with humanity and respect for the significant time, effort, love and care they provide saving this government $1,5 billion dollars every week, $80 billion a year in care costs.
Aslan Shand, editor
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