More than 3 million unpaid carers support Australians every day – including over 320,000 in Western Australia. They care for family members and friends with disability, mental health challenges, chronic or terminal illness, an alcohol or other drug issue or who are frail due to age.

Carers do this work for free. The State depends on it, lives depend on it. It saves Western Australia billions of dollars every year, propping up health, disability, aged care and social service systems that would otherwise collapse. Yet, once again, unpaid carers were missing from the State Budget.

While last week’s Budget included general cost-of-living measures, it delivered no direct recognition of carers and no specified carer-specific supports. WA’s unpaid workforce was overlooked. Again.

Carers continue to carry the load, absorb the stress, and plug gaps in underfunded systems, while government support stops short of recognising them as essential. Silence does not pay bills. Goodwill does not replace policy and reward shouldn’t equal invisibility.

In its 2026–2027 State Budget submission, Carers WA called for two straight forward, practical reforms: a WA Carer Card Program and a carer grants program to provide hardship relief and shortbreak respite for unpaid carers.

The intent was not complicated.

Unpaid family carers need recognition, cost-of-living relief, and real support to keep going. A WA Carer Card would have provided a simple, visible way for carers to identify their role, access
concessions, and be recognised by health, medical and service systems. Targeted grants would have helped relieve financial pressure, reduce burnout, and give carers a chance to rest – before crisis hits.

Most importantly, a WA Carer Card would have backed up what legislation already says. The Carers Recognition Act 2004 (WA) and the WA Carer Charter are clear: carers must be recognised, treated with respect and dignity and have their views and needs considered.

Carers WA didn’t campaign alone. The call for a WA Carer Card was backed by carers, the community and 47 of Western Australia’s leading community service organisations.

The State Government ignored it.

Instead, this Budget delivers a Gold Card scheme that mirrors the WA Carer Card proposal almost exactly, but limits it to foster carers and grandparent carers only. It also included increased payments and allowances for those groups, totalling $14.5 million and $6.1 million respectively.

Let’s be clear about what that means.

Western Australia has more than 320,000 unpaid carers providing ongoing care worth $6.6 billion every year. Their unpaid work reduces hospital admissions, delays entry into residential care, and keeps people safely at home. The entire health, disability and aged care system relies on them.

And yet they get nothing.

No card. No recognition. No targeted support.

Carers WA does not question the importance of foster carers or grandparent carers. Their work matters. They deserve support.

But so do the hundreds of thousands of unpaid family carers who carry the system every day.

Excluding them is not just inequitable, it is illogical. It fragments support, ignores economic reality, and undermines the very case system the Government says it wants to protect.

Richard Newman, CEO of Carers WA, said: “Carers are already under intense pressure. Many are
deeply distressed and uncertain about the future, particularly in light of recent and ongoing changes
to the NDIS. Supporting unpaid family carers strengthens the care system – it does not weaken it.
This is not about taking support away from anyone. It’s about fairness. It’s about recognising who is
actually providing care in our communities, and giving them tools they need to keep going.”

For years, unpaid carers have been described as the backbone of the system. But backbones break when they are ignored.

How much longer can Westerns Australia afford to keep overlooking those people providing unpaid
care, who hold everything together?

Additional Information
Who is a carer? : A carer is a person who provides unpaid care and support to a family member or friend
who has disability, mental health challenge, chronic condition, terminal illness, an alcohol or other drug issue
or who is frail aged. This unpaid care is not provided as part of a work or volunteer contract. A carer can be
aged 8 years old and up, and could be caring for many people at once, or for someone with co-occurring
health conditions.
About Carers WA : Carers WA is the peak body that represents the needs and interests of carers in WA.
Carers WA aims to enhance and support the empowerment and wellbeing of carers through our programs,
services and advocacy. Carers WA provides a range of free supports and services, including those available
through Carer Gateway. Carers WA is a non-profit, community-based organisation and registered charity
dedicated to improving the lives of the estimated 320,000 unpaid family carers living in WA.
About Carer Gateway : Carers WA is also the lead provider of Carer Gateway services in WA. Carer Gateway
is an Australian Government initiative providing a mix of free online, telephone and in-person supports,
services and advice for family carers in Australia.