Australia’s young carers are holding up our care system – and paying for it with their futures

Written by Madeleine Buchner OAM, co-founder and CEO of Little Dreamers Australia

Most Australians have no idea that right now, hundreds of thousands of young people are quietly holding their families together while their own education, wellbeing and childhoods are pushed aside. You may know one – a neighbour, a classmate a colleague – without realising it.

They are young carers – Australians aged 25 or under who provide unpaid care for a family member living with disability, chronic or mental illness, addiction or frail age. Their caring responsibilities are relentless, often stretching late into the night, and they do this while trying to keep up with school, work and the expectations of simply being young.

The scale of this hidden workforce is staggering. Over 391,300 young Australians are young carers¹ – a number large enough to fill the MCG four times over. This is not a niche group. They are present in every community, yet their experiences remain largely invisible to the systems meant to support them.

And the consequences of that invisibility are profound.

A generation trapped between poverty and an education system not built for them

New data from Little Dreamers Australia’s Annual Young Carer Survey reveals a crisis hiding in plain sight. More than one in three young carers miss school every week, and 67% say their grades are affected by their caring responsibilities². These are not isolated cases, and this is a structural pattern.

Financial hardship compounds the problem. Nearly six in ten young carer families experience chronic financial stress, and almost half go without essentials such as food, transport or medicine². Shockingly, 35% of young carers use their own money to cover caring costs². These are children and young adults stepping in where systems fall short, plugging gaps in Australia’s care infrastructure with their own time, energy and bank accounts.

Behind closed doors, young carers are administering medication, managing crises and holding their families together. They turn up to school exhausted and are expected to perform like nothing’s wrong.

This is the reality for young carers – balancing school, work and personal development while providing essential care. It is a nearimpossible task, and yet we expect them to do it without recognition, flexibility or adequate support.

The emotional toll: invisible, normalised, and overwhelming

Two in three young carers experience mental health challenges, yet one in three go without professional support due to cost, long waitlists or lack of youthappropriate services². Caring is often framed as a family obligation rather than a choice, which means young carers frequently normalise their experiences, and so do the adults around them. When a burden is invisible, it becomes far too easy to ignore.

Schools are the frontline, but teachers aren’t equipped

If young carers are slipping through the cracks, schools are often where it happens. Support may exist, but teachers frequently lack the training to identify carerelated absenteeism or understand the pressures young carers face. Without early recognition, students fall behind, disengage, or disappear from the system entirely.

Little Dreamers Australia is calling for urgent government action, including training teachers to identify and support young carers early, providing individual learning plans and flexible schooling options, and expanding the Young Carer Bursary to ease financial pressure These are not luxuries – they are the minimum required to give young carers the same opportunities as their peers.

Where systems fail, community steps in

For 17 years, Little Dreamers Australia has been providing respite, mentoring, tutoring, wellbeing support and peer connection to young carers across the country. Our programs help young carers stay engaged in school, rebuild confidence and protect their mental health. They offer something young carers rarely receive – the chance to simply be young.

But this work relies heavily on philanthropy and public generosity. As the end of the financial year approaches, every taxdeductible donation becomes a lifeline for a young person carrying responsibilities most adults would struggle with.

We cannot keep asking children to hold up our care system

Australia’s care system quietly depends on young carers. These young people are growing up too fast, sacrificing their education, wellbeing and future opportunities to keep their families afloat.

We should not require children and young people to carry these burdens alone. With coordinated support across education, health and community systems, young carers can remain connected to learning, opportunity and hope.

They deserve more than our admiration. They deserve action.

About Madeleine Buchner OAM

Madeleine Buchner OAM is the CoFounder and CEO of Little Dreamers Australia. She founded the organisation at just 16, driven by her own lived experience and a vision that no young carer should ever feel alone, unsupported or unrecognised. Under her leadership, Little Dreamers has grown into Australia’s leading young carer support organisation, delivering more than 14,500 hours of respite, educational assistance, mentoring and mental health support each year, improving the lives of over 6,500 young people. In 2019, Madeleine was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to young carers, transforming personal adversity into national impact and becoming a powerful advocate for young people carrying significant caring responsibilities.

About Little Dreamers Australia

Little Dreamers Australia is the country’s leading organisation supporting young carers aged 4 to 25 who care for a family member affected by disability, chronic or mental illness, addiction or frail age. Through a range of inperson and online programs, Little Dreamers works to improve young carers’ wellbeing across five key areas of risk: education, employment, mental and physical health, social connection and financial literacy. Since 2009, the organisation has delivered bestpractice, internationally recognised programs and continues to advocate for greater recognition and support for young carers nationwide.

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Australia’s young carers are holding up our care system – and paying for it with their futures

Summary for op-ed intro

Australia’s 391,300 young carers are quietly holding up our care system, often sacrificing their own education, wellbeing and childhood to support a family member with disability, illness or frail age. New research shows many face chronic financial stress, disrupted schooling and significant mental health challenges – all while carrying responsibilities most adults would struggle with. Without better recognition and support across schools, health and community systems, these young people will continue to shoulder burdens no child should face alone.