Every Carer Counts: Why Carer Support must be Fair and Consistent.

The Ministry of Social Development recently sought feedback on the draft Carers Strategy Action Plan, which focuses on supporting unpaid and informal carers across Aotearoa. Caring Families Aotearoa have put in a submission calling for this new Action Plan to address the clear inequities between statutory and non-statutory caregivers — because every caregiver deserves the tools and support they need, and every child deserves the best possible chance to flourish. Please read our submission below.

If you are an informal caregiver (receiving the Unsupported Child’s Benefit), we encourage you to have your say on this action plan before the closing date on 12 March 2026. There is a useful, time-saving survey here.

Introduction

Caring Families Aotearoa (CFA) welcomes the opportunity to feedback on the Draft Carers’ Strategy Action Plan. CFA is a non‑government charity that supports caregivers who look after children not born to them, including foster caregivers, whānau/kin caregivers, respite caregivers, and permanent “home for life” caregivers.

We work alongside caregivers (carers) caring for tamariki and rangatahi with significant trauma, disabilities, and complex needs. Many of the families we support provide care outside formal or statutory arrangements. Oranga Tamariki does not have guardianship for these tamariki and therefore there are no funding or supports in place from the Ministry.

We support the overall direction of the Action Plan and its intention to better recognise and support carers. We believe that it would be beneficial to address the clear and persistent inequities between statutory and non-statutory caregivers.

Across government systems, caregivers are treated very differently depending on whether their caring role is recognised as statutory.

Non-statutory caregivers often:

• provide full-time, long-term care for children with high and complex needs,
• manage significant trauma-related behaviours, disability, or medical fragility,
• take on care at short notice and for extended periods,
• do so with little preparation, minimal financial support, and limited access to services.

As a result, non-statutory (informal) caregivers are excluded from supports routinely available to statutory (Oranga Tamariki) caregivers. The level of support provided should reflect the child’s needs and the demands of the role, rather than the technical classification of the care arrangement. CFA provides as much support as we can, but this is not funded and limited to the amount of funding we can raise privately.

Definition

CFA recommends that the definition of “carer” used in the Action Plan clearly includes people who are caring for a child as a result of family breakdown. This should align with the eligibility criteria used for the Unsupported Child’s Benefit (UCB). Clear alignment would remove ongoing uncertainty for informal caregivers about whether they are recognised as carers and eligible for support.

Recognition without an agency leaves carers unsupported

The Action Plan talks about recognition and improved navigation of services. CFA agrees this is important. However, for non-statutory caregivers, a major issue is the absence of any agency or service that holds responsibility for supporting them.

Statutory caregivers typically have an agency that:

• provides guidance and oversight,
• assists with referrals, funding, and applications,
• helps navigate complex systems,
• advocates on their behalf.

Non-statutory caregivers do not have this. They are often left to fend for themselves, expected to identify what supports exist, determine eligibility, and navigate multiple systems on their own — all while providing full-time care.

This is particularly challenging for caregivers supporting children with developmental trauma or complex needs. Many do not know what supports they should be asking for, or which system to approach. Supporting a successful placement should be funded by government as an investment in prevention of formalised care. The Oranga Tamariki process rightfully attempts to keep tamariki from entering the care system. However, by using the Whānau a Hui process, caregivers are left extremely vulnerable and at high risk of failure as there are no supports made available other than financial support via MSD (Unsupported Child’s Benefit).

CFA sees strong value in establishing a dedicated social service or support agency for non-statutory caregivers. Such an agency could:

• provide a consistent point of connection,
• act as a navigator across health, disability, education, and social services to access supports,
• support funding applications, referrals, and assessments,
• reduce confusion, duplication, and caregiver burnout.

Diagnosis Pathways

CFA often hears from caregivers about the significant barriers to getting assessments and diagnoses for the children in their care.

Unless caregivers have the financial means to self-fund private assessments, they are required to wait on public system waitlists to be seen by specialists. These wait times can be lengthy, during which caregivers are expected to manage increasingly complex needs without guidance, validation, or support.

For many families, the diagnosis itself becomes the goal, because it is seen as the gateway to help. But once a diagnosis is finally made, caregivers often encounter a second barrier: there is little or no funding available to support the implementation of the care plan that follows.

This creates a deeply frustrating and demoralising experience for caregivers. They may finally receive clarity around a child’s needs, only to be told that there are no resources available to support the recommended interventions, therapies, or supports.

For the Action Plan to make a real difference, diagnosis needs to be linked to funded support. Providing a diagnosis without any resourcing leaves caregivers to manage on their own and offers little practical benefit.

Respite

CFA strongly agrees with the Action Plan’s assessment that respite is a critical pressure point for carers. However, current approaches rely heavily on an assumption that respite can be provided informally by whānau.

In reality, many whānau do not have the capacity to provide respite for caregivers of children with complex trauma and high needs. This may be due to:

• their own caregiving or employment responsibilities,
• limited understanding of trauma-related behaviours,
• concerns about safety or the impact on other children,
• the cost incurred to provide respite.

There is also risk when respite is provided by people who are not adequately prepared. Tamariki with developmental trauma require consistent, trauma-informed responses. Without this, well-intentioned respite can be more stressful for a caregiver and the child or children in their care.

CFA believes respite must be:

• structured and reliable,
• supported or coordinated through an agency,
• provided by people trained in developmental trauma.

Informal whānau-based respite should be an option, not the default expectation.

Financial pressure and long-term insecurity

The Action Plan acknowledges that many carers experience financial hardship. CFA sees this most acutely among non-statutory caregivers, who often receive lower levels of financial support and fewer opportunities for funded training, supervision, or wrap-around services.

Many reduce, or leave, paid employment to sustain care, with long-term impacts on financial security. Future work on financial supports must explicitly examine inequities between statutory and non-statutory caregivers.

Closing comments

Caring Families Aotearoa supports the intent of the Draft Carers’ Strategy Action Plan and sees it as an important opportunity to improve outcomes for carers across Aotearoa.

To achieve this, the Action Plan must directly address inequities between statutory and non-statutory caregivers — including;

• the lack of an agency to support informal carers,
• unrealistic reliance on whānau for respite,
• barriers to diagnosis,
• and the absence of funded support following diagnosis.

Expecting caregivers to hold complex, high-risk care without structured, trauma-informed support is neither sustainable nor equitable.