Carers Recognition Act: guidance for agencies that provide carer support
Find out how to recognise carers, including raising awareness, consulting and reporting annually.
Purpose of the Act
The Carers Recognition Act 2021 (the Act) applies to agencies that provide carer support.
These agencies should respond in 3 ways:
- raise awareness
- consult with carers
- report annually.
In the ACT, around 58,000 carers provide unpaid care to someone who has disability, a medical condition, mental illness, or is frail and aged. They can also be foster or kinship carers. The Act describes the link between a carer and the person they care for as a ‘care relationship’.
Carers tend to provide care quietly, behind the scenes, often without breaks or support. They might struggle to balance their caring role with their goals, family, health and work.
The Act:
- helps people to see the important work carers do
- provides principles to improve support for carers
- requires agencies that provide carer support programs to report each year on how they have upheld those principles.
Care relationship principles
The care relationship principals say a carer should be recognised as both:
- an individual and as a carer
- someone who has knowledge of the person receiving care.
The principles also say we should:
- acknowledge how carers contribute to our community
- recognise carers’ wellbeing and health
- think about how a carer’s role affects their choices around work or study.
Does the Act apply to your organisation?
Non-government organisations (NGOs)
An NGO has obligations under the Act if it receives ACT Government funding (directly or from another NGO) to either:
- provide programs for people in a care relationship
- fund another NGO to provide such programs.
The Act uses the term ‘funded support agency’ to describe NGOs funded to provide carer support such as:
- carer advocacy
- support for foster and kinship carers
- in-home support for people in a care relationship.
The Act only applies if an NGO’s carer support programs are:
- not funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
- targeted to people in care relationships
- funded by the ACT Government.
ACT Government directorates
The Act applies to ACT Government directorates and agencies that either or both:
- develop policies or programs for people in a care relationship
- fund other organisations to provide programs or services.
Directorates should consider the principles when drafting their human resources policies. This includes making sure staff who are carers know how their workplace can support them.
What you need to do
Raise awareness
Make sure your staff know about and uphold the care relationship principles.
Make sure carers who receive support from your agency know about the principles.
Consider the principles in human resources policies for your staff.
Consult
Consult with carers when starting or changing a carer support program. You should also consult with an agency that represents carers.
To consult with carers, you could:
- hold a forum to discuss and develop new carer policy
- speak to carers when you develop or review a carer support program.
Report
Your agency should report on what it has done to:
- include the care relationship principles in its human resources policies, for staff who are carers
- promote and uphold the principles
- consult with carers when planning or reviewing a carer support program.
How to report
You should report each year. ACT Government directorates and agencies should describe in their annual report how they complied with the Act.
An NGO funded by the ACT Government to provide carer support should both:
- give a copy of the report to the directorate that funds the NGO
- put the report on its website.
For guidance on what to include, use the reporting template [PDF 134 kB].
Contact us
For help, contact the Community Services Directorate on 133 427 or CSD@act.gov.au