Caring for your loved one can be tiring and can often impact your mental health and wellbeing. It’s important you take time to look after yourself. In this section, you can find healthcare and community services specific to your mental health and wellbeing needs as a carer, and social groups where you can meet and support other carers.
If you’re looking for any general resources about accessing mental health services, such as Medicare information and search tools for finding practitioners, you can find it here.
There are many organisations providing carer support services you can access online, over the phone or face-to-face.
Many organisations provide programs that specialise in supporting unpaid and informal carers. They provide a variety of services and resources to help you manage your mental health and wellbeing while you provide care.
Carers Queensland provides information about services and organisations that support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers.
An organisation offering a wide range of free services and programs to people with mental health support needs as well as their families and carers. Carers can talk with someone for advice, information and support.
A list of support services for all carers, with some additional services for specific groups, such as parents and grandparents, older and younger carers, and carers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
A free app that helps you coordinate care so you can rely on your community to help you care for your person with needs, and also support your mental wellbeing by sharing the load.
A national support service funded by the Australian Government providing practical information and advice, services and support, free counselling and coaching, and connection with other carers through a community forum. In Queensland, the service is delivered by Wellways Australia. Operates Monday to Sunday, 6am–10pm.
An organisation providing practical resources and information to help you feel confident supporting loved ones experiencing mental health concerns, while looking after yourself. Some services involve Medicare benefits to help you pay for appointments, depending on your referral pathway.
An organisation providing resources to support carers who are caring for a person with a mental illness.
An online training course developing community awareness, death literacy and community capacity related to palliative care by providing high quality and easy-to-understand courses.
There are multiple helplines you can access for support in caregiving, each serving slightly different purposes.
A helpline diverting to professionals who can listen, provide information and advice, and point you in the right direction so you can seek further support, for the cost of a local call.
An organisation supporting carers providing end of life care, including through their diversity project, running from 2020–2023, which makes their service more accessible to diverse groups of carers.
A positive step in looking after your mental health is to spend time with people who understand what you do and experience. These programs are run for carers to support each other by sharing their experiences.
An online forum where carers can talk about their experiences and support each other.
A phone service that connects you with a coach to assist in creating a plan based on your life goals. They also offer training, education, volunteering and employment services at no cost.
A free, face-to-face service that connects carers with coaches to assist in managing the ongoing challenges of the caring role. This program is individualised to support the differing needs of carers including mental health and wellbeing. In Queensland, Wellways Australia runs this program.
An organisation offering respite and emergency respite accommodation, and providing unique wellness programs to support the emotional, physical and mental wellbeing of unpaid carers. Programs are available at no cost to eligible unpaid carers.
Respite is a form of support where someone else temporarily takes care of a person living at home with care needs. It gives you, their carer, a break to rest, go to work, pursue hobbies and maintain self-care to support your own wellbeing.
For the person with care needs, respite can be an opportunity to enjoy new relationships and activities away from their family or carer/s.
Find information about respite services (including emergency respite, overnight respite, flexible respite and respite in residential aged care homes) in your region here.
Find more information about centre-based day respite here.
I'm a carer looking for mental health and wellbeing support
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia, their diversity, histories and knowledge and their continuing connections to land, waterways and culture. We pay our respect to all Australian Indigenous Peoples and their cultures, and to Elders of past, present and future generations.
We would like to express our gratitude to all the healthy ageing advocates, including people living with dementia, older people, families, carers and health professionals, who contributed to the development of this portal. Thank you for sharing your stories and transferring your knowledge to make this portal purposeful and meaningful to support people in the North Brisbane and Moreton Bay region.