With one in every 11 Australians caring for a family member or friend, Carers Queensland is committed to providing specialised carer and disability support services to individuals and families throughout the state.

For more than 30 years, Carers Queensland has been working to advocate for equal rights, opportunities, and enhanced outcomes for families.

The organisation works within and values local communities, “responding to unmet need with care and respect, assisting those who are disconnected through high-quality personalised support”.

Its primary objective is to ensure  goals are achieved, relationships are enhanced and Queenslanders can move forward with a life based on their own decisions and choices.

Carers Queensland does this through several support services, as well as help with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Services include:

Disability support: As Queensland’s largest NDIS Local Area Coordination Partner in the Community, Carers Queelsnand helps people understand and access the NDIS and connect them to local services.

It builds connections and partnerships with local community and mainstream services to increase opportunities for people with disability to participate socially and economically in the ways they choose.

Guardianship and advocacy: Carers Queensland can support you in caring for a person with impaired decision-making capacity.

The Guardianship and Advocacy Program (GAP) program helps family carers navigate the Queensland Civil Administrative Tribunal System known as QCAT.

You may need to appoint a guardian or administrator to act on behalf of the person you care for if the person you care for has impaired decision-making capacity, our GAP team can assist you to navigate this process.

Carers Queensland’s Guardianship and Advocacy Program offers:

• Advice on applications for the appointment of a guardian and/or administrator for an adult or young person 18 years and over.
• Assist in the preparation of applications for the appointment or review of a guardian and/or administrator.
• Advice on the completion of the Enduring Power of Attorney document and Advanced Health Directive.
• Support in negotiating and working with the Office of the Public Guardian and Public Trustee of Queensland.
• Advice on the best way to work with service providers and identification of possibilities for an intervention by the Office of the Public Guardian or Public Trustee by an Order from the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
• The GAP team’s role is to educate and empower carers to take control of the situation and safeguard their family. We take instruction from the carer and no information is shared without consent.

Mental health: As a carer you may often feel alone, undersupported, and overwhelmed. If you are caring for someone with a mental health condition, additional problems can arise and they also need to be addressed.

Therefore, recognising and understanding your emotions is essential to your caring role as it prevents these problems from having an impact on your mental health.

Carers Queensland has developed two resources specifically designed to support carers who are caring for a person with a mental illness:

• Mental Health Resources 4 Carers: The Mental Health Resources 4 Carers is designed to be flexible and meet your needs as a carer. Work you way across the program going through the sections that actually suit you.
• The SANE Carer Forum: Designed for carers and people with a lived experience of mental illness. It gives you access to peer-to-peer advice and support in a safe, online environment.

No Interest Loans: Caring for a family member or friend sometimes involves unexpected costs. In partnership with Good Shepherd Microfinance, Carers Queensland offers No Interest Loans (NILS®) up to $1500 for eligible carers on low incomes.

It is a community-based program that gives carers access to fair, safe and affordable credit for the purchase of essential goods and services such as a white goods, medical services, vehicle expenses and much more.

When a borrower makes a repayment to a NILS® program, funds are then available as a loan for someone else in the community. This is called “circular community credit” and this is a real demonstration of the community in action.

Registered training: Carers Queensland’s dedicated and experienced team are there to support you in gaining formal qualifications in community services, aged care and disability services.  Carers Queensland’s nationally recognised Registered Training Organisation (RTO) has been training and developing community service practitioners for more than 10 years.

Its expert and friendly team have decades of industry experience and are here to support you in receiving the best learning experience and achieving your future goals. While studying with them, you’ll be trained by a leading community service organisation, receive nationally accredited training and have the opportunity to connect with people who are committed to your personal and professional development.

Visit https://carersqld.com.au/support-services/accredited-training-for-carers/ and find out what courses are available.

Your Caring Way (employment services): Your Caring Way is an end-to-end vocational coaching program, designed to support carers by providing accredited and non-accredited training, and preparing them for opportunities such as paid employment, work experience, or volunteering.

Working with suitable “carer-friendly” employers, we seek to enable social, vocational and economic outcomes that benefit employers, industry, community, and Government.

This is a pilot program that started in Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, funded by the Department of Social Services.

Your Caring Way is designed to support client-centred outcomes, so has “choice and control” as its central consideration.

The program is provided through contemporary service delivery concepts, and has a strong program evaluation approach to provide an evidence base framework to support future service design, delivery and achievement of outcomes.

Visit https://yourcaringway.com.au/ to find out more about Your Caring Way, which is an initiative of Carers Queensland.

Then, of course, there’s help navigating the often-complex and confusing NDIS.

Carers Queensland is working with NDIS to deliver the Local Area Coordination Partner in the Community Program, supporting Australians with disability to live fulfilling and connected lives.

As an NDIS Partner in the Community, Carers Queensland will:

• Help you understand and access the NDIS
• Work to understand what is important to you, your goals and plans for the future, and the supports needed to get there
• Assist you to find local services and start using your NDIS plan, and provide guidance throughout your NDIS journey
• Provide opportunities for you to explore employment, volunteering or education options

Across Australia, there are 2.65 million people providing unpaid care for a family member or friend.

If you provide unpaid care and support to family members or friends who have a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, terminal illness or who are frail aged, you are a carer.

Anyone at any time can become a carer.

Carers Queensland is dedicated to making life better – They are the voice of carers and provide a range of programs and services to support carers in their caring role.

Carers need care too – They come from all walks of life and every caring situation is different.

The responsibilities within your caring role can impact your ability to have a normal life:  Socialising, financial security, education and other opportunities that were once part of everyday life can be diminished because of the challenges involved with family caring.

Additionally, a carer’s own health and wellbeing can deteriorate as a result of their responsibilities.

It is therefore essential that as a carer, you receive effective support and recognition for your caring role.

You are not alone.

Carers Queensland are there to help you – From frequently asked NDIS questions, explaining the Scheme and community events to special projects and testimonials, check out the Carers Queensland website and stay up-to-date with them on Facebook.