Carers continuing to struggle and in need of more support: survey
The latest Carer Wellbeing Survey from Carers Australia has highlighted the continuing challenges facing the three million-plus unpaid Australians caring for others.
The report ‘Caring for others and yourself: Carer Wellbeing Survey 2024’ – prepared by the University of Canberra – received over 9,000 responses and found carers continue to have significantly poorer than average wellbeing, loneliness and financial outcomes compared to adult Australians.
“Carers are more than twice as likely to have low levels of wellbeing compared to the average Australian adult, twice as likely to have high psychological distress levels, less than half as likely to be in good health, almost three times more likely to experience loneliness, and three times more likely to struggle financially,” states the report, written by Dr Melinda Mylek.
"Some carers were more likely to have poorer outcomes, especially if they had higher caring commitments. Carers of people with specific needs were also more likely to report poorer outcomes, specifically carers of people with ASD, ODD, mental illness/psychosocial disability, intellectual disability and/or drug/alcohol dependency. Carers were also more likely to have poor outcomes if they were aged 35 to 54, identified as LGBTIQA+, cared for children or grandchildren, and/or lived in Queensland.
"The rising cost of living has increased financial pressure for many carers, who are already at much higher risk of experiencing financial stress than other Australians, particularly due to the negative impacts of being a carer on their ability to engage in paid work. Being in paid work not only improves financial wellbeing but is also associated with significantly higher wellbeing and lower distress for carers."
The message?
Having access to a range of supports and services can make a significant difference to the quality of carer’s lives.
Many reported long waiting times to access services, difficulty finding high quality services, lack of funding for services via NDIS/My Aged Care or other support packages, complicated application processes and lack of local service availability.
With the work provided by unpaid carers in Australia estimated at $77.9 billion annually, it’s clear that more work needs to be done at the Government and community level to support this important group.
