Carer & Family Support

A mental health carer is someone who cares for or about someone with a mental illness or mental health issues (whether diagnosed or not). 

Carers can be of all ages and have different relationships with the person with a mental illness. This includes children, adults, siblings, parents, grandparents, partners, other family, friends and neighbours.  

They are not paid formal carers (ie people employed as workers) but could receive a carer support payment through Centrelink because of their caring role. 

The person you care for does not need to have a formalized mental health diagnosis or NDIS package. If you identify that the person you care for has mental health needs and you are requiring support as a carer then you are encouraged to contact the Arafmi Carer Support Team.  

We can talk through your situation, identify possible options and provide you with information about these. Arafmi specialises in providing supports for mental health carers and can assist you to link with these and/or other more appropriate supports where this is beneficial. Some people experience mental health needs and other disabilities (e.g. intellectual disability) or health related needs and can require different specialised carer supports. If you are not sure if Arafmi has the right supports for you please call our team for assistance. 

Yes, the carer supports are for people in Queensland who care for someone with mental health needs regardless of whether the person they support is an inpatient, outpatient, living in supported accommodation, accessing private services or using public services. 

The 24-hour support line is available to carers across Queensland over the phone.  

Online supports for carers are provided via Zoom and include counselling, information and education sessions and support groups. There are general support groups and specialised support groups including caring for a young person, caring for a partner/spouse and caring for a person with a dual diagnosis. 

In some regions we have face-to-face support groups. An up-to-date listing is on the website at  

Carer Support Groups | Arafmi . If carers are interested in starting a support group they are encouraged to contact us to discuss their interest and we can provide training and support to establish a group. 

The Arafmi Carer Supports are primarily funded by Queensland Health. This means supports are free for carers.  

For one off larger events a small co-contribution could be requested. In these situations this would be clearly advertised in advance and support given to ensure carers are not missing out on opportunities because of their financial situation. 

Being a financial member of Arafmi is optional. Carers are encouraged to become a member for a small annual fee of $5 unwaged and $10 waged as this can provide additional benefits including invitations to focus groups, some events and voting rights at the Annual General meeting.

Join here

The Arafmi Carer Supports are available for carers to access as and when they need them. Carers can choose to access just one support or multiple supports and services.  

The 24-hour line is available 24/7 with no limit to access. 

The face-to-face and online groups can be accessed as one offs, on an ongoing basis or as and when needed.  

Workshops topics are repeated and carers can attend the same workshop again if they want. 

Short term individual carer support sessions can be provided to discuss a particular issue. Where specific counselling is needed we can assist with linking people with suitable ongoing emotional support.  

Overnight respite is available for carers who are Arafmi members. Carers usually book for 1-2 nights/year. As part of the intake process carers situations are assessed and bookings prioritised in response to needs. 

There are no waiting lists to access the 24-hour phone support line. After hours, the service has one line so if the line is busy please call back.  

Most supports groups are held monthly and these do not have waiting lists.  

We ask that you register for all workshops and education sessions. Further sessions could be organised if there was a higher than usual interest.  

Arafmi can provide emotional support for carers eg through phone support but unfortunately it is not part of our role to be individual advocates.  We are unable to be a part of review tribunals and physically attend meetings with carers. As we are not an advocacy service for individuals we will assist you to link with specialised and appropriate advocacy services. 

There are a range of other organisations that provide supports, funding and/or information for carers. Some of these include: 

Carer Gateway  1800 422 737  www.carergateway.gov.au 

Carers Queensland  07 3900 8100  www.carersqld.com.au 

Children of Parents with a Mental Illness (COPMI)  www.copmi.net.au 

Eating Disorders Queensland  07 3844 6055  www.eatingdisordersqueensland.org.au  

Little Dreamers (Young Carer organisation)  1800 717 515  Little Dreamers Australia 

Young Carers Network   www.youngcarersnetwork.com.au 

You are encouraged to look at these websites for details and contact the organisations directly for more information. We can also provide details to assist you to know which may be of relevance. 

Carers can self–refer to any of the Arafmi Carer Support Services programs or be referred by a health professional, family member or friend when consent has been given. A member of the Arafmi Carer Support Team will then connect with the carer, discuss their needs and assist them to access / book the relevant support.