E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Topics: Unpaid carers; National Carers Strategy.
GRAEME GOODINGS, HOST: Australia has three million unpaid carers, most of them are women. Long overdue, there's going to be a National Carers Strategy. Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth joins me to talk about it. Amanda, good morning. Thanks for being with us.
AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Great to be with you.
GRAEME GOODINGS: And to be with you too. Everyone would say this is probably long overdue. Our carers, unpaid carers in particular, do such a wonderful job and go unrecognised. Not that they want to be recognised and thanked, but they need some sort of strategy to help them cope with their day to day lives.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Yeah, look, absolutely. There hasn't been a National Carer Strategy, the last one finished in 2015. And so this new strategy that we're launching today gives a ten year policy framework to ensure sure that our unpaid carers get more support and the help that they deserve. Because as you said, they don't do it for thanks, but they do play such a critical role. Even with the evolution of aged care services and NDIS, our unpaid carers are so critical to supporting often loved ones. It's important that we're able to support their emotional and financial wellbeing.
GRAEME GOODINGS: So, what sort of help can you give them?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: There’s a number of really important elements as part of this strategy. Firstly, one of the immediate needs they asked for was access to counselling. At the moment there's a waitlist for counselling and support and so as part of this strategy we're going to add an extra 10,000 counselling sessions per year, which will address some of the backlog. Also, for example, many of them want to catch up with other people that are in the same situation, other sort of peer support groups so that they can talk with others that have the same experience. So, we'll be extending the number of peer support groups across the country, which is really, really important. The other thing there is support through the Carer Gateway, but the phone lines only open 9 to 5 and of course carers often need help at other times. And so we'll be extending when people can access Carer Gateway. So, they're just some of the things as part of the Strategy, but importantly, the Strategy provides a framework to really talk about how we better value our carers. And there is a Carers Recognition Act in the Parliament, that has been there since 2010. So, another action we're taking is to refresh that and make that more modern so that there is better recognition of carers in this country.
GRAEME GOODINGS: We use the term carers, but it's a catch all. Every carer has different tasks, you know, different priorities. You know, one size doesn't fit all, does it?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: No, you're absolutely right. When you think about who carers are, some of them might be caring for a husband, wife. There's others that are called young carers and they actually care for a parent. They particularly are invisible because they're often going to school or working, going to uni and actually caring for a parent that may have a disability or not be able to go about their daily life. So, they all do come in different shapes, and different caring responsibilities. And I have to say that's where the peer support has been so important. What we've heard about peer support is not just any peer support, but peer support with people that are in similar caring roles and so that the expansion of the peer support will definitely try and meet those needs.
GRAEME GOODINGS: I can understand that for some carers, maybe younger carers, they just feel isolated and alone and they're doing their task and they just don't know where to turn for help and assistance.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: That's absolutely right. And my message to all those young carers is there is support and help out there for you. And one of the other measures we're taking is actually to extend the Young Carers Bursary, which is money to support young carers in particular finish their education. Because if you think about it, for young people, it's hard enough to balance your education and other demands of your life, let alone also be a carer. So, look, there is support available and I would really encourage young carers to reach out for help because I really want to send a message that they're not alone, we do see what they're doing and we're here to help if we can.
GRAEME GOODINGS: With an ageing population, this situation is only going to grow, isn't it? We're going to need more carers and the carers are going to be more involved in the lives of family and loved ones.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Absolutely. Even with the evolution of a better aged care system and better disability support, we do need our unpaid carers to be there and supporting their loved ones. But one of the messages coming through, and this is a piece of work that our Government's really committed to, is unpaid carers are not always realised and appreciated by those big systems. So, often they are not able to talk to the aged care or indeed a whole lot of other organisations. And so one of the big challenges and the big things that we need to do is make sure that they can get respected in those systems so that they can really be partners with their loved one.
GRAEME GOODINGS: I suppose there are people out there listening to this show, not realising that they are in fact carers. They take their mother or grandfather or someone to the shops once a week to the hairdressers or to the doctor appointments here and there. So, they are unofficial carers too.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Oh, look, there are so many people that don't realise until they hear the definition of what an unpaid carer is, realise that they're doing that. So, it is about supporting their parents, it might be taking them to appointments, it might be, of course, some people who live in with their loved one on a regular basis. And my message to them is do reach out for help. We say that there's 3 million unpaid carers, but we know that we think that's vastly underestimated. So, there is help available through the Carer Gateway and it encourage people to reach out.
GRAEME GOODINGS: Is there any crossover with this, the National Carer Strategy with paid carers?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Paid carers are a really important part of the workforce and we know that there's workforce shortages, but really the key here is making sure that with an increase in that paid care workforce that do a great job, that our unpaid carers don't get lost and that their importance, value, recognition, but importantly their knowledge about their loved ones doesn't get missed. And unfortunately, I've heard a lot from unpaid carers that feel that they haven't been recognised by the paid care workforce or the person that's providing care to their loved ones, haven't been listened to. So, that's the challenge, I think, is while we've got this larger paid care workforce, that our unpaid carers also are really integral and recognised and connected.
GRAEME GOODINGS: I know you've mentioned it, Minister, but can you say again, if there are any unpaid carers out there and they're needing support in one way or another, what's their first line of action?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Their first line of action is the Carer Gateway and I'll give you the number, it's 1800 422 737. That's kind of your first port of call and they can connect you up with services that you might need or you can go to the Carer Gateway website site.
GRAEME GOODINGS: Minister, thanks for your time today.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Thank you.