Professional and Unpaid Carers Defined?
From the outset, is is important to understand there are notable distinctions defining and differencing professional and unpaid carers.
A ‘professional carer’ (more commonly known as a ‘care worker’ or ‘paid support worker’) is usually engaged by a care support organisation, is trained, qualified and paid to look after people on an employed basis.
An ‘unpaid carer’ (more commonly referred to as just a ‘carer’) might be a spouse, partner, parent, child, sibling, family member, friend, or neighbour who regularly looks after the needs of an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacited person on a permanent or temporary basis in return for a government benefit.
Carer Versus Caregiver?
There seems to be a prevalent and public misconception about the appellation carer which is often misused as a broad, or umbrella term for professional and unpaid carers alike.
The fundamental distinction between paid and unpaid carers is now blurred and seems irrelevant.
So until the clear delineation between paid and unpaid carers is restored, the selfless efforts and personal sacrifices of unpaid carers cannot be properly recognised, and their financial needs sufficiently addressed.
Potentially the most ideal solution to the conundrum is to delineate professional carers as paid support workers and unpaid family and community caregivers as carers?
Food for thought.
Carers are Exploited!
So sweatshops are illegal, slave labour is a crime; yet some carers receive as little as 41 cents an hour to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365! We need to stop the exploitation of carers …. now!
The federal government cannot continue to ignore the thoughts, views and everyday realities faced by carers and their families; the exploitation must stop – NOW!
Together, we can, and should put more pressure on the government to do the right thing by carers who are being exploited by an unfair, unjust, and reprehensible benefit system.
Seven Policy Priorities for Change!
Carers Have Seven Policy Priorities for the federal government!
1. Without further excuse and delay, the federal government must commit to immediately implementing the principles of the Statement for Australia’s Carers as set forth under the provisions of the Carer Recognition Act 2010 (No. 123, 2010).
2. Increase the Carer’s Allowance to at least $493.80 per fortnight; this being fifty-percent of the current March 2022 Carer Payment/Pension Rate of $987.60. This should be payable in addition to any Centrelink Primary Income Support Payment.
3. Remove the income tests that apply to Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Payment.
4. Pay the current Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contribution on behalf of the carer who should be able to access it (tax and income-test free) upon ceasing to be a primary carer.
5. Prohibit any fully or partially funded government aged care and/or disability service provider, grant recipient, or contractor from levying and/or charging gap fees or co-payments.
6. Facilitate a public education campaign to restore and reinforce the fundamental distinctions between paid support workers and carers.
7. Establish regional service hubs where information is acquired, distributed, disseminated and free-flowing directly between carers and the government.
Unpaid Carers: A Workforce Unrecognised, Undervalued and Underpaid!
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 not being duly recognised for their efforts and the burden saddled upon them – with some carers receiving as little as 41 cents an hour to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365.
On Wednesday 15 June 2022, it was announced by the Australian Fair Work Commission “the minimum wage will be lifted $1.05 an hour from its $20.33 base from 1 July 2022, an increase of 5.2 per cent, to $21.38 an hour;” that’s $812.44 for a 38 hour week, $1624.88 a fortnight!
For working 168 hours a week, those receiving Carer’s Allowance now only get 8.40% of the National Minimum Wage – down from the 2021 rate of 8.83% – for working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days of the year.
Now we’re told “all employees working in Australia are entitled to a minimum wage. This is the minimum amount an employee can be paid for the work that they’re doing;” but alas carers are not considered employees but Australian government benefit recipients.
This is disgraceful, inexcusable and an affront to carers and their families!
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings (ABS, 2018) there are 2.65 (2,650,000) million unpaid carers in Australia providing care and support to a family member or friend; 37.4% of carers themselves have a disability; there are 235,300 young carers aged under 25 and there are 533,400 carers in Queensland alone.
It is estimated that those caring for family members actually save the government – the Australian taxpayer, the community, you – more than $77.9 (77,900,000,000) billion a year providing informal/primary care across Australia.
Now, crunching the numbers, if there are 2,650,000 unpaid carers in Australia saving the government a whopping 77,900,000,000 billion dollars, the reality is each carer is worth, at the least $29,396.23.
Carers don’t just sacrifice their time or money.
Carers often have to give up fulltime work, they put their lives on hold, they often become socially isolated, they are in poor physical health, they ignore their own social, personal, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being and are not adequately supported by the government or service providers, let alone by members of their own family.
For many carers, thoughts of financial ruin, destitution and homelessness are very real!
More often than not long-standing and cohesive family relationships will become strained and families fracture.
The increasing plight and suicide rates of distressed and desperate carers is continually ignored.
Caring for a loved one isn’t just a labour of love, it is a burden in countless ways that many could never appreciate or imagine, lest of all our financially over-endowed politicians and our out-of-touch federal government which offers carers a paltry Carer’s Payment of $987.60 per fortnight: that’s just $493.80 a week, $70.54 per day, or just $2.94 an hour to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365; provided of course the carer is prepared to give up work and sacrifice a generous income, benefits and superannuation.
Persons already in receipt of a government pension/benefit cannot receive a Carer’s Payment in addition to their pension/benefit, but may qualify for a Carer’s Allowance of $136.50 a fortnight, $68.25 a week, $9.75 a day, or just 41 cents an hour to look after someone 24/7/365.
The Carer’s Allowance of $136.50 a fortnight, or $3549 per year is reprehensible to say the least; it is not even enough to cover the basic costs of keeping a vehicle on the road.
It’s time the federal government rightly recognised Australia’s 2.65 million unpaid carers and the need for immediate, realistic and proper financial recognition.
In this case in point, the cost to keep my car on the road totals $5044.55 a year, $420.37 a month, or $194.02 a fortnight; quite disproportional to the Carer’s Allowance of $3549.00 a year – leaving me out-of-pocket $1495.55.
Carer’s Payment Versus Carer’s Allowance?
Firstly, Carer’s Pension no longer exists – it was renamed Carer’s Payment in July 1997; see Bills Digest No. 148, 1998-99 Assistance for Carers Legislation Amendment Bill 1999 (Background, Carer Payment, paragraph 8).
According to the Australian Government Social Security Guide: Guides to Social Policy Law (1.2.5.20 Carer Payment (CP) – Description; Ver. 1.291; 7 February 2022) Carer’s Payment – which is income tested – “is a fortnightly income support payment for people who are unable to support themselves through substantial paid employment due to the demands of their caring role.”
Services Australia (Income and assets test for Carer Payment) states that “your rate of Carer Payment depends on what you earn and own. The person you provide care for also has to have income and assets under certain limits.”
Whereas Carer’s Allowance – which is also income, but not assests tested – “is a fortnightly payment that recognises the care provided to a person with disability or medical condition in a private home” (Australian Government Social Security Guide: Guides to Social Policy Law; 1.2.5.50 Carer Allowance (CA) – Description; Ver. 1.291; 7 February 2022).
According to figures provided in the ‘Caring Costs Us’ report (op. cit.), in “June 2021, some 300,121 people were in receipt of the Carer Payment (p. 14)” and “some 623,742 people were in receipt of the Carer Allowance (p. 15).”
Carer’s Allowance: A Short History!
According to the Australian Government Social Security Guide: Guides to Social Policy Law (5.2.5.20 CA, Child Disability Allowance & HCA -December 1974 to Present Date, DNCB 1987 to 1999; Ver. 1.291; 7 February 2022) Carer’s Allowance (CA) “replaced Child Disability Allowance (CDA) on July 1999. CDA was previously called Handicapped Child’s Allowance (HCA).”
“HCA was introduced from 10 December 1974. HCA became payable in respect of students aged 16 to 24 years from 31 October 1978.”
“CDA replaced HCA from 15 November 1987.”
“CA was introduced on 1 July 1999. CA combined CDA and Domiciliary Nursing Care Benefit (DNCB).”
The annual increases to the Carer’s Allowance from 1999 to 2022 have been trivial and of little value to say the least.
In the 23 years to 2022 the average increase to the Carer’s Allowance has been just $2.65, or 2.61% per year.
The Negative Financial Impacts of Being a Carer!
As at April 2022, Australia’s inflation is at its highest rate in 20 years; the cost of living is skyrocketing; many can’t afford to put nutritious food on the table, and in fact many skip meals altogether; rents have hit the roof forcing many on the street; essential utilities, electricity, gas and rateable services are proving a luxury – having the internet connected is wishful thinking; the cost for support services is spiralling; countless carers and those they care for barely survive with many almost destitute – carers are among the hardest hit!
According to a recent report commissioned by Carers Australia and the National Carer Network ‘Caring Costs Us: The Economic Impact on Lifetime Income and Retirement Savings of Informal Carers (March 2022)’ carers not only forfeit potential lifetime earnings, but miss out on thousands of dollars in superannuation retirement savings.
Carers get no superannuation entitlements.
Carers get no holiday leave entitlements.
Carers often dip into, and deplete their own financial reserves in supporting the person(s) they care for.
When their caring role is at an end, carers under retirement age, or ineligible for a primary income support benefit from Centrelink will often find themselves literally punished and thrown on the Jobseeker scrap-heap; a harsh reality for many older Australians!
Family carers deserve the same respect, recognition and comparable financial remuneration as paid support workers.
FACT: Carers Do Not Receive an Extra Wad of Cash from Centrelink!
Time and time again I have encountered some seriously misinformed and confused people who vehemently believe between a carer and the person being cared for there is a wad of cash called a Carer’s Pension received by a carer in addition to any government primary pension or benefit, e.g. the DSP, or Aged Pension.
Contrary to what some might surmise, carers do not receive a secondary $987.60 pension each fortnight to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365.
There is no third income shared between two people; albeit some may qualify for the $136.50 fortnightly Carer’s Allowance.
So let’s set the record straight!
The fact of the matter is Carer’s Pension no longer exists; it was renamed Carer’s Payment in July 1997 and is, by definition, a fortnightly income support payment for people who are unable to support themselves through substantial paid employment due to the demands of their caring role.
Carer’s Allowance came into being on 1 July 1999; it replaced and Combined Child Disability Allowance (CDA) and the Domiciliary Nursing Care Benefit (DNCB) and was paid at the rate of $75.60 per fortnight.
In the twenty-three years to 2022 the average increase to Carer’s Allowance has been $2.65, or 2.61% per year irrespective of increases to workloads, inflation, the cost of living, support services, and to the Carer’s Payment.
By definition Carer’s Allowance is a fortnightly payment that recognises the care provided to a person with disability or medical condition in a private home.
Carer’s Allowance is paid at the rate of $136.50 a fortnight, $68.25 a week, $9.75 a day, or just 41 cents an hour.
Over the decades no government has faced the reality of the sacrifices and price we pay as carers head on, but they’re happy to have us quietly working away in the background for next to nothing, saving them billions of dollars in unpaid care whilst we suffer physically, mentally and financially.
Federal Government Continues to Patronise and Insult Carers!
In December 2021 the federal government announced that caregivers would receive a “boost” to their Carer’s Allowance from January 2022.
Payable only after the first full fortnightly payment cycle after January 1, the “boost” of $4.60 (or 3.49%) a fortnight (or $119.60 a year) is far from adequate; it doesn’t even reasonably cover the significant increases to the cost of groceries, medications, essential living items, utilities and services – doesn’t even buy a loaf of bread!
Touting a paltry increase to the Carer’s Allowance is not something the federal government should be gloating about, it is patronising, shameful and an insult to those who are the backbone of Australia’s aged care and health systems.
The new Carer’s Allowance of $136.50 a fortnight equates to $3549.00 a year, $273.00 a month, $68.25 a week, $9.75 a day, or just 41 cents an hour to look after an aged, infirm, disabled, or incapacitated person 24/7/365.
To add further insult to carers, the average price of Ultra-Premium Unleaded Petrol (UPULP) in late 2021 was $1.75 a litre, now (as at 14 March 2022) it is on average $2.32 a litre – that’s an increase of of 24.57%, or 57 cents a litre.
So now carers have to pluck more money out of a chook’s butt just to keep their car on the road!
The Commitment of Unpaid Carers is Seriously Undervalued!
The commitment, sacrifice and benefit of carers who support and devote themselves to looking after older and vulnerable Australians is by-and-large unrecognised, underestimated and seriously undervalued!
Carers do so much more than just care – they change lives!
Carers are jacks of all trades, masters of none!
Carers afford physical, social, personal, mental, emotional and spiritual support on a daily basis.
Carers should be applauded, appreciated, appropriately financially recognised and respected for their selfless efforts, sacrifices and the noble contribution they make to the community.
Carers don’t just play an integral part in Australia’s aged care and health systems, they underpin them!
The Australian and State governments should be ashamed of themselves; they could do so much more!
Carers, especially those only in receipt of a Carer’s Allowance, need immediate, realistic and proper financial recognition.
Then there are those government and grant funded service providers who have the gall to charge Australia’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable citizens gap fees for nearly every essential service provided; forcing those that can least afford it to have to prioritise and choose between necessary services.
Government funding and/or grants to support organisations should be conditional on 100% service cost provision with no obligation on clients to make co-payments, pay gap fees or subsidies.
In some cases, what the government gives carers barely covers the costs associated with keeping a car on the road: petrol, insurance, registration, finance, servicing and repairs; usually for the benefit of the person being cared for.
Carers are usually parents, children, siblings, spouses, and friends.
Many carers are on low incomes and find it hard to cover even basic living expenses, let alone having to scrounge around for money to afford essential personal or allied health services, medications, disability aids and to meet the financial burden for increased usage of utility services.
Carers throughout Australia face a significant economic disadvantage with many neglecting their own wellbeing.
Carers themselves often become chronically ill with many suffering from health problems directly linked to their caring role: persistent tiredness, stress, depression, anxiety, back problems or other physical and mental ills.
And just as come carers might abuse their charges, some are themselves subjected to emotional blackmail and coercive manipulation, physical and (often clandestine) emotional, mental and financial abuse at the hands of those being cared for.
For many carers, thoughts of financial ruin, destitution and homelessness are very real!
The increasing plight and suicide rates of distressed carers is continually ignored.
Then there are often siblings who will distance themselves from an aging parent (or parents) and saddle one of their number with the responsibilities of looking after the parent (parents).
“Well, someone has to!”
“We have to work!”
“We have our own responsibilities!”
“You were always the favourite – you do it!”
It’s called inequality in family caregiving when one sibling is expected to carry all, or more responsibility for the provision of a loved one’s care than the other(s).
Some siblings don’t even consider offering a parent carer a break, time alone, time away, an ear to unload, the benefit of company, the opportunity for respite and relief.
Siblings often become distant and make excuses not to visit, save there might be a request for help or assistance to do something.
“Out of sight – out of mind,” goes the old saying.
Much of what carers do goes unnoticed, unrequited, unrewarded.
Could you do it?
The Precepts of Being a Carer!
Have you ever thought about what carers do, their responsibilities and the issues they face each and every day?
The next time you’re about town and see a carer, why not stop, think and wonder for a few moments what that person might be going through; why that person is the way they are and what that person has committed his or her life to; what sacrifices that person is making to care for another – a parent, family member or a friend?
Could you commit to, and honour the precepts of being a carer?
A CARER COMMITS to being there and making oneself available 24/7/365: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days in the year for the benefit of the person being carer for.
A CARER IS RESPONSIBLE for affording continued personal company, emotional, physical and spiritual support so as to ensure the safety, wellbeing and good health of the person being cared for.
A CARER PROVIDES security, comfort, encouragement and reassurance so as to ensure a continued quality of life and independence of the person being cared for.
A CARER MAKES the person being cared for his/her priority, often ignoring and neglecting their own physical and mental health, personal well-being and circumstances.
A CARER ADVOCATES to secure and defend the rights, needs and entitlements of the person being cared for.
A CARER GIVES UP his/her own time willingly, or regardless, to cater to, and meet the priorities and needs of the person being cared for.
A CARER OFTEN puts his/her own desires, wants, interests, needs and health to one side in order to meet the needs of the person being cared for.
A CARER TAKES ON additional household duties and basic chores including: shopping; bill-paying and banking; mail despatch; the completion of form-filling, paperwork and correspondence, and medication dispensary, etc.
A CARER UNDERSTANDS that the person being cared for will be desirous to attend to personal shopping matters from time-to-time and will need transport to get, and assistance to be there.
A CARER UNDERTAKES to, organises and sometimes carries out maintenance around the home.
A CARER GIVES personal, business, and health advice unreservedly so as to promote the independence, personal safety, active health, wellbeing, and community interaction by, and of the person being carer for.
A CARER LIAISES with all third parties – and intervenes accordingly – to ensure that any bothersome financial, health, or other administrative matters are addressed and resolved in a timely manner to the satisfaction of the person being cared for.
A CARER TAKES ON the responsibility of seeking out and ensuring that medical care and assistance can not only be obtained, but attended to, and delivered in a timely manner.
A CARER ENSURES that the person being cared for is taken to all medical appointments and for diagnostic tests in a timely manner.
A CARER UNDERTAKES to ensure that a means of transport is available at all times by committing and undertaking to provide an accessible, ready, and reliable mode of passage as required.
A CARER RECOGNIZES and appreciates that the person being cared for can have unique mobility issues and undertakes to assist the person being cared for in any way possible by providing the means to access and utilise available mobility assistance devices so that he, or she can retain a certain level of independence.
A CARER ENDEAVOURS to preserve consistency and familiarity of life for that person being cared for by ensuring that there is minimal disruption to routines, disturbances in surroundings and upheavals in the life of his or her charge.
A CARER ACCEPTS that unexpected situations may arise where contingency plans will need to take priority over all else so as to ensure that the rights and interests of the person being cared for are vigorously defended.
……
And as the sun sets, the carer’s day and opportunity to do something for self are gone.
About Me?
I am a fulltime 24/7/365 carer of an aged, infirm and ill parent diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD).
As well being an abuse victim survivor campaigner, I am a patient, mentor, counsellor and advocate for those with rare diseases and genetic disorders, and a proponent for aged care and carers.
Revisions:
Article originally published 19 September 2021. Revised: 30 November 2023; 16 January 2023; July 2022; June 2022; May 2022; April 2022; March 2022; February 2022; January 2022; December 2021; October 2021.
Carers are worth their weight in gold, and it is about time the government recognised this, as if they had to pay they couldn’t do it. Carers need to be recognised all year round, not just for a week!
I just wanted to say that your article uncle George is amazing!
I worked it out once. My hourly rate is around $2.50. That’s taking out overnight (even though I am on call) and when support workers are booked. I take on so many roles, but my recompense is a pittance.
I care for my daughter who has Acquired Brain Injury, Doose Syndrome (having eight types of seizures and at least three Tonic Clonic seizures per day), Global Developmental Delay, Low Muscle Tone and Level 3 Autism. Until recently, I had her for 12 days a fortnight and her father (we separated years ago) had her the other two days. Now that she has finished school and has NDIS funding, her dad wants her every alternate week and sends her to day programs with NDIS funding. Because I now only have her one week each fortnight, Centrelink have placed me on JobSeeker! Apparently you have to have care each week to get the fortnightly payment. What am I supposed to do with her on my week as I will not let her go to day programs where she has previously been abused? I am still a Carer on Jobseeker payment and am expected to get a job. I had to give up my job years ago to care for my daughter as the longest any paid staff lasted was five days before they quit. Not conducive to me continuing to earn a decent living. My body is starting to quit on me a lot sooner than it normally would have from years of caring without adequate assistance and from late 2019 to 2021 when the NDIS fought me about replacing the children’s wheelchair she had grown out of. Meanwhile Covid meant I couldn’t get her to much needed medical appointments as the rules were only one person could assist her attend medical practices. Without an adequate chair, she needs a minimum of two carers. One of her seizures leaves her catatonic for 24 hours but you still have to get her to the toilet etc., and I have now got bursitis in both shoulders and a hip, an infarcted spleen, the bones in the middle of both my feet have disintegrated. I also had to learn to walk again back in 1979, so have a leg with bad arthritis. I became homeless after leaving paid employment – limited income = no roof over your head. I am grateful to have been granted a Housing Commission house but that has lead to its own set of challenges. More help and support would really be appreciated!
A well written article as I can relate to most of your key points. I receive a Carer’s Allowance. I have been the carer of a loved one for over 6 years. At the beginning it took almost 2 years to get a package; since then it has been very hard getting suitable support workers to help me when needed. My loved one gets 12 hrs a week, I am it for the rest of the time. Oh, I forgot to mention, I am nearing 80 years old with my own health problems. What would happen if we went on strike? Only would effect our loved ones!
Very well written and informative. I fully agree with everything stated that is involved in providing care for an aged family member as I did two years of providing live in care for my father in law who had declining health until he died. I provided 24 hour care for him as there was no one else. I volunteered to do this because his short stay in a residential care was less than adequate. Caring for my father in law took its toll on my own health as I seldom had a break. Only when our Pastor or a family friend would sit with him for a few hours could I leave him and attend to some of my own needs. I have no regret for the love and care he had in his own home after I moved into a spare room; but I had to convince our family GP to have him returned to my care. He had dementia and sleep apnoea so could never be left unattended at all. I collected no payment whatsoever; it was not something I even considered. My husband was working 12 hour shifts so was not able to be of assistance except for shopping and visits. Out marriage suffered and ended not long after his dad died.
I believe that care providers deserve to be paid the same as any other worker providing care regardless if they are family members. Being a supportive family member, the care provider needs to be recognised for doing the same as a non-family member who is doing the same work, less hours, yet being paid.
Politicians are overpaid and over privileged individuals paid by Australian Tax Payers. The salaries, entitlements and benefits politicians receive need to be slashed so that the funds can be redirected to assisting more deserving and hard working people such as family care providers. Put an end to the exorbitant pensions of politicians and have them wait until retirement age to apply under the same rules as the rest of us Australians.
I have never understood why there cannot be less politicians; why they won’t share the work that is required of them, and why they have to travel instead of making use of video conference facilities? Have them car pool or use parliamentary coaches, or better still, have them drive themselves in their own cars just like most Australian employees do.
I have been the carer for my frail and disabled father for almost 2 years now. It has been the most difficult and poverty stricken time of my life. I chose to support my Dad to stay in his home on his farm and help care for my mother who has some health issues also. Due to the high cost of rent I have had no other choice than to live in my car and when that broke down I lived in a tent for 10 months through a bitterly cold Tasmanian winter, then sleeping in the passenger seat of the farm ute for 4 months because the tent was too wet and cold; negative 6 Celsius and snow! Living in my parents home is not an option due to them being hoarders and mum’s poor mental health and her being abisive towards me. I am potentially facing poverty for the rest of my life due to helping them. I will never get a home loan now and renting is simply out of reach. I couldn’t even afford a caravan. I have sold almost everything I had of value to help make ends meet while being their carer. I can’t get much paid work while living out here but I’m working everyday for nothing. My mother plays on that and likes to remind me that I’m homeless and unemployed and worthless. So many carers go through such a hard time to keep their loved ones in their own home. I know my parents are glad they are not in an aged care facility but they don’t seem to understand or care what is happening to me at all.
As a business owner who became a carer for a loved one and having education in the fields of Sociology (the study of society) and Psychology (the study of how our mind processes the different situations we interact in and how that reflects in our behaviour), it has become apparent to me that the Carers Role needs more consideration in how it is dealt with as a vital resource.
In short:-
Carers should be paid a sustainable income not a payment or allowance. Their wage should not be means tested but acknowledged as a legitimate role in society which deserves fair payment and is taxable.
My reasoning:
1. Carers save the government (tax payers) billions of dollars in care for citizens with disabilities.
2. Carers work 24/7 and put aside the autonomy of their own lives to do this job.
3. Carers should not be emotionally blackmailed into accepting a pension which is not even close to minimum wage for a job that is 24/7.
4. If carers did the things they do and lived the way they do in any other situation it would be classified as slave labour or being unjustly imprisoned.
5. Carers love for the disabled person should not be used to manipulate them into being compliant to living as a slave.
6. Carers should not be silenced into compliance by being made to feel, if they speak up about the impact of their living situation being deserving of a living wage, it is somehow a reflection they do not love the person they are caring for.
7. Carers are people too and should not be made to suffer financially because of the legitimate job role they perform; not only for their loved one but for society itself.
When there is such a disparity of income level in our society yet our sense of societal value is absolutely attributed to ‘income’ exampled by those who are deemed worthy to be able to pay their bills easily, even at the most basic level like food and Electricty and who isn’t – slave labour for a legitimate work role is not acceptable.
That is my thought on the last day of 2022
Wishing all the carers supportive thoughts as we move into a New Year.
I see you and acknowledge you.
💫⭐️💫⭐️
There are carers out there that have had their Carer Allowance cut off because we dont meet the strict definition of the legislation. My daughter was living out of home, however my carer duties for her took many hours per week to deal with stuff, attend appointments, arrange help, deal with NDIS matters – it was like a full time job. She has a psychosocial disability ASD and an ID. The criteria in centrelink legislation didnt cater for my situation; I ended up with a debt which I had to argue about, go through humiliating processes to get rid of it, and go through FOI and review processes to prove my case! I get Carer Allowance for our granddaughter and Carers Payment, but I cant help feeling it is just a joke what carers get compared with the hundreds of thosands of dollars providers get paid to do less than what we do. Things need to change and our value needs to be real; society should value what we do properly. Im so fed up with governments who think this is ok. They need to stop thinking what a great job they are doing, when we get ridiculously low pay rises. If I could work I’d be on atleast $90,000 a year; instead we get zip for my daughter and about $600pw on all of the supports for my granddaughter. If we are lucky this just covers our rent and food. If my granddaughter was in care with her needs the Government would be hundreds of thousands out of pocket each year. The government could cover it by cutting some of the pollies ridiculous entitlements. When you do ask for any respite care so you can have a break, all you get is how they can’t provide this and can’t provide that. Carer’s Gateway is an absolute joke! I have had to work through and deal with carers burnout for 12 months whilst still carrying out my carer responsibilities. The help I got from Carer’s Gateway was just an offer of counselling, 4 cleans and $100 for petrol to go away, but I couldn’t get any respite as a carer because the outsourced health provider can’t get providers for children; they only deal with aged people. What a broken crap shit show!
Thank you for your magnificently-worded petition. I am an unpaid, former fulltime carer of several years for my wife when she had life-threatening Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma; she survived and no longer needs that care. Both of us were also fulltime unpaid carers for both of my wife’s parents; wife eventually got some meagre Carer Allowance for this. We have several aged friends and neighbours who are, or have been, unpaid fulltime carers for their partners or others. So much is done in this country by unpaid ‘VOLUNTEERS’ in so many parts of our life and society, including caring; I agree with you that it about time this very rich country started to pay adequate GIFTS to volunteers and carers for the multi-billions of dollars which their selfless unpaid work provides to the financial benefit and betterment of this country. Thank you for your petition which I support wholeheartedly.
Carers are struggling; Carer Allowance and the Carer Supplement should be increased immediately and all Carer Allowance recipients must get a Concession Card because they are the backbone of Australia’s economy and are struggling to meet basic needs. Carer Allowance should match the Carer Payment amount as Carers cannot survive on the current rates. Thanks. Rachel