Annette Ellis (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing and Youth, I present the committee’s report, incorporating additional comments, entitled Who cares…? Report on the inquiry into better support for carers, together with the minutes of proceedings.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

I am very pleased to present this report Who cares…? on behalf of the Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing and Youth. Just over 12 months ago, the committee received a referral to inquire into the challenges facing carers and their support needs.

The basic questions were: what can we do to ensure that carers get the recognition they deserve, and how can we ensure that carers get the practical support they so desperately need? To answer these questions, the committee was keen to hear from the experts—that is, from carers themselves. And carers responded.

The committee received over 1,300 written submissions. The majority of these came from carers. Additionally, over 250 witnesses gave evidence at public hearings held across Australia. It is thanks to the generosity and the candour of so many carers that the committee was able to gain an insight into their daily lives. As I said just recently, they allowed us to see into their homes and their lives in a most intimate way.

Over decades, the shift from institutional care to care in the community, along with continual gains in medical science, has increased society’s reliance on care provided by family and friends. As a result, pressures on support systems for carers have been building and, with an ageing population, these pressures are projected to increase.

There are already an estimated 2.5 million carers in Australia. Of these, almost half a million are primary carers. We know that, as a group, carers are seriously disadvantaged financially, are frequently socially isolated and have one of the lowest levels of collective wellbeing. In view of these facts, one might ask why anyone would become a carer. The answer is that becoming a carer is not really a choice. In anyone’s life, at any time, they can be thrust into the role without warning. Some people find themselves in this situation after birth of a child with an illness or disability. Others become carers following a traumatic event or accident involving a loved one. And, while every caring situation is unique, in essence what carers want are choices—choices about their lives and the lives of their families.

With this in mind, the committee has made 50 recommendations to assist carers. Key recommendations include: increasing financial assistance for carers; providing adequate access to quality services which will allow carers to have time out of the caring role; and streamlining the current maze of carer support systems. To provide immediate financial relief to carers, the committee has recommended increasing the base rate of carer payments and reviewing the means testing thresholds. In the longer term, the committee has also recommended restructuring financial assistance given to carers to better reflect the level of care provided. The committee has also recommended an urgent increase in the supply of community care services. This is particularly aimed at respite care services and in-home or domestic assistance.

The complex and fragmented service systems are a source of confusion and frustration for many carers. To address this, the committee supports reforms being undertaken by the Council of Australian Governments to provide service systems that are seamless. The committee has also made specific recommendations to encourage nationally consistent and streamlined supports and services for carers.

Although government is yet to make a formal response to this report, obviously, the recent federal budget includes measures which indicate government’s support for carers. Notably, carer payment recipients will receive the pension increases announced in the pension reform package. For a single carer receiving the full carer payment, this will provide an additional $32.49 a week. Also to replace the one-off bonuses for carers the government has introduced a permanent carer supplement. The supplement will provide $600 per annum for carer payment recipients and an additional $600 per annum for carer allowance recipients for each eligible person in their care. While these budget measures are a welcome start, I hope that the recommendations contained in the Who cares …? report will provide a robust platform to progress the reform agenda for carers into the future. I also hope that this is the beginning of an attitudinal shift across the whole community, a shift which will answer the question of, ‘Who cares?’ with the response that we all do.

In concluding, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to the deputy chair, the member for Pearce, to members of the committee and to all the carers and organisations who have contributed to this inquiry. We have endeavoured to make this report your report. I would also like to thank members of the committee and the secretariat for their efforts throughout the inquiry process, in particular James Catchpole, Alison Clegg and Siobhan Carrigan supported by Leila Jordan, Belynda Zolotto, Gaye Milner and Tarran Snape. I commend the report to the House.

Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to join the chair of the committee in addressing the issues in relation to this inquiry. Depressed, desperate and isolated—when we asked carers how they described their role that is what many of them had to say. There were common concerns amongst carers regardless of what kind of caring role they undertook. They were united by their problems and the challenges that they faced. Not enough is being done to care for carers. That was the clear message that came out of this inquiry. The 50 recommendations made in our report, Who cares …? represents their many stories but our response cannot finish there. These recommendations are empty promises if they are not acted upon. I look forward, along with the chair, to receiving the government’s response to this inquiry and to the recommendations.

As deputy chair of the committee, like the chair and other members of the committee, I was personally touched by the stories of ordinary Australians doing what can only be described as an extraordinary job of caring. Their lives and their challenges are inextricably linked to those they care for. It became clear that there is simply not enough assistance to go around. Time and time again the committee heard stories from carers who were under extreme financial or emotional stress. It is intolerable that those who give up so much to care for others should be subject to such pressures. Financial hardship is a major ongoing concern for many carers and the report recommends a significant increase in the base rate of carer payments. We have also asked that the Treasurer consider easing the tax burden of carers. It is no wonder that carers are under financial stress as any payments they receive may be quickly consumed by specialist medical services, medication and/or equipment required by those they care for.

Financial isolation of carers is further exacerbated by employment difficulties. Currently there are significant disincentives for carers to earn supplementary income because it is quickly, at quite a ferocious rate, taken from them. This report recommends that these disincentives are eliminated to allow carers an opportunity for a greater standard of living, independence and the ability to accumulate savings or superannuation. Many carers also reported a lack of flexible working arrangements that hinder their ability to engage in the workforce. That further socially isolates this group of people. The report recommends that the right to request flexible workings arrangements be extended to accommodate carers.

Carers should be able to look to the future with at least some degree of certainty. The unavailability of accommodation both for carers and those they care for, particularly parents who are in the older category who are still caring for members of the family, is a concern. They are afraid of dying and of not having anywhere to put those family members. It is a significant issue. Commonly these carers ask, ‘Who will look after the person I am caring for if something happens to me?’ It is not an unrealistic concern or anxiety that many older carers experience. A dramatic increase in funding is required so that accommodation is available for those that need it the most.

I know that the government has put aside money for social housing and it is my belief, and I attached that I think to the addendum to the report, that some of that money should be directed to this group of people who are deeply concerned about what will happen to the person they care for when they fall sick or pass away. As I said, it is not an unrealistic concern or anxiety. Clearly there is considerable work to he done.

I would like to thank the committee chair for the very professional way in which the hearings were conducted and to all members of the committee for their contributions. This report asked the question: who cares? If we are to answer, ‘We care,’ then we need to confront the issues facing carers head-on and match rhetoric with the reality and exercise our political will to ensure a better future for carers.

Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the member for Canberra wish to move a motion in connection with the report to enable it to be debated on a future occasion?

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

In accordance with standing order 39, the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.