Respite care is when someone else looks after the person you care for so you can take a break. Professional respite service providers and trained volunteers provide this care. Many working carers see their job as a form of respite, and while it is not the same as a formal respite service, work does give a break from caring. Working carers are able to access a small number of respite services to help cope with the demands of juggling work and care. This Fact Sheet outlines respite care services, eligibility, costs and tips to help make taking respite easier.

How is respite care provided?

Respite care is provided by community care services that are part of the Home and Community Care (HACC) Program and the National Respite for Carers Program, and by aged care facilities.

Respite can happen with:

• a trained person coming to the home of the person you care for a few hours a week or an occasional weekend
• the care receiver going to visit at the home of a volunteer host family
• activities at an adult day care centre which provides full or half-day care
• care in a residential aged care home or,
• residential respite centre for young people with a disability for two or three weeks

While attending respite, care receivers can engage in social and group activities such as card or board games, bus trips, shopping tours or a BBQ lunch in the park.

Respite arrangements are negotiated so they suit everyone involved. For example, you may be able to get a couple of hours a week of respite to do a class or go shopping, or a few weeks a year to go on holiday. Most respite services have waiting lists, so try to plan your respite well in advance. This is especially the case around school holiday times.

Respite care may also be available if you need help for a short period, for example if you are ill or recovering from an illness, or in an emergency.

Why take a break?

Caring can be demanding and tiring work, especially when you are juggling it with paid employment. Having regular time out from caring to spend with other members of your family or friends, pursue your hobbies and interests or to take a holiday can make caring so much easier. You can use this time to run errands, attend medical appointments or support groups, have a massage, take an exercise class… or just do nothing.

For the person you are caring for, respite offers additional life experiences such as new people to meet, new activities and holidays. Respite care can enhance the independence, community participation and quality of life for people needing care. It can give people something to look forward to, and memories to look back on. Care receivers often welcome the chance to take a break from the carer too!

I’m working – am I eligible?

Respite programs are generally targeted at those ‘at-home’, unpaid carers providing significant levels of care to family members or friends. In NSW, respite care is generally not available to enable full-time employees to go to work. Instead, short periods of respite assist working carers to cope with the demands of working and caring. There are some day programs for older people and people with disabilities. However these are limited and part-time.

If you are caring for an older person, adult day respite centres sometimes have packages dedicated to supporting working carers for about one day a week. These usually involve the person you are caring for attending a day program, and some in-home support both before and after the program. You do not necessarily have to use the respite care to go to work.

Your local Commonwealth Carelink Centre (1800 052 222) specialises in aged care services and has information about these packages. If none are available in your area, approach your local adult day respite centre, let them know about funding available from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing specifically for working carers, and ask them to apply for it.

If you are caring for a child or young person with a disability, their attendance at school usually means you can go to work. Young school leavers can attend day programs that assist them with living skills and assimilation into social and work situations. School leavers may be able to obtain supported employment.

For other caring situations, talk to the respite service and explain your work commitments and special needs. You have the right to a say in the type of assistance provided and the way it is provided so it suits you and the person you care for, and is provided at a time and place that is convenient. You also have the right to complain if the respite care provided is not of high quality.

The limited availability of respite care means you will usually have to find other supports for the care receiver while you are at work. These could include care from other family members or friends, participation by the care receiver in social activities or other special programs or volunteer support. The Red Cross provides a service that will call the person you are caring for each morning to check they are okay.

How much does respite cost?

Some services are free while others may charge a small fee or charge according to your ability to pay. Residential respite usually charges a standard fee. Private services may be expensive. Sometimes respite services can assist with subsidising the costs of care and/or the costs of activities.  If the cost of respite is preventing you from taking a break, talk to staff at the Commonwealth Carer Respite Centre on 1800 059 059.

Some tips for taking a break

Respite services and carer support services offer the following tips to help make taking respite easier:

• If you are new to respite, start with small breaks and work up to longer ones.
• Organise regular respite in advance to avoid getting too stressed from caring.
• If you feel anxious about using respite services, or have difficulties getting the person you care for to accept your need for a break, the Commonwealth Carer Resource Centre may be able to help with some tips. Call the Centre on 1800 242 636.
• Make some care notes or a respite plan so the respite carers know about the person they are caring for. Include the care receiver’s routines, likes and dislikes, medications and who to call in an emergency.

How do I find out about respite in my area?

 

There are about 20 Commonwealth Carer Respite Centres across New South Wales who co-ordinate access to respite services. They can give you advice about respite and find the service closest to you. They can also help you get the right respite services.

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The toll-free number 1800 059 059 will connect you directly with the Centre nearest to you. This number is available 24 hours a day so carers can call on respite services in the event of an emergency.

 

Some of the things that the Centres do include:

• giving information about planned, regular respite to carers and making referrals to respite services on the carer’s behalf when needed
• offering a 24-hour, seven day a week emergency in-home respite service
• booking respite in nursing homes and hostels
• purchasing respite in private facilities, holiday venues and other respite centres
• providing occasional or short term respite when a carer needs an afternoon off or a few days away or when they are waiting for a more regular service
• organising special events for carers such as boat cruises or pampering days
• working with other respite centres and relevant agencies to help bring about change and improvements in the respite system
• helping co-ordinate support groups where none exist
• co-ordinating volunteer support for carers

Some respite services cater for people with particular language or cultural needs such as diet or types of activities. Some may have workers that speak languages other than English. You have a right to access quality services irrespective of sex, race, ethnicity, culture, language, religion, marital status, disability, sexuality or age. You also have a right to expect assistance that is reliable and culturally and linguistically relevant.

 

However it may be difficult to obtain certain types of respite in some areas and most services have waiting lists. Ask your Commonwealth Carer Respite Centre if appropriate respite services are available. The Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) can help you if you need assistance in a language other than English. Call TIS on 13 14 50, ask to speak to the Commonwealth Carer Respite Centre and a free and confidential interpreter will be provided.

 

If you need more respite, or different kinds of respite than what is available, let your local respite centre or service know. You may have your own ideas about the type of break you would like or the type of assistance that would reduce your stress. You may like to join your local carer association – there is one in each State – and add your voice to their efforts to gain increased respite services for carers. Some carers have written to their local newspaper or Member of Parliament and this has led to improvements for them. Join our online discussion forum to have your say on the sorts of respite that would enable you to continue to work and care.

For more information

 

Contact the Commonwealth Carer Respite Centre, a single contact point for detailed information about local respite services, on 1800 059 059.

Carer Support Kits contain Emergency Care Plan booklets which you can fill in with information about the person you are caring for. The kits are available from Commonwealth Carer Respite Centres on 1800 059 059 and the Commonwealth Carer Resource Centre on 1800 242 636. They come in English and 13 community languages, and there is a special version for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers.

 

See our Fact Sheets on Ageing and Disability Services, the Home and Community Care (HACC) Program and Carer Associations.

 

You can use the link below to download a fact sheet on Holidays from CarersNSW:
www.carersnsw.asn.au
 

What next?

If you would like to discuss the issues raised in this Fact Sheet you may like to try:

• checking out our Services Directory to find the local services that may be able to assist you as a working carer
• contacting Carers Australia on 1800 242 636 for information, support, referral and advice about your caring role and services that can assist you. If English is not your first language and you need assistance in talking with the Centre, contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131450.
• subscribing to our monthly newsletter, Work 'n' Care, for regular information and support regarding the issues facing working carers.

Work 'n' Care Monthly Newsletter

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