Carers are people who provide unpaid care and support to family members and friends who have a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, terminal illness, an alcohol or other drug issue or who are frail aged.

Carers are an integral part of Australia’s health system and are the foundation of our aged, disability, palliative and community care systems.

Caring may include help and support with any of the daily activities of living of the person being cared for. It may include physical and personal care such as dressing, lifting, showering, toileting, feeding or providing transport.

Commonly, carers are responsible for the management of medications, and also provide emotional and social support.  Caring may also involve help with organising and attending appointments, banking and dealing with emergencies.

The right to participate in economic, social and community life is recognised under the Commonwealth Carer Recognition Act 2010  where Principle 9 of the Statement for Australia’s Carers says carers “should be supported to achieve greater economic wellbeing and sustainability and, where appropriate, should have opportunities to participate in employment and education.”

We know:

• Carers in Australia experience considerably poorer employment outcomes, with a 52.2% employment to population ratio compared with 75.9% for people without caring responsibilities (Source).
• On average around 28% of primary carers spend more than 60 hours per week caring for the main recipient of care (Source)
• A total of nearly 2.2 billion hours of care was estimated to have been provided in 2020 by carers (Source)
• More than 60% of Australia’s 235,000 young carers aged 12-25 years have not studied beyond high school, and on average are expected to receive income support for 43 years over their lifetime (Source).
• At December 2021 there were 301,197 people receiving the Carer Payment and 622,860 people receiving the Carer Allowance (Source)
• At March 2021 69% of Carer Payment recipients had received an income support payment for 5 years or more, including 45% for 10 or more years (Source).

Thirteen years on from the 2009 Who Cares…?: Report on the inquiry into Better Support for Carers by the Parliament of Australia House of Representatives Committee, carers are still not recognised or embedded within reform. Carers Australia want a coherent and flexible approach to address the barriers and long-term financial and economic impacts on the one in 11 Australians who are carers as they maintain and thrive in their caring roles.

• Australian carers lose a considerable amount in lifetime earnings and superannuation.
• The age a person becomes a carer is significant on the financial impact of caring.
• Income support through Carer Payment is less than 30% of the average weekly earnings.
• The value of the Carer Allowance has significantly decreased since its introduction.
• No real improvement in government expenditure on informal care.