This week is the National Carer Week 2017 which aims to raise awareness of the diversity of carers and their caring roles.

With a theme of Carers Count, the Week this year is putting a spotlight on the number of carers in Australia, the hours of care they provide, and the value of that unpaid care. You may not be aware that there are over 2.8 million family and friend carers in Australia, and they provide over $1 billion of unpaid care every week. That’s how much we count on them.

Many the 2.8 million carers in Australia come from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Culturally diverse carers face an even greater number of barriers in their daily lives. Carers Australia identifies some of these issues including the fact that there are different interpretations of the term ‘carer’ in different communities and language barriers which result in communities being unaware of available services and a lower take up of Centrelink services.

Do you know a Carer? Show them they count during this National Carers Week.

To learn more about CALD carers in Australia, please go to http://carersaustralia.com.au/about-carers/culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-carers/

There are also events at various location during the week. Please find out more at https://www.carersnsw.org.au/national-carers-week