Across South Australia, thousands of grandparents are quietly stepping up to raise their grandchildren when the child’s parents are unable to do so. Often referred to as “Grandcarers,” these older Australians are providing safe, stable, and loving homes, usually without formal recognition or adequate support.
Many people assume all carers receive government assistance. But for informal Grandcarers, those who take on full-time care without a court order or child protection involvement, that support is often out of reach. They’re not officially recognised as carers, and that means they’re frequently left to manage on their own.
From enrolling children in school to covering everyday costs, Grandcarers face the full demands of parenting, often while juggling their own health, housing, or retirement realities. Many have had to dip into superannuation, delay downsizing, or come out of retirement altogether to care for their grandchildren.
That’s where Grandcarers SA steps in.
As South Australia's only dedicated support organisation for informal grandparent and family carers, Grandcarers SA has over 1300 registered clients who are caring for over 2200 children.
With two-thirds of Informal Kinship Carers living below the poverty line, half experiencing food insecurity, and a third caring for a child with mental health issues, they need all the help they can get.
Grandcarers SA offers clients a much-needed lifeline through:
- Peer Support Villages in 12 locations across SA where Grandcarers can connect, breach isolation and share experiences.
- Information workshops to support carers knowledge and understanding of children's issues, trauma, care and development
- Personal guidance to help navigate Centrelink, schools, health services, etc.
- Financial support (via philanthropic funding) to help cover specified children’s educational and development needs.
- Partnership support arrangements – e.g. providing home maintenance support through Habitat for Humanity’s, Brush with Kindness Program, and legal helpline clinics through Uniting Communities Legal Services Unit.
- Advocacy and awareness-raising to push for policy reform that recognises and funds informal carers.
CEO Mike Feszczak knows how important his organisation’s help is, saying, “A recent client survey confirmed the positive impact that we have on our clients, with half stating that our support has helped them keep children in their care and out of the Child Protection system, almost half feeling better connected to their community and two-thirds being helped to deal with care related challenges”.
“As a client recently wrote ‘Grandcarers SA, keep doing what you are doing because many a time you have dragged me out of that dark place’”.
If you or someone you know is a Grandcarer in South Australia, you’re not alone.
Visit www.grandcarers.au, call (08) 8212 1837 or email them at contactus@grandcarers.au to learn more or access services
You can learn more about their advocacy to gain recognition and funding for clients at: Advocacy - Grandcarers SA