Grandparent Carer Support Groups in Western Australia and Perth

Why Peer Support Matters When You Are Raising a Grandchild

Taking on a grandchild full-time is isolating in ways most people do not anticipate. Your age-group friends are travelling, downsizing or enjoying retirement. The parents at school drop-off are a generation younger. And the reasons behind kinship care — addiction, prison, family violence, death — are not things you can easily explain at a barbecue.

Peer support groups connect you with other grandparents and kinship carers who understand the situation without needing it explained. That is not a small thing. Research consistently shows that carers who access peer support report lower rates of depression and burnout, and are more likely to find out about payments and services they had not known about.

Wanslea (Uplyft) Grandcare Groups

Wanslea, now operating as Uplyft, runs the main peer support infrastructure for grandparent carers across Western Australia, funded by the Department of Communities under the Grandparent Carer Support Services (GCSS) Program.

Their services include:

• Support groups in metropolitan Perth and several regional areas
• One-on-one casework for carers navigating payments, school enrolment or legal referrals
• The Grandcare helpline: 1800 794 909 (free call)
• Crisis counselling and advocacy

Wanslea also administers the Grandcarers Support Scheme (GSS), so the caseworkers who run the groups can directly help you with your GSS application — the $1,000 annual payment plus the 2026–27 cost-of-living top-up and Gold Card energy relief.

To find a group near you, call the helpline or email [email protected].

Grandcarers WA Inc

Grandcarers WA Inc is a peer-driven advocacy body run by and for grandparent carers. They focus on:

• Representing grandcarers' interests to government
• Running community events and information sessions
• Connecting isolated carers with each other

Phone: 08 6270 2486

They are a good first call if you want to talk with someone who has personally been through the experience of raising a grandchild in WA.

Regional Support Services

If you live outside Perth, these organisations operate in specific regions:

• Mission Australia Midwest Grandparents Raising Grandchildren — covers Geraldton, Meekatharra, Mullewa, Mt Magnet, Cue and Northampton. Freecall 1800 951 123.
• 4Families (Relationships Australia WA) — community-based support across Albany, Bunbury, Busselton, Mandurah and Rockingham. Phone 6164 0600.
• WA Country Health Service — regional health and family support, including referrals to local support groups in the Kimberley, Pilbara and Goldfields.

Regional carers can also access mobile Centrelink servicing if there is no local office, and the Centrelink Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Advisers (1800 245 965) work by phone regardless of your location.

Online Communities

Some WA grandparent carers find online spaces helpful, particularly those in remote areas:

• Facebook groups — search for "Grandparents Raising Grandchildren WA" or "Kinship Carers Australia." These are informal, member-run groups where people share tips and vent.
• Mirabel Foundation — while Victoria-based, their website hosts national resources for kinship carers.

Be cautious about legal advice shared in online groups. Payment rules and eligibility criteria change, and what applied in another state may not apply in WA.

What Support Groups Cannot Do (and What Can Fill the Gap)

Support groups are excellent for emotional connection, shared experience and tips. They are not set up to walk you through every payment application, school enrolment step or medical consent form.

If you need a structured walkthrough of the administrative side — which payments to claim, what evidence Centrelink needs, how to enrol a child without court orders, and how the GSS application works — our WA Kinship Carer Support Guide covers all of it in one document, with checklists and step-by-step instructions you can print and take to your appointments.

See more Western Australia guides →