The Mental Health Carers Australia grew out of the national movement of ARAFMI organisations across Australia. Originally ARAFMI was an anconym for Association of Relatives And Friends of the Mentally Ill.

The first ARAFMI group was formed in Sydney in 1975 by a concerned group of carers who identified the need for a service that would specifically address the concerns of carers, relatives and friends.

The movement quickly spread to other States and to the  Territories and ARAFMI became the primary provider of services for carers of people with a mental illness in Australia.