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Following the release of new research we now know more about carers across Australia. The Tyranny of Distance? Carers in regional and remote areas of Australia is the result of a partnership between Carers Australia and Commonwealth Financial Planning and was undertaken by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

This important research is the first to examine the geographic spread, age profile and social, health and economic wellbeing of carers in regional and remote Australia.  The report presents a detailed view of issues facing carers in these areas of Australia including difficulties in accessing services, the higher rates of disability for carers, the younger age of carers in remote areas and the impact of the drought.

Key findings include

• the largest number of carers in inner regional and outer region were in the most populous states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland
• Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory had the most carers in remote areas
• carers in remote and regional Australia were more likely to be Indigenous - largely as a result of the distinctive geographic distribution of the Indigenous population and the high level of care required for many in that most disadvantaged sector of Australia society
• a higher proportion of the male population in outer regional and remote areas have a disability or long-term illness
• carers in outer regional and remote areas experienced higher rates of disability or a long-term health condition themselves and lower rates of employment than non-carers living in the same areas and carers in major cities
• carers living in all areas of Australia were more likely to be living in a jobless household and to experience more financial hardship.

Read the full report here

A summary of the report is also available