Caring about carers
16 October 2025
Unpaid carers are people we work, study and play sport with – they are our neighbours, friends and mentors and they make up one in eight Victorians.
In recognition of National Carers Week, people from right across the state’s carers sector have come together at Parliament House.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Commissioner Jacqueline Gibson said the state’s mental health system would suffer greatly without carers.
'We know how important our carers are in helping the recovery journey of the people that we love and care for,' she said.
'They advocate for young people, they advocate for old people, they advocate for those of us that have mental health and other challenges.'
Ms Gibson is a carer herself and said at one stage or another nearly every Victorian will give or receive care.
'I think it's really important that we pause, not only to say how important it is, but also to acknowledge that it's important to keep ourselves well in order for us to be able to care for others,' she said.
'We are the unsung heroes, but often don’t see ourselves as one, we just get up and keep going.'
Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative foster care caseworker Leilani White said carers were crucial to their organisation.
'Care is at the forefront of what we do,' she said.
'The need for children to have strong carers is growing every year and currently we don’t have enough carers to meet demand.'
Ms White said unpaid carers made huge sacrifices.
'I think we need more public awareness about what our carers are doing and the impacts that they’re having on our children,' she said.
Carers Victoria CEO Judith Abbott said carers often felt invisible.
'They're happy to do it, but they do it at such a cost,' she said.
'They experience financial disadvantage, their mental health can suffer and often their health suffers too.
'So, events like this let them know that MPs, that Parliament, that a whole group of people are there to support them and they recognise what they do and value it.'
Sixty per cent of Victoria’s unpaid carers are doing more than 60 hours of caring a week.
'They are supporting people living with mental health challenges, with health challenges, with disability or with aged care, to live safely and effectively in the community,' Ms Abbott said.
'We really want to raise visibility of carers – we want to encourage MPs to be thinking about what they can do in their own areas to connect and raise awareness of carers and make them feel included.
'And ultimately, we want everyone across Victoria to be making an effort to connect with a carer and to care for a carer.'