A Queanbeyan charity has secured funding to build a respite care centre.
Respite Care for QBN are building Yvonne Cuschieri House, a six-bedroom facility providing care for people aged 18 to 60.
Expected to be operational in mid-2024, it will provide services for people with low to medium needs.
Respite care provides an organised, temporary break for carers.
Queanbeyan is home to about 4500 unpaid carers, Respite Care for QBN chair Paul Walshe said.
"We have received thousands of signatures petitioning for this service, so to finally be close to opening this much-needed centre is an incredible feeling," he said.
"The next big step for us is to secure ongoing government funding for staff and other operational costs."
It took five years of campaigning to secure funding for the centre, Mr Walshe has previously said.
The driving force behind the respite centre was Queanbeyan carer Yvonne Cuschieri, Mr Walshe said.
Her son Steven had to be moved into a nursing care, after a brain tumour left him paralysed and needing constant care.
"The new centre will give [Queanbeyan] families another option and ...will be home-like and provide them a private space," Mr Walshe said.
Respite is an essential service to reduce burnout, psychological distress and social isolation for carers, UNSW Canberra Associate Professor James Connor said.
"Unfortunately, 89 per cent of carers have never used respite services; primarily because there are so few suitable places they can take their loved one for respite," he said.
"Consequently, carers soldier on without any break from their 24/7 caring duties, which places a huge burden on their mental and physical health."
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