The Secret Life of Carers

Elizabeth is a war widow and former carer to her late husband, Lindsay, who passed away in 2002 at the age of 78. Lindsay served in the Second World War as a leading aircraftman in the RAAF, serving in New Guinea and Borneo. He volunteered to assist with the repatriation of Australian prisoners of war from the infamous Changi POW camp in Japanese-occupied Singapore. Elizabeth and Lindsay were married for 30 years, having four children together before ill-health and war injuries caught up with Lindsay in later life, seeing Elizabeth become his full time carer.

Caroline was just finding her feet as a defence partner when her defence member, Daniel, was medically downgraded in 2023. As far as Caroline is concerned, the couple was medically discharged from the forces together. This gave rise to a whole new set of health implications and challenges. These included finding new healthcare providers in a new location with an understanding of veteran culture and medical reporting requirements under the Department of Veterans Affairs. And navigating not only full-time but new employment as a partner.

Jo-anna began identifying as a carer when her family needed to take time off to look after her husband, Peter. Peter started to become noticeably unwell after returning from Afghanistan. This progressively became worse over the next few years, and like a lot of veterans, it took Peter a long time to acknowledge something was wrong. It has been a long road for Jo-anna and Pete and they share their story to help others.

Lidia is the wife and carer of her veteran husband. She's also the carer of her daughter. Based in Adelaide, Lidia has engaged with services and support including Carers South Australia and she joins the podcast to share some insights about the practicalities of assistance available to carers.

This episode is a little different. Our guest today is Julia's husband, Jai. He joins the podcast to chat about his and Julia's experience as a couple where the wife is a partner-carer to him as a veteran, but where the roles have also been reversed at times.

Jess talks about her family's experience as a dual-serving veteran family with an additional needs child and how this unique dynamic shapes their family life and caregiving responsibilities. Jess discusses misconceptions about this unique dynamic and educates others about her family's experiences.

The next season of The Secret Life of Carers focuses on defence members and their partner/carers, so Jamila Rizvi has passed the hosting mic to Julia Michel (founder of The Home Post community) who will share her expertise and lived experience as a defence partner and carer.

This season on The Secret Life of Carers host Jamila Rizvi is back and focusing on the unique challenges women who care face in employment. When Diana's son Hamish was born with significant medical needs, she started to realise her plans for the future might look a bit different. Over time, as Hamish's care needs became increasingly complex Diana's plans became further and further out of reach and after being told her caring responsibilities for her Hamish weren't compatible with paid work, she finally let go of her plans. In what felt like her darkest hour Diana discovered support and resources that brought about unexpected change. She found the Your Caring Way program. Listen on: ⁠Apple podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠Amazon Music⁠, ⁠Google podcasts⁠ and ⁠more⁠. For more information and resources about unpaid carers, visit ⁠carersaustralia.com.au⁠. If you are a carer looking for help, there is support available for you through the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 or visit ⁠carergateway.gov.au⁠. This season, developed by Carers Australia as part of the Women Who Care program, was made possible thanks to support from the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Office for Women. Carers Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities as the traditional custodians of the land we work on and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Ngunnawal people in Canberra, Australia.

This season on The Secret Life of Carers host Jamila Rizvi is back and focusing on the unique challenges women who care face in employment. Having had six kids Lisa knew how to be a mum and she knew that caring for her children was in the job description. Yet as one of her daughters faced increasingly severe mental ill health; Lisa began to realise that what she needed to do to help her daughter was not normal parenting. In this episode, Lisa tells us how mental health caring has its own suite of challenges, and how identifying as a carer helped strengthen her family relationships. Listen on: ⁠Apple podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠,⁠Amazon Music⁠, ⁠Google podcasts⁠ and ⁠more⁠. For more information and resources about unpaid carers, visit ⁠carersaustralia.com.au⁠. If you are a carer looking for help, there is support available for you through the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 or visit ⁠carergateway.gov.au⁠. This season, developed by Carers Australia as part of the Women Who Care program, was made possible thanks to support from the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Office for Women. Carers Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities as the traditional custodians of the land we work on and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Ngunnawal people in Canberra, Australia.

This season on The Secret Life of Carers host Jamila Rizvi is back and focusing on the unique challenges women who care face in employment. This episode meets Bhupinder, who worked hard to get the exact life she wanted and lost it due no fault of her own. However, after several years spent caring for her husband, raising two kids and managing several moves across continents, she had the chance to go back to work but Bhupinder returned to work after an extended period outside of paid employment. This episode explores how caring changes you, changes your values, your needs, your outlook and your expectations of work.  Listen on: ⁠Apple podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠Amazon Music⁠, ⁠Google podcasts⁠ and ⁠more⁠. For more information and resources about unpaid carers, visit ⁠carersaustralia.com.au⁠. If you are a carer looking for help, there is support available for you through the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 or visit ⁠carergateway.gov.au⁠. This season, developed by Carers Australia as part of the Women Who Care program, was made possible thanks to support from the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Office for Women. Carers Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities as the traditional custodians of the land we work on and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Ngunnawal people in Canberra, Australia.

This season on The Secret Life of Carers host Jamila Rizvi is back and focusing on the unique challenges women who care face in employment. Episode two introduces us to Briana, whose journey of self-discovery and identifying as a carer was more confronting than the reality of providing care. In a past life Briana covered foreign news for Al Jazeera and Associated Press TV. Today she is a proud advocate and carer for her two children who live with disability. Listen in as Briana shares how she’s paving the way for other carers by changing the way she speaks about her experience. Listen on: ⁠Apple podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠Amazon Music⁠, ⁠Google podcasts⁠ and ⁠more⁠. For more information and resources about unpaid carers, visit ⁠carersaustralia.com.au⁠. If you are a carer looking for help, there is support available for you through the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 or visit ⁠carergateway.gov.au⁠ This season, developed by Carers Australia as part of the Women Who Care program, was made possible thanks to support from the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Office for Women. Carers Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities as the traditional custodians of the land we work on and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Ngunnawal people in Canberra, Australia.

This season on The Secret Life of Carers host Jamila Rizvi is back and focusing on the unique challenges women who care face in employment. This episode we meet Sammy. At the age of 19 most people are only just learning how to properly take care of themselves, however for Sammy she had to learn how to take care of someone else too. Having just moved interstate and getting ready to live her Carrie Bradshaw life, in 2021 Sammy's mum Teed got a terminal diagnosis. Little did Sammy know, dropping everything to move back home was only the start of her journey. Whilst Sammy was adjusting to life as a carer, Teed went to work hoping to break down the stigma around death, documenting what it is like to live whilst dying. Amassing over 500,000 Tik Tok followers in the process, Sammy was with her mum every step of the way and is at the start of her journey of figure out who she is now.  Listen on: ⁠Apple podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠Amazon Music⁠, ⁠Google podcasts⁠ and ⁠more⁠. For more information and resources about unpaid carers, visit ⁠carersaustralia.com.au⁠. If you are a carer looking for help, there is support available for you through the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 or visit ⁠carergateway.gov.au⁠. The Secret Life of Carers is a podcast by Carers Australia, this season was developed as part of our Women Who Care Program which is funded by the Australian Government Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet - Office for Women. This episode was produced by Good Shout and recorded on the lands of the Ngunnawal people in Canberra, Australia. Carers Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities as the traditional custodians of the land we work on and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging.

We're back with a new season of the 'The Secret Life of Carers with Jamila Rizvi'! In this season of The Secret Life of Carers, we focus on the unique challenges women who care face in employment. Research shows that approximately 60% of carers are women, and women who care report lower rates of employment due to their caring role. Join us as host Jamila Rizvi speaks with five fascinating women in varying stages of their career/work experience to better understand their unique challenges and address the caring employment gap. The Secret Life of Carers season 3 begins Friday June 30, 2023. #WomenWhoCare Listen on: Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google podcasts and more.For more information and resources about unpaid carers, visit carersaustralia.com.au.If you are a carer looking for help, there is support available for you through the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 or visit carergateway.gov.au. This season, developed by Carers Australia as part of the Women Who Care program, was made possible thanks to support from the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Office for Women. Carers Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities as the traditional custodians of the land we work on and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Ngunnawal people in Canberra, Australia.

Kids are always growing and changing; so too are the services and  programs which support them to thrive. In this episode, we hear from  Steph and Merin, two professionals who reflect on how the early  childhood early intervention space has changed over the last decade, and  what this means for children, carers, and their families.

Finding and learning how to use supports that work for a family can be  challenging. Often, it's a matter of trial and error - and these needs  can change as a child grows. In this episode we hear from Jasmin, a  proud Guugu Yimithirr descendant who reflects on how the right supports  gave her son Lukey the tools to find his voice. In celebration of  International Women's Day, Jasmin reflects on being both a mum and a  carer.

Finding the right supports which work for children, their families, and  their carers can transform lives. Even though two children might have  the same formal diagnosis, their support needs can be very different! In  this episode we hear from Robert, a dad who cares for his son Shaun,  along with occupational therapist Kat, discussing how to get the right  early intervention supports in place.

Seeking answers and formal diagnosis for kids looks very different for  every family. The process can be a long and confusing road with many  carers wondering where to start, who to talk to, and what to do. In this  episode we hear from Millie, a mum who cares and advocates for her twin  daughters as they search for answers.

Doris is a mental health carer based in Western Sydney where she works  in the disability sector. She provides remote care to her Nan in Fiji  and is also primary carer for her dear friend, Mamasan, who lives in a  Sydney nursing home. Doris reflects on her many caring roles throughout  her life and the role culture plays in developing her love for caring.

Gee is a family support worker from Melbourne who grew up as a young  carer for her sister, Emma. Emma lives with depression and Gee was a  part of her support network throughout high school and university.

For Meredith, coffee is the fuel that keeps her and a team of Sydney  parents going, while they sit in cars outside their teenagers' schools.  Many of these students experience complex mental illness and having  their parents nearby is an additional safety net to the in-school  supports available. Meredith is a carer for her daughter, Gabrielle.  Gabrielle experiences complex mental distress with several diagnoses and  an extensive medication regime.