Enter the terms you wish to search for.
  1. Carer Card Program Victoria
  2. Applying

Eligibility

Information about eligibility for a Victorian Carer Card.

Who can get a Victorian Carer Card 

To be eligible for a Victorian Carer Card you must live in Victoria and be: 

  • an unpaid primary carer of:
    • a person with disability
    • someone with a severe or chronic medical condition
    • someone with mental illness
    • an aged person with care needs
    • a person with a terminal illness, or
  • Someone caring for a child who cannot live with their parents:
    • a state-registered foster carer
    • a kinship carer (formal or informal)
    • a respite or permanent carer. 

Paid carers are not eligible for a Victorian Carer Card. Paid carers include: 

  • aged care workers
  • disability support workers
  • home care workers
  • personal care workers. 

How to confirm you are eligible 

When you apply for a Victorian Carer Card, you need to confirm you are a primary carer.

You can do this in any one of these ways: 

  • If you get a Centrelink carer payment or carer allowance – your Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN).
  • If you get a Victorian carer payment your Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) foster care or kinship care vendor number. This is in the remittance advice DFFH sends you.
  • A statutory declaration declaring you are a primary carer. For more information, see the Department of Justice’s Statutory declarations page.
  • A letter from your foster or kinship agency (on their letterhead) stating you are a foster, kinship or respite carer.
  • A copy of a court order confirming you have primary residential care of a child as a kinship carer, for a child or young person with care support needs due to disability, severe or chronic illness, terminal illness or mental illness.
  • An authorised professional confirms you are a primary carer by completing Section 4 of the Victorian Carer Card application form.

Authorised professionals 

An authorised professional can confirm you are a primary carer. 

Authorised professionals work in a range of places, including: 

  • medical facilities
  • community organisations
  • schools. 

This makes it easier for carers of all ages to apply for a Victorian Carer Card. 

Authorised professionals complete and sign the relevant section of the Victorian Carer Card application form.

Once complete, you can upload your hardcopy to the online application form or mail your completed application form. Online applications are up to 4 weeks faster to process. For more information on applying, see How to apply. 

There is also information for authorised professionals to help them learn more about how to confirm your carer status. 

General authorised professionals

These authorised professionals can confirm you are a primary carer on the application form:

  • registered medical practitioners, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists
  • Australian Psychological Society-registered psychologists
  • social workers eligible for registration with Australian Association of Social Workers  
  • Aboriginal health workers
  • mental health carer consultants.

Authorised professionals for young carers

Young carers can also have the following authorised professionals confirm their carer status. 

They must have known you for more than 3 months:

  • school teachers
  • school nurses
  • other school health and wellbeing staff (such as school counsellors)
  • school assistant principals or principals
  • registered youth workers and registered youth counsellors.

How to apply for a Victorian Carer Card

To learn how to apply or get an application form, see How to apply. 

Get help 

If you are not sure if you are eligible or have any questions, contact the Victorian Carer Card team: