Many carers underestimate the importance of rest time when it comes to providing care to a family member or friend. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicates that 55 per cent of primary carers performed their caring role for more than 20 hours per week. This was regardless of other employment or personal responsibilities. This ongoing commitment may become taxing on your physical and mental health if you don’t take ample breaks.
Many carers will have heard of respite care providers, but may not know:
To help, we've created this guide for carers defining what respite care services are and identifying when this care option might be suitable.
Respite offers carers the chance to rest while those in their care still receive the attention needed.
Respite care is a period of relief from regular caring duties, providing a break from day-to-day responsibilities while the person cared for continues to receive care from qualified individuals. Respite offers carers:
This period of rest can be flexible to suit the requirements of the carer, depending on the length of the break needed and the support the person cared for needs. The importance of respite is demonstrated by the fact that there were approximately 70,000 admissions into respite care services in 2017 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare), be that at home, in a community setting or in a residential facility.
Respite can be regular planned support or arranged quickly as a one off in response to a family emergency
There are four main forms of respite care available:
You can access respite services in your home, at a respite centre or cottage or at a care facility.
There are some tell-tale signs that indicate you may benefit from a break from your caring role. These include:
Anglicare also offers carers information, education and training in many aspects of being a carer, particularly if you are caring for someone living with dementia. Anglicare has Carer Support Groups where you can come along and meet with others in similar circumstances. Carers making these connections often feel less isolated when they share their experiences and learn from others.
The Commonwealth Government offers subsidised planned respite for people aged over 65 years or over 50 years for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Communities via the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, and/or in subsidised beds in residential facilities.
To access this support you can contact My Aged Care 1800 200 422 for a referral for ongoing planned in-home respite, regular planned centre based respite and overnight cottage respite.
To access residential respite in a care home the person cared for will need an ACAT assessment, the My Aged Care team can arrange this for you.
You can also contact Anglicare directly on 1300 111 278 if you need support accessing respite services for the older person you care for.
To access respite for younger people with a disability you can contact the Carer Gateway 1800 422 737 they will direct you to your local respite support centre.
The ABS' Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers show 2.7 million Australians provided informal care at its last count. That's a significant number of people caring for another person. It also indicates there may be millions of people who aren't aware of the support options available.
Being a carer is a rewarding and sometimes challenging role but no one can do it 24 hours a day 7 days a week. To be able to continue to support another person long term carers should plan to take regular breaks and seek support if they are not feeling that they are coping.
Everybody deserves a break - especially people who care for others. Anglicare recognises the amazing, selfless support carers provide and so specialises in providing carer support and respite services to uphold carers and help to strengthen relationships with the person cared for.
We understand the commitment carers make to the person cared for and want to offer carers as much help as they need to keep caring. This includes offering carers time to rest and the peace of mind that their person cared for will be safe, valued and in good hands.
The experienced Anglicare team offers happy, safe and high-quality caring respite environments.