Power to Care

17/12/2025

16/12/2025

The NDIA is hosting 'Understanding the NDIS' webinars in December and January to help participants, families and carers better understand recent and upcoming changes to the NDIS.

These webinars will cover:
- What’s new
- What has changed
- What’s still to come

There will be an opportunity to ask questions.

There are 3 session dates - each session will cover the same content.
17 December, 1pm - 2pm AEDT
14 January, 10am - 11am AEDT
28 January, 1pm - 2pm AEDT

Register to attend here: https://events.humanitix.com/understanding-the-ndis-webinar-series-overview-of-changes-to-ndis-legislation

15/12/2025

14/12/2025

Love this! Anything about us (and the people we love/care for) needs to be designed/decided upon with us in the room.

13/12/2025

If family carers aren’t workers, why does the system collapse without them

On 9 December 2025, the Supreme Court of New Zealand ruled that parents who provide full-time care to their disabled adult children are GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.

Let that sink in.

Not “informal supports”.
Not “family duty”.
Workers with rights.

The Court said the quiet part out loud:
👉 If the state depends on your labour to deliver disability support, you are an employee — even if you are a parent.

That means:
✔️ Minimum wage
✔️ Holiday pay
✔️ Protection from exploitation
✔️ Union rights

New Zealand’s highest court admitted what governments have avoided for years:
Love does not cancel labour.

Now look at Australia.

Under the NDIS, families provide 24/7 care, replacing paid workers, saving governments billions — and are rewarded with:
❌ No wages
❌ No leave
❌ No workplace protections
❌ No recognition

Just guilt. Pressure. Burnout.

Australia didn’t “forget” family carers.
It built a system that depends on unpaid labour and then pretends it doesn’t exist.

New Zealand just proved this isn’t radical.
It isn’t impossible.
It isn’t unaffordable.

It’s a choice.

And Australia is choosing to exploit families while calling it “support”.

If NZ can do this, what excuse does the NDIS have left?

Share this if you’re sick of carers being gaslit, ignored, and used.

13/12/2025

The people who live this life will be laughing and crying while reading this….

13/12/2025

10/12/2025

Grinch or Grief?

As the holiday period gets into full swing, I’m reminded of how much I hate this time of year. Not the lights or the carols or the food – but the weight of the expectations that come with it.

The seemingly endless question: “So what are you doing for Christmas?”

The last-minute invitations from people who haven’t reached out all year but suddenly want to catch up because it's “that time of year.”

For us, it’s just too much.

Their homes are still not physically accessible.
There will still be anxieties about inappropriate behavioural outbursts.
There will still be meltdowns before we even make it out the door.
And the emotional labour required to “fit in” to someone else’s festive cheer? That gets heavier every year.

So we choose not to force it.
Does that make me the Grinch?
Or does that make me a grieving carer quietly setting boundaries to protect my wellbeing?

Because here’s the truth we don’t talk about enough:
The holidays amplify loss.

I look at other families celebrating milestones and I compare.
Compare what my life could have looked like.
What my child could be achieving.
What my husband could be doing.
What my daughter and I have missed – and continue to miss – because of caring.

It sounds like a self-pity party, right? But it’s not. It’s simply reality.
It’s a party best kept from crashing the regular Christmas crowd.

So, we do our own thing. We stay home. We keep life quiet and steady. We carry on in the way that works for us – no glitter, no pressure, no pretending.

And honestly? That’s where our calm lives.

I’m curious:
Is this being a Grinch… or is this grief, boundaries, and self-preservation wrapped into one?

What do you think?

10/12/2025

The Safe Space doors are open to all this evening from 5:30pm - 8:30pm!

Our Community-Led Safe Space is a welcoming, non-clinical drop-in centre for individuals experiencing emotional distress or a suicidal crisis.

This space offers a compassionate and understanding environment where people can feel heard, supported, and understood. We provide a calm, safe space for reflection, with peer workers available to offer support through shared experiences and empathy.

No referrals or appointments are required.

For all enquiries, kindly contact us at safespace@mrspag.com.au

We are actively taking volunteers; apply via our website.
Community Safe Space — Working together to prevent su***de in Macedon Ranges Shire
If you or someone you know needs support please phone:

Lifeline - 24/7 crisis support service – 13 11 14 or text 0477 131 114

Su***de call back service - 24/7 free professional phone or online counselling – 1300 659 467

MensLine Australia - 24/7 family and relationship concerns – 1300 789 978
***deprevention

10/12/2025

Reminder: unclench your jaw, drop your shoulders, relax your tongue from the roof of your mouth, and take one slow breath.
Congrats, you’ve just completed today’s “stress yoga for the face” session. Your brain may be doing circus tricks, but your muscles don’t have to join the drama.
Tiny resets like this can ease muscle tension that often rides along with migraine 😅💜
https://www.migraine.org.au/wellbeing