Our September 2026 survey found that many people supporting both older and younger generations are actually grandparents caring for grandchildren while also helping older parents or parents-in-law.
Among respondents supporting both generations:
· 31% supported a grandchild, compared with 16% supporting a child under 18
· of those supporting both a parent or parent-in-law and a grandchild, 94.4% were aged 55+
· 48.5% were aged 65+
New Aged Care Decisions research puts Australian data behind the “club sandwich generation”, people whose caring responsibilities stretch across three generations at once.
Gold Coast, Australia – 12 October 2026 – Australia’s modern sandwich generation has another layer.
New research from Aged Care Decisions has identified a significant group of older Australians who are helping care for grandchildren while still supporting their own ageing parents or parents-in-law.
They are part of what has been described as the “club sandwich generation”. A group whose family responsibilities extend across three generations rather than the more typical two.
The Aged Care Decisions Sandwich Generation Survey 2026 received 1,639 responses, with 1,027 respondents entering the main survey path for people supporting an older person alongside a child, grandchild or other dependant.
Among those respondents, 31% said they supported a grandchild, almost twice the proportion who said they supported a child under 18, at 16%.
The age profile was even more striking among the 270 respondents simultaneously helping a parent or parent-in-law and a grandchild.
Of that group, 94.4% were aged 55 or older, including 48.5% aged 65 or over and 45.9% aged between 55 and 64.
The findings broaden the familiar picture of the sandwich generation, showing that it spans a wider range of ages, family structures and caring responsibilities, with distinct groups such as grandparents supporting grandchildren while also helping ageing parents or parents-in-law.
For many Australian families, the sandwich now has another layer: grandparents supporting grandchildren while still helping parents who may themselves be at an advanced age.
A different kind of sandwich generation
Aged Care Decisions Co-Founder & Executive Director Ken Ray said the findings reflect what the organisation increasingly sees when speaking with families trying to organise aged care.
Many people do not identify themselves as carers, even when they are coordinating appointments, medications, paperwork, transport and communication with aged care providers.
"Almost nobody rings us and says they're a carer. They say they're just helping Mum out a bit."
Mr Ray said the complexity becomes greater when those responsibilities sit alongside care for grandchildren.
"The traditional picture is someone in their forties with teenage children and an elderly parent. What this research shows is that many families look quite different. We are seeing people in their sixties who are grandparents themselves, helping with grandchildren while still organising care for Mum or Dad."
The term club sandwich generation captures a more complex family structure, where one person may be supporting an ageing parent, helping an adult child and caring for grandchildren at the same time.
For some respondents, these responsibilities involved far more than occasional help.
Among people supporting both older and younger generations:
- 88% provided emotional support
- 86% managed paperwork or administration
- 81% managed appointments
- 76% communicated with aged care providers.
At the same time, 41% spent 20 hours or more each week supporting an older parent or relative, including 20% who reported spending 40 hours or more.
That can leave older Australians managing very different needs at once, like a grandchild needing care or transport, alongside an ageing parent needing appointments, paperwork, aged care services or support following a hospital stay.
Grandparents are being pulled in both directions
Grandparents already play an important role in Australian family life.
Separate national HILDA research found that 29% of families with preschool-aged children used grandparent care in 2023, with children spending an average of 11.8 hours a week with their grandparents among families using that care.
Aged Care Decisions’ findings show that for some grandparents, this younger-generation care is occurring at the same time as responsibility for an ageing parent.
That can leave older carers managing very different needs across the family at once: a grandchild needing care or transport, an adult child relying on practical or financial help, and an ageing parent needing appointments, aged care services or support after a hospital stay.
The survey found those overlapping responsibilities were having a tangible effect on family life.
56% said they had less family time overall, while 55.4% had missed an event, activity or milestone and almost half had changed or cancelled holiday plans.
Work was also affected. Among respondents who answered the work question, only 7.6% said their caring role had no impact on their job, while 48.8% reported reduced concentration, 43.4% had used leave and 36.9% had reduced their working hours.
Many do not think of themselves as carers
The survey also revealed that a significant number of people providing care across generations do not clearly identify themselves as carers.
While 66.6% said they considered themselves a carer, 18.5% said they had never thought of themselves that way. A further 9.2% said they did not consider themselves a carer and 5.7% were unsure.
That means around one in three respondents providing support across generations did not clearly identify as carers.
Instead, they may simply see themselves as a daughter helping Mum, a son organising Dad’s appointments or a grandparent helping with the grandchildren.
That distinction matters because people who do not identify with the word “carer” may also be less likely to seek information and support designed specifically for carers.
The survey found 36.6% had never looked for carer-specific information, while more than a third of those who had looked said that information was somewhat or extremely difficult to find.
Families are often waiting until care becomes urgent
The research also found that many families did not seek formal aged care support until their parent’s needs had already changed significantly.
Only 17.2% said their family had sought formal support before there was an urgent need, while 24.9% first sought support following a fall or hospital admission.
Parent resistance was the most common reason for delaying help, reported by 39.2% of respondents.
Almost 58% said they wished their family had started planning earlier.
Mr Ray said starting conversations early could give families more choice.
"Families that start thinking about aged care early will find themselves less stressed, more prepared and with more options."
For the club sandwich generation, that delay can have consequences beyond the older person receiving care.
If an ageing parent suddenly needs significantly more support, the person providing that help may also be responsible for grandchildren, adult children, employment and their own household.
A change in one generation can therefore quickly affect the others.
Putting a name to an overlooked generation
Aged Care Decisions believes the term club sandwich generation provides a useful way of recognising families whose responsibilities extend further than the traditional sandwich-generation term and or definition.
The research does not establish how common club sandwich caring is across the Australian population. Participation in the survey was voluntary, and respondents were already in contact with Aged Care Decisions.
However, the findings highlight a group that can easily be overlooked when the sandwich generation is described only as middle-aged parents caring for school-aged children.
For some families, the reality is very different.
A person may already be a grandparent, approaching or living in retirement, while helping an elderly parent navigate aged care and providing practical support to grandchildren.
Recognising the club sandwich generation may help aged care providers, employers, policymakers and support organisations better understand who is carrying unpaid family care — and how far those responsibilities can extend.
The full survey findings, methodology and practical family-care resources are available in the Aged Care Decisions Sandwich Generation Support Guide.
ENDS
What is the club sandwich generation?
The club sandwich generation describes people whose caring or support responsibilities extend across three generations at the same time.
For example, someone may be supporting an ageing parent or parent-in-law, continuing to help an adult child and also providing regular care or support to grandchildren.
Coined in the 1990s term expands on the original sandwich-generation concept by recognising that modern family caring responsibilities can involve more than two generations.
About the Aged Care Decisions Sandwich Generation Survey 2026
The Aged Care Decisions Sandwich Generation Survey 2026 was conducted from 21 August to 3 September 2026 and received 1,639 responses.
The main survey path included 1,027 respondents who were supporting an older person and a child, grandchild or other dependant, or were unsure whether their circumstances met that definition.
The survey explored caring responsibilities, family support, work, finances, formal aged care, respite and planning for changing care needs.
Participation was voluntary and the sample is not nationally representative. Findings describe the experiences of respondents and should not be interpreted as estimates of the prevalence of sandwich-generation caring across Australia.
About us:
About Aged Care Decisions
Aged Care Decisions is an Australian aged care placement and comparison service helping families navigate residential aged care and home care.
Its free service supports families in understanding their care options and connecting with suitable available aged care providers based on individual care needs, preferences and circumstances.
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Aged Care Decisions
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