Measure 6.1: Increased carer awareness, access and satisfaction with dementia support services and resources
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Improving carers’ awareness of, access to, and satisfaction with available supports can assist carers in managing the physical, mental and social demands of their caring role. There are key support services that carers of people living with dementia may access in Australia, for more information, see the National Dementia Action Plan. Information about carers in Australia is also available in Dementia in Australia’s Carers and care needs of people with dementia.
There are no national data to monitor carer satisfaction with support services. Some data that provide insights into the experiences of carers of people living with dementia are available from:
- the Carer Wellbeing Survey
- Dementia Australia.
However, the indicators shown below should be interpreted with caution as the data may under-represent carers who are not engaged with carer support organisations.
Data development is underway, with ongoing work to improve the availability of national data to inform this measure. Data from the recently conducted Living with Dementia Survey may be added to reporting when they become available.
Carers’ ability to connect with each other to share experiences and advice
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Indicator
Proportion of carers of people living with dementia who connected with other carers to share experiences and advice.
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Baseline value
36% of carers in 2024
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Latest value
Baseline value only
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Progress
To be provided in future updates
The desired outcome is that more carers of people living with dementia can connect with other carers to share experiences and advice, meaning this indicator should increase over time.
Change over time
Future updates of this report will track changes over time for this indicator.
Historical change over time: 2022 to 2024
The proportion of carers of people living with dementia who connected with other carers to share experiences and advice was stable at 35% in 2022, 34% in 2023 and 36% in 2024 (Figure 6.1.1). These differences were not statistically significant.
Figure 6.1.1: Proportion of carers of people living with dementia who connected with other carers to share experiences and advice, 2022 to 2024
Column chart shows 35% in 2022, 34% in 2023 and 36% in 2024.
| Year | Proportion of carers |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 35% |
| 2023 | 34% |
| 2024 | 36% |
Source:
AIHW analysis of Carer Wellbeing Survey 2022, 2023, and 2024 data
In 2024, the proportion of carers of people living with dementia who connected to other carers to share experiences and advice did not differ significantly across population groups:
- 36% of women and 36% of men
- 34% of carers living in Major cities and 40% of carers living in regional or remote areas.
Access to carer training and skills courses
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Indicator
Proportion of carers of people living with dementia who had accessed carer training and skills courses.
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Baseline value
23% of carers in 2024
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Latest value
Baseline value only
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Progress
To be provided in future updates
The desired outcome is that more carers of people living with dementia can access carer training and skills courses.
Change over time
Future updates of this report will track changes over time for this indicator.
Historical change over time: 2022 to 2024
The proportion of carers of people living with dementia who had accessed carer training and skills courses was similar at 23% in 2022, 22% in 2023 and 23% in 2024 (Figure 6.1.2). These differences were not statistically significant.
Figure 6.1.2: Proportion of carers of people living with dementia who accessed carer training and skills courses, 2022 to 2024
Column chart shows 23% in 2022, 22% in 2023 and 23% in 2024.
| Year | Proportion of carers |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 23% |
| 2023 | 22% |
| 2024 | 23% |
Source:
AIHW analysis of Carer Wellbeing Survey 2022, 2023, and 2024 data
In 2024, the proportion of carers of people living with dementia who accessed carer training and skills courses did not differ significantly across population groups:
- 24% of women and 22% of men
- 24% of carers living in Major cities and 22% of carers living in regional or remote areas.
These data come from AIHW analysis of the Carer Wellbeing Survey (CWS).
The CWS is an annual national survey into the wellbeing of carers and their support services. In the most recent year available (2024), 9,166 carers were surveyed across Australia.
AIHW analysis of CWS data uses weighted percentages. Statistical significance (or non-significance) of differences in proportions between population groups or years for all comparisons of CWS data have been calculated based on a two-proportion z-test using weighted proportions.
While various demographic information is collected in the CWS, those with low counts and/or high relative standard errors are not presented in this report. Data for population groups are reported for this most recent year of data only and where data quality allows. This includes gender and remoteness area.
Remoteness area in the CWS uses the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure. In this report ‘regional or remote’ incorporates the categories of Inner regional, Outer regional, Remote and Very remote.
While the CWS may under-represent carers who are not well connected with carer organisations and supports, it still provides important insights into the experiences of carers of people living with dementia.
For more detailed data, including the counts used to calculate proportions, see the Supplementary data tables.
For more information, see the Technical notes.
Access to supports and satisfaction
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Indicator
Number of family and carers who receive support through Dementia Australia.
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Baseline value
10,163 family and carers in 2023–24
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Latest value
Baseline value only
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Progress
To be provided in future updates
The desired outcome is that more family and carers of people living with dementia receive adequate supports, meaning this indicator should increase over time.
Change over time
Future updates of this report will track changes over time for this indicator.
Historical change over time: 2022–23 to 2023–24
There was an increase in the number of family and carers who received support through Dementia Australia, from 8,000 in 2022–23 to 10,163 in 2023–24.
In 2023–24, among family and carers of people living with dementia who received support from Dementia Australia:
- 76% were women
- 24% were men
- 41% were aged under 65, of whom most (81%) were women (Figure 6.1.3)
- 6.8% were aged 85 or over, of whom 55% were women
- 42% lived in rural or remote areas.
Figure 6.1.3: Number of family and carers who received support through Dementia Australia, by gender and age group, 2023–24
Column chart shows women aged under 65 were most likely to access supports and in all age groups women were more likely to access supports than men.
First Nations people
Among family and carers of people living with dementia who received support from Dementia Australia, 1.0% (87 people) were identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people.
Cultural and linguistic diversity status
Among family and carers of people living with dementia who received support from Dementia Australia, 4.5% (453 people) were culturally or linguistically diverse.
These data come from Dementia Australia.
Dementia Australia collect data for the purposes of understanding their clientele, what groups in Australia seek or do not seek their supports, and to meet internal and external reporting requirements. While data from Dementia Australia can provide insights on the use of dementia support programs, collecting complete data is not the main task or priority during certain interactions, such as calls to the National Dementia Helpline when a caller is experiencing a level of stress, for example. As such, Dementia Australia data is only indicative of services provided.
This indicator is the number of family and carers of people living with dementia who accessed the National Dementia Support Program, the Commonwealth Home Support Program or other state-funded services through Dementia Australia in 2023–24.
The indicator is presented as a raw number because there are currently no suitable denominator data that represent the total number in the target population.
Remoteness areas are based on the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure. ‘Rural or remote’ includes Inner regional, Outer regional, Remote and Very remote areas.
Data for population groups are reported for this most recent year of data only and where data quality allows. This includes age, gender and diverse populations. The published population data describe only Dementia Australia clients with known remoteness, Indigenous status, age, and/or gender.
National data on people accessing dementia-specific support programs is needed to better understand enablers and barriers to accessing supports, and to provide more detailed demographic information.
For more detailed data, including the counts used to calculate proportions, see the Supplementary data tables.
For more information, see the Technical notes.