Applying for a carer's pass

Hello. Has anyone in this community successfully applied for a free carer’s pass? I am planning to travel with my niece later this year. My niece is registered disabled and we have submitted the form to apply for a carer’s pass twice and receive no reply. What I’m trying to find out (very simply) is whether my niece has to purchase her pass before she can apply for the carer’s pass for me? Can anyone help with this? It would be great to hear from anyone who has successfully applied for a carer’s pass - what was the process and how easy was this?