Support for Students who are Carers

ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵrecognises that the time commitment and emotional stress of caring can have a significant impact on a student's university participation.

Our team of Accessibility Case managers work with students who are navigating academic life with their role as a carer.

This includes developing a personalised Education Access Plan (EAP), which outlines reasonable adjustments to support students to achieve their personal best whilst studying at the ANU.

Who is a carer?

ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵrecognises carers in line with the Carers Recognition ACT 2010 which states:

Carers are people who provide personal care, support and assistance to another individual in need of support due to disability, medical condition, including terminal or chronic illness, mental illness or is frail and aged. 

A person is not considered a carer:

  •  if they provide care either for payment, as a volunteer for an organisation, or for the requirements of education.
  • simply because they are the spouse, de facto partner, parent, other relative or guardian of an individual who does not have a disability or medical condition.

Students who are eligible for an EAP as carer at ANU, have a caring role that impacts their ability to participate in studies on the same basis as other students. 

What documentation do I need?

To register you need to provide documentation verifying you have caring responsibilities that impact your ability to participate in studies on the same basis as other students.

This can take the form of either:

  1. Ask your health professional, or the person you care for's health professional to fill in (PDF 96.46KB)

  2. A current Centrelink grant letter or income statement (no more than one month old), confirming you are in receipt of Centrelink Carer Payment or Carer Allowance

    OR

  3. A current letter from a Registered Medical or Allied Health Professional of either yourself as the student carer or the person that is being cared for which should include the following information:
  • the nature of the condition of the person you are caring for (disability, medical condition, mental illness or frail and aged)
  • whether their condition is permanent or temporary
  • the time period of support you require
  • Any useful information which will help Accessibility understand your support needs

How do I register as a carer?

  • Log into the using single sign on.
  • Upload your documentation in the Documents tab.
  • Accessibility will review your documentation and invite you to book an appointment with an Accessibility Case Manager. 

If you have trouble registering, please contact Accessibility@anu.edu.au

 

My close family member has an urgent healthcare need, and I have an assessment or exam, what do I do?

You may need an Extenuating Circumstances Application. Find out more, including links to services who can help you with this process on the Extenuating Circumstances Application Webpage. 

Reference documents

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