Who We're Looking For
Lived experience as a carer helps — you'll understand things faster that would otherwise take explaining. But it isn't required. What matters more is being someone carers can trust.
What It Involves
A Police Check and a Working with Children Check, both straightforward, both required. A full induction so you're not guessing what to do. No fixed hours, no pressure to commit to more than works for you.
Right now we need people to help run more Coffee for Carers sessions so we can reach more carers and more locations, support navigation (helping carers get more out of what they're already entitled to), and admin and comms support.
We're currently focused on the Macedon Ranges and Sunbury — as we grow our capacity to support volunteers, we hope to expand further.
Corporate & Workplace Partnerships
Businesses can get involved too — financial or event sponsorship, workplace giving, pro bono professional support, in-kind goods or services, or employee volunteering days.
In return, we offer genuine visibility: your brand on our site and materials, involvement at the Power to Care Conference, and a partnership shaped around what your business actually wants to give, not a generic sponsorship tier.
We're grateful for support from Gisborne & District Community Bank (a past sponsor) and Mind – Loddon Mallee Mental Health Wellbeing Connect
Loddon Mallee Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect supports family members, carers, kin and supporters of people with mental health and/or substance use challenges.
The service is delivered in partnership between Mind Australia and Mallee Family Care.
Why Unpaid Carers Matter
Unpaid carers are an essential, largely invisible workforce holding up Australia's health, disability, mental health and aged-care systems — and most of them don't identify as "a carer" at all.
3 million
Unpaid carers in Australia
750,000+
In Victoria
391,300
Under 25
$77.9 billion
Per year — what it would cost to replace the care they give for free.
Sarah's Story
I didn't call myself a carer for years. My son was diagnosed at seven, and somewhere between therapy appointments, NDIS paperwork and explaining his needs to a new teacher every year, it just became what I did.
I found Power to Care through a friend who mentioned Coffee for Carers almost as an afterthought. I nearly didn't go. I remember thinking I didn't have anything to complain about, that other people had it harder.
What I got wasn't sympathy — it was people who understood without me having to explain myself first. Someone who'd already worked out which support coordinator actually returns calls. Someone who just said, "yeah, that's exhausting," and meant it.
I still do everything I did before. But I'm not doing it alone anymore.