Post by Willow on Feb 27, 2013 20:08:38 GMT 9.5
BY:ELIZABETH BRODERICK From: The Australian February 26, 2013
OUR communities are full of people who are caring for children, grandchildren, parents, in-laws, the disabled, the chronically ill, the elderly, the dying. And the vast majority receive no remuneration. There are 5.5 million unpaid carers in Australia. As one woman told me recently, "I may not have chosen this path but I walk it with love and pride."
The problem is that superannuation, tax and employment systems financially disadvantage these people. After a life of entering and leaving the workforce, they - and most are women - find they have vastly less accumulated retirement savings and superannuation than others who have not made these sacrifices, often retiring in poverty or with severe financial disadvantages.
No single initiative will solve this but a range of reforms in diverse areas will assist.
We should examine a system of "carer credits" - direct credits paid by the government to the superannuation accounts of unpaid carers at the end of each tax year.
We also should consider a supplement to the age pension for people who have already made substantial contributions to unpaid care during their lifetime.
The introduction of the federal Carer Recognition Act in 2010 was a valuable first step, but it does not confer any rights on those who care. The British equivalent enables carers to receive an assessment of their carer needs and encourages local authorities to support them with appropriate services.
In Australia, the right to request flexible work arrangements is included in the National Employment Standards, but it is limited to those with children under school age and children with a disability up to the age of 18. Britain, Sweden and New Zealand have extended this to caring for adult family members and children of all ages.
We also must accommodate palliative care. Recently I attended the funeral of a young mother whose husband left work to care for her. He must re-enter the labour market at a time of great loss. An entitlement to a one-year unpaid employment break would assist.
The Productivity Commission should review early childhood education and care services to make it accessible and affordable.
We need to address gender role stereotypes associated with unpaid caring. We need to challenge the "ideal worker" model of a person (usually a man) unencumbered by caring responsibilities. We need to create a new normal where women and men equally share the responsibility for unpaid care. This can be achieved by encouraging men to be involved in caring from the start.
Paid parental leave could offer an extra four weeks of government-funded leave if a couple can prove they have shared their leave equally, or two weeks additional leave for either partner once the supporting partner quota has gone.
Some say your family is your responsibility, but unpaid caring work is vital to the social fabric that underpins our democracy - and eventually we all will be a carer or be cared for.
Elizabeth Broderick is Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner.