National Carer’s Week, which ends today, gives us the opportunity to salute these carers and pay tribute to the work they do. A sudden and debilitating illness, a road accident or injury at work can mean a relative or friend needs part-time or full-time care.

Carers may also support and provide around the clock care for children with additional needs, sick or elderly family members and people with a disability or mental illness.

It is estimated that 2.8 million Australians provide unpaid care  often putting their own lives on hold to care for a loved one. I was fortunate enough to meet a group of young carers recently and talk with them about their experiences as carers.

One 17-year-old has been caring for his mother, who has a chronic health condition, for the past three years. He left school in grade 8. He said his teachers assumed he had drug or alcohol problems but he simply had to stay at home to care for his mother.

He was too exhausted to go to school. However, he has returned to studying and despite long hours caring for his mother, he is achieving excellent results in his two diplomas.

Another young carer I met, a young refugee, was thrust into a significant caring role at the age of 15. Now 19, she cares for both parents and her grandmother who are all ill with a range of conditions, as well as her two younger siblings.

Another young carer has cared for her mother and two brothers since she was in primary school and sadly one brother passed away in 2012 from a rare genetic condition.

She is an exceptional young woman who has won a national award for her drive and dedication.

All these young carers show maturity beyond their years. They are articulate and above all they are resilient and are trying to plan future lives outside their caring roles.

They work hard to balance their caring role with any work or school they can fit in. Like all carers, their contribution to our communities and the national economy is enormous.

A Deloitte Access Economics Report for Carers Australia last year estimated that the replacement value for the work carers do at $60.3 billion per year. That is more than $1billion a week.

There are around 306,000 carers aged under 25 and of these 23,200 are primary carers who provide the majority of care to an individual.

Young carers, like the ones I met, do an incredible job. But they face extraordinary challenges in balancing their caring role, their education and finding a job. Young carers have been singled out and targeted under the government’s new ‘investment approach’.

The Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter, failed to spell out exactly what additional supports and services his new “investment approach” would provide to young carers.

He was happy to talk about “long term welfare dependency” and payments to carers but failed to mention how much carers save the community every day. Such language is causing real concern to young carers. Mr Porter’s link of carers to automatic “welfare dependency” is unfair and just plain wrong.