A child or young person with or beyond cancer

Start by calling Cancer Hub on 1800 431 312. The intake team works out what support fits your situation and connects you with services built for young people with cancer, so you do not have to research a dozen organisations on your own.

For young people aged 12 to 25, that usually means Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen’s free professional counselling for young people impacted by cancer), Canteen Connect (a secure online community where young people with cancer talk to others who get it), Events and Programs (Canteen camps, recreation days and online events), and Education and Career Support (Canteen, 15 to 25, for tutoring, scholarships and career planning when treatment disrupts study or work). Financial Assistance (Redkite) is available for essential family costs.

Being a young person with cancer is its own thing. You are dealing with diagnosis and treatment at a stage of life where everyone around you is finishing school, starting work, moving out, or making long-term plans. The services here are built for that specific reality, not adapted from adult support.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

For young people with cancer, support includes counselling, peer connection, financial assistance, help with school or work, and recreation programs designed to give you a break from cancer. In Australia, this is delivered free through Cancer Hub, the partnership between Canteen, Camp Quality and Redkite.

The services most young people use are Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen, free professional counselling for ages 12 to 25), Canteen Connect (Canteen’s secure online community), Events and Programs (Canteen camps, retreats and online events), Education and Career Support (Canteen, 15 to 25, for tutoring, scholarships, return-to-study support and career planning), and Camps (Camp Quality, including programs for kids and families with children 0 to 15). Financial Assistance (Redkite) is available for essential household costs.

Cancer at your stage of life affects more than treatment. Friendships, school, work, body image, identity, plans for the future, your relationship with your family. All of it is in play. The support is built for that, not just the medical side.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

When you are a young person with cancer, life does not pause. School, uni, work, relationships, mental health, identity. It is all still happening, alongside treatment and recovery.

Cancer Hub helps young people access free support designed for this stage of life. Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen) gives you a qualified counsellor who understands young people and cancer, with sessions in person, by phone, or online. Canteen Connect is the secure online community where you can talk to other young people who have been through it. Events and Programs (Canteen) run camps, recreation days and online meetups so you can connect in person and online. Education and Career Support (Canteen, 15 to 25) helps with study, scholarships, and getting back into work or training when treatment disrupts your plans.

For practical and financial support at home, Financial Assistance (Redkite) covers essentials like fuel, groceries, electricity and school costs. Families with younger siblings under 15 can also access Camp Quality Family Camps for breaks away together.

You do not have to figure this out alone, and you do not have to wait until you are at the worst point to use any of it.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

Cancer Hub’s intake team. Call 1800 431 312 and they will work out what you need and connect you with the right services, so you are not researching organisations and eligibility criteria while also going through treatment.

For young people aged 12 to 25, the intake team usually connects you with Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen, free counselling for young people with cancer), Canteen Connect (the secure online community), Events and Programs (Canteen camps and recreation days), and Education and Career Support (Canteen, 15 to 25). If you need financial help at home, Financial Assistance (Redkite) can help with essentials. If you have a parent or sibling who also needs support, the intake team works out what each of them needs and routes them too.

When you are a young person dealing with cancer, your energy is finite and treatment takes a lot of it. Letting someone else carry the navigation load is one of the most useful things you can do early on. That is exactly what Cancer Hub’s intake team is for.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

For young people with cancer in Australia, free support is available through Cancer Hub, a partnership between Canteen, Camp Quality and Redkite that brings the most relevant services into one entry point.

The services that matter most for young people aged 12 to 25 are Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen, free professional counselling for young people impacted by cancer), Canteen Connect (Canteen’s secure online community), Events and Programs (Canteen camps, recreation days and online events), Education and Career Support (Canteen, 15 to 25, for tutoring, scholarships and career planning), and Camps (Camp Quality). Financial Assistance (Redkite) covers essential household costs.

Government support sits alongside this, primarily through Centrelink. See our guide to dealing with Centrelink for young people for what may apply to you, including Youth Allowance and Disability Support Pension.

Cancer rarely shows up as a single problem to solve. The point of Cancer Hub is that one conversation gets you connected to all of the above.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

When a parent, sibling or someone close to you has cancer, your world shifts too. Your routines change, the mood at home changes, and you may end up carrying worry, responsibility, or grief that is hard to share with friends who have not been through it.

Cancer Hub has support specifically for young people in this situation. Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen, 12 to 25) is free professional counselling for young people impacted by cancer in their family. Canteen Connect is the secure online community where you can talk to other young people whose family is going through the same thing. Events and Programs (Canteen) run camps and recreation days that are often the first space where you do not have to explain.

You do not need to be the one diagnosed to use these services. Being the young person in a family affected by cancer counts, and the support is built with that in mind.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

Call Cancer Hub on 1800 431 312. The intake team will work out what your whole family needs and connect each of you with the right services, including the ones built specifically for young people with cancer and their families.

For a child or young person with cancer, the most relevant services are Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen, free counselling for young people aged 12 to 25), Children’s Counselling (Redkite, ages 5 to 17), Canteen Connect (the secure online community for young people impacted by cancer), and Family Camps and Family Retreats (Camp Quality, for families with a child aged 0 to 15). Financial Assistance (Redkite) helps with essentials like fuel, groceries, electricity and school costs when cancer is affecting income. Parents and carers can also access Online Support Programs for Parents and Carers (Redkite’s peer and expert community).

When your child has cancer, the load lands fast and on every part of family life at once. The intake conversation is built around making sure each person in your family, including you, gets the right support.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

When you are caring for a child or young person with cancer, the support you need goes well beyond the medical. The clinical side is handled by the hospital. Everything else, the practical, the emotional, the financial, the impact on your other children, sits with the family.

Cancer Hub helps families access Online Support Programs for Parents and Carers (Redkite’s peer and expert community), parents counselling through Cancer Hub, Financial Assistance (Redkite, for essentials when income drops or treatment costs build up), and Family Camps and Family Retreats (Camp Quality, for families with a child aged 0 to 15) so the whole family can step out of cancer for a few days. Siblings can access Children’s Counselling (Redkite, 5 to 17) or Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen, 12 to 25) if they need their own support.

Caring for a child through cancer is one of the hardest things a parent can do. Looking after yourself is part of looking after them, not separate from it.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

Practical guidance specific to families with a child or young person facing cancer, plus connection to the services that match each family member’s needs.

For families with a child or young person with cancer, the most useful starting points are the Kids’ Guide to Cancer (Camp Quality, available in five languages for explaining cancer to younger siblings), keeping family routines and connection going through treatment, and how cancer reshapes sibling relationships. For peer connection, Online Support Programs for Parents and Carers (Redkite) is the parent and carer community. For young people themselves, Canteen Connect and Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen, 12 to 25) are the most direct pathways. Siblings can access Children’s Counselling (Redkite, 5 to 17).

When a child or young person has cancer, the whole family is affected, and not all in the same way. Parents carry the medical and logistical load, siblings often feel sidelined, the young person themselves is navigating identity and independence alongside treatment. Cancer Hub’s intake team works through that with you and identifies what each family member needs.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

The honest answer is: with the right support around them, and one day at a time. There is no script for this, and you should not be working it out alone.

For families facing a terminal diagnosis for a child or young person, Cancer Hub connects you with Grief and Bereavement Support, parents counselling through Cancer Hub for the adults in the family, Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen, 12 to 25) for the young person themselves, Children’s Counselling (Redkite, 5 to 17) for siblings, and Family Camps and Family Retreats (Camp Quality, families with a child 0 to 15) for whatever precious time you can carve out together.

When a young person receives a terminal diagnosis, grief starts before loss. That is real and valid. So is the instinct to protect everyone else in the family from what you are feeling. The support is built for that, including for the surviving siblings who often need their own pathway to talk about what is happening.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

Yes. Young people with cancer can access free counselling through Cancer Hub.

Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen) is free professional counselling for young people aged 12 to 25 impacted by cancer, including young people with cancer themselves and young people supporting a family member with cancer. Sessions can be face-to-face, by phone, or online. Children’s Counselling (Redkite, ages 5 to 17) covers younger children. Canteen Connect is the secure online community where young people connect with peers who understand, which sits alongside professional counselling.

Cost is not what should stop a young person from getting support. Access is. Sometimes the harder part is figuring out which service fits and how to book it, which is what the intake team is for.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

When a parent, sibling or someone close to you has cancer, daily life shifts in ways that are hard to predict. Routines change, finances tighten, the emotional weight at home increases, and you may end up taking on more than you usually would, while also dealing with your own feelings about what is happening.

Cancer Hub has support specifically for young people in this situation. Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen, 12 to 25) is free professional counselling for young people impacted by a family member’s cancer. Canteen Connect is the secure online community where you can talk to other young people whose family is going through the same thing. Events and Programs (Canteen) include camps and recreation days that are often the first space where you do not have to explain.

You do not have to be the one diagnosed to deserve support. The impact on you is real, and the services here are designed for that.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

Yes. Parents counselling through Cancer Hub is available for you, separate from the support your child receives.

You can also access Online Support Programs for Parents and Carers (Redkite), the peer and expert community for parents and carers facing cancer in the family. Your child can access their own support through Counselling and Individual Support (Canteen, 12 to 25), Children’s Counselling (Redkite, 5 to 17), or Canteen Connect. Siblings have their own pathways through the same services.

When your child has cancer, the focus tends to land entirely on them, which is natural, but parents often hit a wall of their own that they have not made space to handle. Talking to someone who understands the specific weight of parenting a child through cancer is not a luxury. It is part of how you stay sustainable for them.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

A mix of charity assistance for essentials and government payments through Centrelink.

Financial Assistance (Redkite) helps families where a child or young person has cancer with essential costs like fuel, groceries, electricity, school costs, parking at hospital, and household bills. It is paid as direct support, not a loan. On the Centrelink side, families with a child or young person with cancer may be eligible for the Carer Payment (income support if you are providing constant care), Carer Allowance (a supplementary fortnightly payment), Family Tax Benefit adjustments if income has changed, and Youth Allowance or Disability Support Pension for the young person themselves if they are 16 or over. See our Centrelink guide for young people with cancer for what applies and how to apply.

When your child has cancer, financial pressure builds fast. Treatment costs on one side, reduced parental income on the other, everyday family expenses unchanged. Support exists. Most of it is not automatic, so you do need to ask.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.