Fifty years standing
with carers.One movement. One goal. Recognition.
From a 1974 survey into caring for older people at home, to the formation of a Carers Committee in 1976 and Australia's first independent carer advocacy body — and to the peak voice for carers in NSW today. This is the journey, decade by decade, told in carers' own words.
Five decades
of advocacy, support and systemic change.
From grassroots advocacy to national leadership, Carers NSW has championed carers' voices, influenced policy, and built systems that recognise carers as essential partners in care.
For 50 years, we have been at the forefront of championing the rights, recognition and support of carers. What began as a small carers' committee in the 1970s has grown into the state's peak body for carers — influencing public policy, shaping support systems and delivering programs that have transformed the lives of carers and the people they support.
From kitchen-table organising to national reform.
Six decades of recognition fought for, won, and still being defended.
1970sThe carer made visible.
Our journey began in 1974, when the NSW Council on the Ageing applied for a grant to survey the problems arising from caring for an aged person at home.
The findings were published in 1976 in the landmark Dedication report — capturing carers' lived experiences and highlighting the need for greater household assistance, respite and financial support. In response, a Carers Committee was established within the Council on the Ageing NSW: the beginning of what would become Carers NSW.
1980sFrom committee to charity to voice.
By 1980, the organisation had evolved into the Carers Association of NSW — Australia's first independent carer advocacy body — and was registered as a charity shortly after.
Throughout the 1980s, Carers NSW established itself as a voice for carers and contributed to early national reforms. The foundations laid in this decade created the momentum for everything that followed.
1990sFrom state voice to national one.
By the early 1990s, Carers NSW was influencing policy nationally. The Australian Government funded the Carers Information Kit in 1992 — distributed statewide and later translated into eleven community languages — alongside the launch of the Commonwealth Respite for Carers Program and the first National Carers Week.
These were the milestones that helped bring carers into the national conversation. The shift was deliberate: from carers being supported in private to carers being recognised in public.
2000sPeak status. National scale.
In 2002, Carers NSW won an International Best Practice Award for the Young Carer Project, Koori Yarning Project and Telegroup counselling. In 2003, the organisation was officially granted peak body status, affirming its role as the authoritative representative for carers in NSW.
Service offerings expanded: from telephone counselling and national support programs, to training residential aged care staff in carer awareness, and developing frameworks to map the "carer journey" across life stages.
2010sRecognition, rights and system reform.
In 2010, the NSW Carers (Recognition) Act was passed, reflecting years of advocacy that elevated the visibility of carers and formally recognised their contribution.
The Act was an important recognition milestone, but it did not create enforceable legal rights or specific complaints pathways for carers. In practice, carers often rely on rights and complaints processes that sit within other service systems, including health, aged care, disability, education, employment and community services.
Following the review of the NSW Carers (Recognition) Act 2010, the Carer Rights & Complaints Network was established in 2018 to map the rights and complaints landscape and develop practical resources to help carers understand their rights and options when navigating services.
The Network was delivered as a project under the NSW Carers Strategy Action Plan 1 and 2. While the project itself is no longer active, the resources developed through this work remain available through the Rights and complaints page and continue to be among Carers NSW’s most engaged resources.
During this decade, Carers NSW also played a key role in the development of the NSW Carers Strategy, contributed to the rollout of major service reforms including the NDIS, and in 2019 successfully tendered to deliver newly established Carer Gateway in-person services across parts of NSW.
2020sEvidence, leadership, the next reform.
In April 2020, Carer Gateway in-person services commenced nationally — including in the Hunter New England, Central Coast and North Coast regions, where Carers NSW was appointed as the Carer Gateway Service Provider. This coincided with the onset of COVID-19, requiring rapid service adaptation. We responded with significant advocacy and support to ensure carers remained visible, supported and connected through lockdowns and disruption.
That same year saw the launch of the Second NSW Carers Strategy: Caring in 2020–2030, with Carers NSW listed as the lead agency on a number of strategy projects.
In 2021, we launched the Carer Knowledge Exchange in partnership with UTS — a national hub for carer research, data and lived experience.
In 2022, we delivered the Second National Carer Survey with State and Territory Carer Organisations: more than 6,800 responses, including ~1,000 linked responses from 2020 — providing unprecedented long-term insights. Carers NSW contributed to the Senate Select Committee on Work and Care and the Productivity Commission inquiry into Carer Leave.
In 2024, we led the third iteration of the National Carer Survey and helped shape the National Carer Strategy. In 2025, we submitted dozens of policy responses, launched the Working While Caring Hub, and shaped frameworks including the NSW Carer Financial Wellbeing Strategy.
50 years told in carers' own words.
Behind every Act, every survey, every program — there is a carer. This is the 50th told the way it deserves to be told: by the people who lived it.
Hear from carers across decades, communities and life stages — what changed, what still needs to, and what they want the next 50 years to look like.
Watch the 50th film →Help us sustain this work for the next 50 years.
Fifty years of advocacy didn't happen by accident — and it won't continue without you. If our work has touched a carer in your life, sustain the next decade of recognition, research and reform.