Among the many major health awareness campaigns to be observed in October is National Carers Week 2024 which will run from Sunday 13 to Saturday 19 October.
National Carers Week is about recognising and celebrating the outstanding and selfless contribution primary (and most often unpaid) carers make to our nation.
The theme for this year’s national campaign is “millions of reasons to care.”
Carers week is a time to raise awareness, recognise, acknowledge, celebrate and care for the estimated 2.65 million Australians who provide care each and every day to a family member, loved one, or friend.
Anyone of any age can become a carer at any time.
Carers make such an enormous contribution to our communities as well as our national economy.
Carers Australia has estimated that if all carers decided to stop performing their caring role, the cost to the country, and the Australian taxpayer – you – would be between $77.9 billion at the least, to a staggering $126.2 billion dollars per year to replace those supports.
The 2021 census chronicles the number of persons who provided unpaid assistance to someone with a disability, health condition or due to old age at 2,476,306 nationally.
The realities of caring for an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7, 365 days a year are far from the idyllic picture painted by the government.
Successive federal governments have spruiked that older Australians should be encouraged to live longer at home before moving into nursing homes; easier said than done when carers are neither being legally or morally recognised, nor appropriately remunerated for their efforts and the burdens saddled upon them.
As a fulltime carer and national carer advocate I can tell you with the absolute authority of lived experience, becoming a carer increases one’s financial, emotional and social vulnerability as we sacrifice – among other things – career, income, future income potential and superannuation, our family dynamics, relationships and our own physical and mental health to look after someone we love.
According to the Commonwealth Department of Social Services (DSS), of the estimated 2.65 million carers as at June 2024, only 314,320 (11.86 percent) were receiving a carer payment and 657,275 (24.80 percent) the carer allowance. Begs the question what assistance, if any, are the remaining 1,678,405 carers receiving?
Item 4 of Schedule 1 (The Statement for Australia’s Carers) of the Carer Recognition Act 2010 (No. 123, 2010) states “the valuable social and economic contribution that carers make to society should be recognised and supported.”
But whilst we carers continue to allow ourselves to be designated unpaid carers by the government, those peak bodies that are supposed to represent us, and the media, our roles, all we do, and our many sacrifices will continue to be largely unrecognised, undervalued and unrequited.
Carers should be applauded, appreciated, appropriately financially recognised and respected for their selfless efforts, sacrifices and the noble contribution they make to the community.
Yet for far too long successive federal governments have treated and abused primary carers as a source of cheap labour to be exploited like sweatshop workers.
Whilst politicians, bureaucrats and peak body CEOs (who are supposed represent us) give themselves most generous pay rises, benefits and perks, a person receiving a carer payment gets $3.41 dollars an hour, whilst at the same time, a person in receipt of the carer allowance gets a paltry 46 cents an hour; 25 years ago it was just 23 cents an hour.
It’s a national disgrace.
As Carers we need, and quite rightly deserve the same respect, proper legal recognition and comparable financial remuneration and benefits as paid support workers who take home at the minimum $24.10 an hour.
Carers should not be confused with paid support workers.
Whilst carers saddle the burden of underpinning the aged care, NDIS (disability), health and social service sectors, paid support workers are receiving just, fair, and proper respect, recognition, financial remuneration, statutory, legal and other entitlements and benefits.
Paid support workers are legally recognised, usually engaged by a care support organisation, are formally trained, qualified and appropriately remunerated to look after clients on an employed basis with various statutory entitlements, benefits and rights.
Primary carers, or care givers – often with years of lived experience – are persons who regularly look after the needs of an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person on a permanent or temporary basis usually in return for a government benefit.
But until carers are recognised as somebodies, rather than anybodies, the same respect, recognition, financial remuneration, statutory, legal and other benefits and security afforded to paid support workers will continue to elude us.
What we allow ourselves to be called creates or negates any obligation on the part of the government, the Australian Fair Work Commission, other statutory authorities, the public service, associated providers, etc. to legally recognise, morally treat, value, appropriately remunerate and requite carers as a valid labour force that contributes so much to the stability and growth of the Australian economy.
The caring community is disadvantaged and vulnerable, with many living way below the poverty line.
The time to do something is now!
We know you care, and now more than ever – and along with the 25,000 people who have already signed – we need your support.
Please help carers in our campaign for proper recognition and appropriate remuneration by signing and sharing my national Petition with your family, friends and contacts.
After all, you never know when you might find yourself a carer or in urgent need of one.