Also see: Attachment A – Labour Market Characteristics of Australian Carers (Ai Group Research & Economics, July 2022)

Ai Group welcomed the opportunity to provide a written submission to the Productivity Commission’s Carer Leave Inquiry.

Carers contribute enormously to the welfare and wellbeing of the frail and elderly in the community and their role should be supported in the broader aged care system.

The frail and elderly are some of the most vulnerable members of the community and deserve the dignity of high-quality care responsive to their needs. This includes the care from employees who are informal carers to their loved ones.

Caring for the elderly is a common shared experience in the community and employers generally play a supportive and accommodating role for staff who are required to provide care to family members.

Ai Group notes the terms of reference for this Inquiry direct the Productivity Commission to examine:

• The potential impact of amending the National Employment Standards (NES) in Part 2 -2 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) to provide for a minimum statutory entitlement to extended unpaid carer’s leave for national system employees providing informal care to older people who are frail and living at home.
• The social and economic costs and benefits from any change to the NES, including the impact on residential aged care services, and broader net impact on the economy.

The terms of reference were based on recommendation 43 made by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and set out in its Final Report: Care Dignity and Respect.