Training and resources for professionals

If you work in the education, community or health sectors, you can make a difference to the lives of young carers and their families. Carers NSW offers training to help you do this. If you are a young carer or family member, you can encourage your local schools, universities or community organisations to organise Young Carer Awareness Training.

Young Carer Awareness Training

It is estimated that there are 83,700 young carers in NSW¹. Knowing how to support them in an appropriate and sensitive way could make a big difference to them and their family.

Carers NSW has developed Young Carer Awareness Training to help professionals to reflect the principles of the NSW Carers Charter in their work and ensure that young carers across NSW are achieving their highest potential.
Training is based on Australian and international research as well as the extensive experience of Carers NSW. Training will be tailored to the needs of your organisation but workshops generally include:

Young carer overview – Who young carers are, what young carers do as part of their caring role and the impacts (both positive and negative) of being in a caring role at a young age.
Through the Cracks: Walking in the shoes of a young carer (only available in face-to-face sessions) – An experiential activity that aims to raise the awareness of young carers including their personal experiences and individual needs.
Looking beyond the behaviour – Information to assist in identifying young carers within a school setting.
How to support young carers – Information about different supports and services, including information and referral details for the Carers NSW Young Carer Program
Young carer representative/young carer panel (optional) – This section may be included, depending on the time restraints and availability of young carers.

To arrange Young Carer Awareness Training, phone Carers NSW or email yc@carersnsw.org.au.

¹ Australian Bureau of Statistics (2019) Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers 2018. TableBuilder Dataset. Canberra: Australian Government. Retrieved from www.abs.gov.au/tablebuilder

Young Carer Inclusion Network

The Young Carer Inclusion Network is a Carers NSW initiative that brings together service providers and professionals engaging with young people in NSW. The Network aims to improve the identification and support of young carers through identifying gaps, building sector capacity, and streamlining access to support for young carers in mainstream service settings.

The Network also invites young carers over the age of 16 who would like an opportunity to share their own experiences and contribute to discussions about young carer supports in mainstream services.

For more information about the Young Carer Inclusion Network and how to participate, download the relevant flyer below.

YC Bytes

A new podcast series from the Carers NSW Young Carer team.

This podcast aims to raise awareness of young carers across New South Wales. Each episode will feature different guest speakers, including young carers, to bring lived experience and insights to the conversation. It will help plant the seed with listeners about some of the needs and experiences of young carers, as well as opportunities for communities to support young carers to help them achieve their highest potential.

Listen below, or search for ‘YC Bytes’ in your favourite podcast app.

Other resources

The following resources are available for download below and via the Carers NSW Resources page.

Young Carer Identification Guide – An A5 booklet that provides information on who young carers are and what they do, the impacts of caring and some tips and tricks on how to identify a young carer in a classroom setting.

Young Carer Policy Statement – An A4 document containing an overview of young carers through a statistical and research-focused lens.

Supporting Student Carers – A fact sheet written by the Carers NSW Policy and Research team for universities and other tertiary institutions who would like some information on supporting carers in their cohort.

Young Carer Research Project: Summary of findings – The summary report on findings from research conducted by Carers NSW with 28 young carers aged 16-25 from across NSW.

For other young carer-related research conducted by Carers NSW, check out Our Policy and Our Research.