National Carers Week 2026 runs from 11 to 17 October, and this year’s theme is making carers visible. If you provide unpaid care to an older partner, relative or friend, the aged care assessment is where that care needs to be visible. The assessor will ask about the help you give. Be ready to describe the regular tasks, what they want to keep doing and what help is needed when you’re away. Write it down and bring it to the assessment or ask for a support plan review if circumstances have changed.
Key Takeaways
- National Carers Week 2026 runs from 11 to 17 October, with the theme “Care for a carer: Making carers visible”.
- Caring can include organising appointments, shopping and coordinating services, not only hands-on help.
- Be specific by naming the task, how often it happens and whether you can keep doing it.
- If needs have changed, an older person receiving aged care can request a support plan review.
- Carer Gateway offers support for unpaid carers. This is separate from the aged care services arranged for the older person.
You may be the person who picks up prescriptions, drives to appointments or notices when the groceries haven’t been put away. Perhaps you also make the calls, keep track of the paperwork and tell everyone else what has changed. It can become part of the week without anyone sitting down to call it care.
National Carers Week, from 11 to 17 October 2026, is a chance to recognise that work. This year’s theme is “Care for a carer: Making carers visible.”
For families arranging aged care, the place that visibility matters in practice is the assessment. The assessor asks what support is already in place and the support plan records what’s discussed, so the help you give is only in the picture if someone describes it.
What Does Unpaid Care Look Like?
An informal carer is someone who provides unpaid care and support to a family member or friend. In aged care, that might be a partner helping their partner each day, an adult child coordinating a parent’s appointments or a friend regularly helping an older neighbour. The arrangement does not have to look the same in every household.
Some people provide this care while raising children or supporting adult children too. See the Sandwich Generation guide for a closer look at that situation.
Whatever your circumstances, you don’t have to treat every task you do as something you must always do yourself. Some of it, such as shopping, transport or help at home, can be arranged through aged care services. Other routines the older person will want to keep exactly as they are, and that’s their call.
Where Do You Start Looking for Help?
If the person you care for hasn’t used aged care services before, My Aged Care is the Australian Government’s starting point for government-funded aged care. If you’re not sure whether they qualify, check who is eligible for My Aged Care first.
You can apply for an assessment online at myagedcare.gov.au or by calling 1800 200 422, and the assessment is free. They can apply themselves, or you can apply on their behalf with their consent.
If you’ll be dealing with My Aged Care regularly, read how to become a Registered Supporter so you can speak to them about the file.
The assessment is a conversation with an assessor, usually at home, about their needs, preferences and the help they already receive. That includes what you do and whether you expect to keep doing it, which is why the preparation below matters.
Why Tell the Aged Care Assessor?
Your aged care assessor writes a support plan based on what you discussed and agreed, including goals and preferences for services. What is said on the day is what they have to work from.
“My daughter helps me” tells the assessor very little. “My daughter takes me shopping every Friday, books my appointments and usually collects my medication. She can keep helping with appointments, but we need another arrangement for shopping” gives them something to plan around.
It’s just as important to say what the person you care for wants to keep doing. The aim is to give the assessor an accurate picture of what’s working, what may change and where they want support, not to replace every contribution from family or friends.
They can choose to have you or someone else with them at the assessment, and the assessor may ask their permission to speak with you directly. If you can’t be there, agree beforehand on what they’ll say about the help you give.
Five Questions to Prepare Together
You don’t need a formal document. A note on your phone can help you and the person you care for give a clearer account of an ordinary week.
- What help is happening now? Include regular tasks such as transport, meals and shopping, as well as calls, forms and appointment bookings.
- What do they want to do themselves? Ask which routines matter to them and where they would welcome help.
- Which arrangements can continue? Be clear about the help family and friends expect to keep providing, rather than assuming it will always be available.
- Which tasks need another arrangement? Identify the particular job and how often it needs doing. “Transport to a weekly appointment” is more useful than “some help getting out”.
- What happens when the usual carer is away or unavailable? Write down who to contact and what another person would need to know.
My Aged Care recommends preparing information about support already received and questions about available services, local waiting times and support for the carer before an assessment.
What if There Is Already a Care Plan?
The care needed now may be different from what was discussed at the last assessment. Perhaps the person you care for needs help with a task they previously managed, or the family member who used to provide regular help can no longer do it.
If they are already receiving aged care services, they can request a support plan review through My Aged Care at any time when their needs have changed. Depending on the change, the review may lead to an updated plan or a reassessment. It doesn’t automatically mean additional services will start straight away.
[CTA] If the review points to new or different services, Aged Care Decisions can send you a free Options Report comparing providers with current availability. We’re independent, and we don’t take payment from you.
If they haven’t yet had an aged care assessment, read My Aged Care’s guide to what to prepare and what happens at the appointment.
Where Can the Carer Get Support?
Planning aged care for someone else and finding support for yourself are related, but the process is different. Carer Gateway is a free Australian Government program for people caring for a family member or friend. It offers counselling, coaching, peer support and help exploring respite options.
Access to particular services depends on your circumstances and local availability, so contact them directly to ask what’s available for your situation.
If you want a broader look at the different kinds of help, read the article on support for carers.
Make the Next Conversation Specific
National Carers Week is about recognising unpaid carers. In an aged care conversation, recognition also means being accurate about the care already happening, including who provides it, what the person you care for wants and which arrangements need to change.
When You’re Ready to Look at Providers
If you’ve worked out the help they need and are ready to look at providers, Aged Care Decisions can do the comparing for you. Our service is free for families.
- We match providers to your location, care needs, budget and preferences.
- We check current availability, so you’re only comparing providers who can take them on now.
- We’re independent, and we don’t take payment from you.
- We don’t lock you into anything. You decide what happens next.
Contact Aged Care Decisions for your free provider options report
Here’s how Aged Care Decisions’ FREE aged care matching service works:
