On April 20 this year, the Tasmanian Carer Recognition Act 2023 was enacted.

This legislation supports people caring for someone with disability, mental ill health, a chronic or life-limiting condition, alcohol or other drug dependence, or because they are frail or aged. This legislation also formally recognises informal kinship carers within Tasmania.

An informal kinship carer is an adult providing care to a person under the age of 18 because their parent is not able to and there is no formal agreement/court order in place.

Carers Tasmania is undertaking a project to better understand the experiences and needs of informal kinship carers across Tasmania.

The project aims to identify and engage with informal kinship carers across Tasmania so we can understand their service and support needs.

Informal kinship carers can have their voice and stories heard through:

• Private (one-on-one) phone calls or Zoom discussions
• Attending a community forum in your local area (see below)Completing an online survey
• Completing an online survey – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/InformalKinshipCarerSurvey
• Sharing our social media (at bottom of this email)

All personal information collected will be kept confidential, and nothing identifiable will be shared with any government service (eg Centrelink, NDIS, etc).

What we will share are the overall experiences, gaps, needs, and ideas that we hope to hear from informal kinship carers as a broader group.

Our findings will be shared with the Tasmanian Government with the hope of influencing meaningful change so that more informal kinship carers can connect to and access support that is relevant to them and their families.

You can register your interest in being involved by contacting our Project Officer:

Dr Christine Rowland

christine.r@care2serve.com.au or phone 03 6144 3700