A little support makes a big difference

I care for someone living with dementia

Nearly 1.6 million Australians are involved in the care of someone living with dementia. You may be caring for a family member, partner or friend.

As a carer, it can be easy to put the other person’s needs first and ignore your own. Looking after yourself is vital for your health and wellbeing.

Read our tips for self-care for some ideas that might help you gather support and look after yourself. This includes services that may be available to you, emotional support you may want to seek out and ways you can look after your own health.

If you have family and friends asking what they can do to help, you might want to pass on tips for supporting a carer to them as well.

There are of course many ways that you can, and probably already do, support a person living with dementia in your life. Explore our resources to make a plan for a dementia-friendly home, make a memory book together and plan for the future using simple checklists.

Caring for a person with dementia can be rewarding and challenging. Carers need a bit of support too. Read our tips for self-care for some ideas that might help you gather support and look after yourself. 

Finding the right information, and having resources to refer to, can be empowering for carers and family. We have curated a series of practical resources to help you anticipate possible challenges and understand the experience of the person you caring for. 

This help sheet provides information for families and carers of people with dementia who need to move to residential care. It discusses some of the things to consider when choosing a residential aged care home that will suit the needs of the person with dementia.

Keen to start spreading the word? You can download and share posters or social media posts about Dementia Action Week, discrimination and dementia.

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