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House Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing and Youth

Committee activities (inquiries and reports)

Inquiry into better support for carers

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Terms of Reference

Carers play a vital role in sustaining Australia’s current system of community-based person-centred care. However, they are often at increased risk of becoming socially isolated from their peers and disconnected from mainstream employment. Many carers also have significantly worse health outcomes than the general population (both in terms of physical health and psychological wellbeing) and endure problematic access to services and support. Carers also often face increased financial pressures, having limited opportunities to accrue savings, accumulate superannuation and save for retirement.

To obtain an improved understanding of the challenges facing carers and their support needs, the committee will inquire into and report on:

  • the role and contribution of carers in society and how this should be recognised;

  • the barriers to social and economic participation for carers, with a particular focus on helping carers to find and/or retain employment;

  • the practical measures required to better support carers, including key priorities for action; and

  • strategies to assist carers to access the same range of opportunities and choices as the wider community, including strategies to increase the capacity for carers to make choices within their caring roles, transition into and out of caring, and effectively plan for the future.

In examining each of these issues, the committee will also inquire into the specific needs of particular groups within the caring population including new carers, younger carers, older carers, Indigenous carers and those with multiple care responsibilities.

For the purpose of this inquiry carers are defined as ‘individuals providing unpaid support for others with ongoing needs due to a long-term medical condition, a mental illness, a disability or frailty’.

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Last reviewed 7 February, 2011 by Committee Secretariat
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