Nearly two-thirds of young carers in Western Australia say they feel they have lost their childhood, according to a national survey that found the proportion had risen from 54 per cent to 65 per cent in a year.
The findings have renewed calls for greater recognition and support for the estimated 40,000 young carers in WA, many of whom balance unpaid care with education, work and responsibilities at home.
Sara Qalandari became a carer when she was 10, after her family arrived in Western Australia as refugees. She learned English at school, but was the only member of her family who could speak it.
Her mother had several health conditions and needed frequent medical appointments, while her siblings required help at school. Much of Qalandari’s time has also been spent supporting her brother, now 18, who has a congenital visual impairment.
“I go to all the appointments – NDIS, Centrelink, schools, doctors, I basically take care of all of that,” the 25-year-old said.
Qalandari has completed a biomedical sciences degree and is studying for a Bachelor of Psychology part-time. Her ambition is to become a doctor, but she said her caring responsibilities had made it harder to compete for a place at medical school.
“I’m trying to get into medical school, and that’s a big issue for me because it’s quite hard to compete on the same level as other applicants when you have so many responsibilities,” she said.
She has called for a pathway to support carers and people with disabilities who want to study medicine, saying they should be able to pursue their ambitions without having to choose between education and caring for loved ones.
“We should be able to be caring for our loved ones as well as trying to pursue our dreams,” she said.
Young carers struggle to access support
Qalandari said she had often watched people her age spend time with friends, travel and socialise while she returned home to her responsibilities.
“I do want to join you guys, but I have responsibilities that I have to go home to,” she said, adding that children often struggled to understand what it meant to be a carer.
She did not identify herself as a young carer until 2024, when she met others through Care WA and its Youth Advisory Council. Finding people with similar experiences gave her a sense of belonging, she said.
The survey found that fewer young carers felt included in planning and decisions about the person they cared for. Less than half said they were treated with respect or that their concerns were heard and acknowledged, while more than half found government systems difficult to navigate.
Only 17.9 per cent reported being able to connect with other young carers, indicating a decline in access to peer support.
Joanna Cave, chief executive of Carers Australia, said unpaid carers faced lower levels of financial stability and physical health than people who did not have caring responsibilities.
“It’s not a question of them being unwilling to do it, but the choice they make to become a carer is what we call a constrained choice,” she said.
Cave said young carers could begin looking after relatives as early as seven and continue in the role into their early 20s. Time spent caring could mean missing out on friendships, sport and other activities, she said.
Support available to young carers includes the Government-funded Young Carer Bursary, information through the Young Carer Network and services provided through Carer Gateway, including counselling, coaching, peer support and referrals for respite.
But Cave said carers wanted more flexible respite services and formal recognition across schools, healthcare providers and other systems.
“The other thing that carers are really crying out for is more flexible respite services – carers are often desperate for short breaks, but they’re not readily available,” she said. “The absence of respite is something that we know really grinds carers down.”
