Palmerston teen Charlize Pitkin provides care for her brothers, who were both born with learning difficulties and autism, which has seen her prioritise taking care of them over socialising with her friends.

Ms Pitkin is one of the country’s 2.65 million unpaid caregivers – including 30,000 in the NT – who provide care and support for a family member or friend with a disability, medical condition, mental illness or frailty due to age.

“I’ll say I’m a young carer but I don’t identify with it – I am just a sister looking after my brothers,” the 17-year-old Ms Pitkin said. “Sometimes, I think I subconsciously take on a parenting role, but I don’t mean to. I just want to make sure everything goes smoothly for the people I love.”

New statistics reveal that one in every nine people in Australia is an unpaid caregiver, with more than 235,300 of them under 25 years old; two-thirds of these caregivers spend up to three hours daily providing care and support.

The statistics also show that more than a third of all caregivers live with a disability themselves and that half of primary caregivers in the country have a chronic illness or condition.

But a federal program called Carer Gateway is available to help all carers with a range of free support and local services.

With the daily challenges being faced by caregivers like Charlize, Carer Gateway was set up to provide free support and local services to improve caregiver well-being, skills, and knowledge to help them manage through the tough times. Services are free and available in-person, online and over the phone.

Carer Gateway services include in-person and online peer support groups, tailored support packages to help with accessing respite care and transport services, in-person and phone counselling, in-person and online self-guided coaching, online skills courses to support wellbeing and understanding of legal responsibilities relating to the caring role and access to emergency respite.

For Ms Pitkin, who uses the Carer Gateway website for support, her responsibilities include taking her brothers Calum and Casey out and looking after them when her father is away from home, but she says it doesn’t faze her, and jokingly said she considers herself the “dad” of her group of friends.

“My friends come to me with their problems and I always try to help where I can,” she said.

“I’m not a fussy person; you have to live with what life gives you and move on.”

A Young Carer Ambassador for Little Dreamers, Charlize sees herself in a career where she can help people after finishing school. Whether she takes on an accounting role, becomes a teacher or a nutritionist, she hopes to create a positive and lasting impact.

The Carer Gateway has also helped her find young carer meet-ups in the Darwin area where she can connect with others in a similar situation.

“Something I’ve learnt from talking with other carers, is we believe our purpose is to help others,” she said.

For more information about the resources available at Carer Gateway, visitcarergateway.gov.au