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Little Dreamers Australia

Supporting young people aged 4 to 25 who provide care for a family member affected by disability, chronic or mental illness, addiction or frail age.

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Dream Experience

Ever wanted to ride in a hot air balloon? Or run onto the ground with your favourite footy team? Dream Experiences are our way of recognising and saying thanks to Young Carers!

Dream Experience

Holiday Program

Our Holiday Programs give Young Carers the opportunity to get to know other young people in caring roles and receive some much needed respite during the school holidays, with loads of fun outings and activities!

Holiday Program

Big Dreamers

Our six-month Personal Development Program helps Young Carers navigate identity, careers, study, relationships and life skills as they reach their final years of schooling.

Big Dreamers

Dreamers Hub

Content, connection and care. Our Dreamers Hub is an online support platform created by Young Carers for Young Carers, with regular content, workshops and forums.

Dreamers Hub

Mentoring, Tutoring and More

Our Mentoring and Tutoring Programs provide Young Carers with tailored support and guidance, while increasing social connection and improving mental health.

Learn More
Young Carer Byron, aged 8, wears a Richmond FC jersey and holds a yellow football. He has a big toothy smile and is missing his front teeth. Dustin Martin stands to his right, with his hand on Byron's shoulder. Dusty is also smiling. They are standing at a gate with a large green football oval behind them.
Two girls stand together with their arms around each other's shoulders and big smiles. They are both wearing zip up jackets in shades of green. The image captures them from the waist upwards and behind them are rows of chairs set up for a speaker presentation.
Three Young Carers sit next to each other looking into the distance. Danny is in a red varsity jacket seated in the middle, his hands crossed at his mouth and elbows resting on his legs. He has short black hair. Taylah sits to his left, hands resting between her knees, and Julianna had her arms folded, smiling, on the right of the frame in the distance. They are sitting on the verandah with a house behind them.
Aylin stands in the centre, mid laugh with her hands in the air. She wears an oversized navy hoodie and has her hair tied half up off her face. Maddy stands on the right, crouched over mid laugh. She has long, straight brown hair and a grey knit jumper. Taylah is on the left, standing straight and looking off to the side. She has a smile on her face.
Young Carer, Julianna, and volunteer, Michelle, stand together, smiling at the camera. Julianna's long black hair is tied in two braids that sit over her shoulders, and Michelle has her arm around Julianna, her brown curly hair swept behind her shoulders. Michelle is in a stripy t-shirt with toucan birds printed on it and Juilianna is wearing a black t-shirt.
Take the quiz

Am I A Young Carer?

If you’re not too sure whether you (or someone you know) might be a Young Carer, a great place to start is this quiz! While we acknowledge that every caring role is different, and that not all Young Carers feel that they need to access support, we’re also incredibly passionate about raising awareness, promoting inclusivity and advocating for young people in caring roles!

Take the quiz

It’s likely you’re a Young Carer!

A Young Carer is someone under the age of 25 who provides, or intends to provide care for a family member with a disability, illness, mental illness or an addiction – and your answers suggest that’s you!

Being a Young Carer can be awesome! Young Carers learn compassion, maturity, kindness and empathy from having a caring role, and often develop an incredible bond with the family member they’re supporting. But being a Young Carer can also have an impact on education, social life, employment and mental and physical health. That’s something we’re passionate about changing.

If you’d like to chat to us further about being a Young Carer, or the kind of support we can provide, then give us a call on 1800 717 515. You can also check out our range of support programs on offer here.

Otherwise, you can apply for support with us straight away, and we’ll be in touch!

Apply for support

You’re probably not a Young Carer.

A Young Carer is someone under the age of 25 who provides, or intends to provide care for a family member with a disability, illness, mental illness or an addiction. Your answers didn’t seem to match up with this definition.

But fear not! We know that every caring role is different, and this quiz may not always be right! So, if you’d like to chat to us further and assess whether we can support you, then give us a call on 1800 717 515.

We encourage you to read more about Young Carers here: Expert Guide and maybe even apply for some volunteering positions with us!

Make Life Better

Get Involved

We welcome everyone to Little Dreamers through a range of tailored opportunities. If you're passionate about helping young people reach their full potential, then we'll get along!

Make Life Better

Warm and Fuzzies

"Fantastic - Life changing for Young Carers to be acknowledged & supported in their role. For our daughter, it helps bridge the gap of what we can’t do with her due to our younger children’s extra needs with their disabilities. More people need to know they can access wonderful services like this."

"Nathaniel had an absolute fantastic Dream Experience, it was great just watching it be all about him, because he deserves so much, he never ask for anything..... so thank you very much for blessing him with this opportunity the smile didn't leave his face all day and it meant the world to us. "

"We worked really hard to ensure that Ethan knew that his Dream Experience was due to the incredible hard work Ethan undertakes on a daily basis as a young carer. The experience was absolutely unbelievable and Ethan felt validated, appreciated and exceptionally special. He loved every second of it."

"The program made my child feel like he was important too. He was overwhelmed and couldn't believe how lucky he was to be given this opportunity. Little Dreamers is a wonderful organisation, they made my son feel so special and made his little dream come true. I can't thank them enough. "

"Sam had reached the point where he felt that his own dreams were fast getting out of his reach because of the sacrifices he has had to make for his family and the sacrifices his family have had to make as a whole. Little Dreamers helped him no longer feel that it is impossible to reach for his dream."

"What a fantastic organisation, we were so lucky to have the kids involved for two days of your School Holiday Program in Melbourne. Everyone was so great interacting with all the children, catering to different ages an needs. Kudos to all involved. You fill a much needed area that is often overlooked."

"We just got home from the most amazing three days, our first family holiday! Maggie had the best time ever! We really don't know how to thank you, we will remember this for the rest of our lives. We are so grateful and appreciate it all so much. Little Dreamers made Maggie's dream come true and more. "

"Thank you so much for everything you have done for our family. We have found two amazing mentors for our children through your charity. Both of our children had amazing Dreams Experiences that have changed them forever, they will never ever forget your kindness. We can’t thank you enough. "

Applications for the Young Carer Bursary are now open! 🎓

The Young Carer Bursary Program is a @carers_australia initiative designed to support Young Carers in pursuing their education while easing the burden of balancing study and caregiving responsibilities. 🤝

The Young Carer Bursary Program is offering 1,592 bursaries of $3,768 to help Young Carers meet their educational needs and reduce the necessity for paid work while studying and caring for loved ones.

Applications for the 2024 bursary will be accepted from 18 July to 12 September 2023. Don`t miss out on this incredible opportunity! 📆

If you need any support in your application, please reach out to our team or give us a call on 1800 717 515.

youngcarersnetwork.com.au/bursary/young-carer-bursary/ (or head to the link in our bio)

#YoungCarerBursary #YoungCarers #CarersAustralia #ApplyNow
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"Being a Young Carer comes with a lot of thoughts, some positive and some negative.

Before the first [Big Dreamers] workshop, I had a lot of negative thoughts. I was worried I wouldn`t fit in or that I may not make any friends.

As soon as I arrived, my negative thoughts were gone. Everyone was so welcoming and inclusive, and I felt like I already knew everyone...I had the opportunity to show everyone a side of me most wouldn`t have seen and I really loved getting to open up to everyone on Retreat.

I felt so loved and supported, and it`s rare to feel that way when opening up about your caring role. Coming out of this program I have learnt more about myself, have gained self confidence and become more resilient."

🧡 Lucy, Big Dreamers 2023 participant

🌟 Applications are open for our next Big Dreamers group in VIC! 🌟

Register for our Information Session next week and apply for the program here: bit.ly/bigdreamers-july23

#BigDreamers #LittleDreamers #YoungCarers
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