Resources For, and About, Carers

Carers have many information needs and also may require assistance with many practical issues. There are many resources that can be suggested.

Legal and financial resources for carers

Advance care planning
Respecting Patient Choices is an Australian model for advance care planning. Information is organised on a state basis.
Wills and Power of Attorney
Seniors.gov.au has a section on estate planning including wills and durable power of attorney.
Financial Assistance
Centrelink, the Australian Government Statutory Agency which supports Australians in need, provides information, benefits and payments for carers who meet eligibility criteria. Some carer payments continue short term after the death of the care recipient, also some carer payments can be maintained during employment. Specialist staff are also available for counselling and assistance. Centerlink has recognised same-sex relationships from 1 July 2009.
Funerals

Carers may have little experience planning and organsiing a funeral or even about notifying organisations of a person’s death. Centrelink has useful resources and example letters for notification. Recent changes in several Australian States’ legislations aim to protect consumers at the vulnerable time of arranging a funeral. The New South Wales Office of Fair Trading has produced a resource to guide those people who are arranging and paying for a funeral.

The Australian Government has a National Respite for Carers Program. Information about local respite services can be obtained by phoning Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre on free call 1800 052 222 during business hours or, for emergency respite support outside standard business hours, free call 1800 059 059.

For Patients and Families
This section within CareSearch provides an extensive set of pages with information and links to other organisations and to further resources for carers.
Carers Australia
Carers Australia and the network of carers associations in each state and territory offer a range of resources and supports for carers.
The Department for Health and Ageing provides comprehensive information on various programs and supports for carers in their webpage Caring for someone.
The Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre website provides resources and support for carers. They have a freecall number: 1800 059 059.
The Working Carers Support Gateway is a website to help people who are working and caring. Fact sheets and resources are available
Palliative Care Australia has information and resources for consumers and carers

International Palliative Care Family Carer Research Collaboration (IPCFRC)

The IPCFRC operates under the auspices of the European Association of Palliative Care. It aims to develop a strategic approach to palliative care research planning related to family carers of people requiring palliative care via establishing international partnerships and promoting information exchange.
Dementia Collaborative Research Centres: Carers and Consumers
Research led by this Centre located at the Queensland University of Technology focuses on Consumers and Carers. Current research includes quality of life, palliative care, pain, clinical practice improvement, acute care, models of care, and the use of dietary supplements in residential care.
CareSearch Review Collection
This Collection provides citation details on systematic reviews and structured literature reviews relevant to palliative care. The following carer related reviews are being collected:
PubMed Topic Searches
Clicking on one of these topics will automatically run a search in the PubMed database to retrieve palliative care articles relevant to your topic of interest. The following carer related topics are available:
- Carers (all)
- Carers (young)

Last updated 15 October 2010*