In recent years, young carers have become a growing focus of research, public policy, and the design and delivery of community services. The research in this report fills a critical gap in Australia, by contributing a theoretically-informed and policy-focused quantitative and qualitative study on young carers.

Young women and men have similar rates of caring overall, but young women are more likely to be primary carers.  This suggests that there are socio-cultural expectations drawing more young women than young men into informal care, expectations associated with gender differentiated practices of care itself as well as differences in participation in tertiary education and labour force participation.