Young Carers in Australia Understanding the Advantages and Disadvantages of Their Care Giving

Young carers are children and young adults who have informal caring responsibilities for other people, usually family members who have a chronic illness, physical or mental disability. This report examines the impact of caring on young carers and the implications for policy development. The first section is a literature review of Australian, British and American research, followed by a qualitative analysis of data on carer characteristics, using the Australian Census of Population and Housing (2006), the Survey of Disability Ageing and Carers (2003), and the HILDA Survey (2005). The report also presents findings from focus groups with 65 young carers, on the benefits and costs of caring and their support needs, as well as focus groups with policy makers and service providers.