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Media Release

20 October 2009

Carers “unfathomable” balancing act

Carers are finding it hard to balance their livesThe plight of Australians struggling to balance work with unpaid care of ill, frail or disabled family and friends will be the focus of an upcoming free public forum at UniSA.

The forum is part of National Carers Week (October 18 – 24) and will be held at UniSA’s City West campus tomorrow evening (October 21).

Organisers hope it will open debate about how Australia can address the work/care balance as well as informing employers, policy makers, the caring and health sector and researchers about recent legislative changes and national policy issues affecting carers who are also in paid employment.

An estimated one in eight Australians is engaged in unpaid care, with many being forced to leave the workforce, reduce the amount of hours they work or take a job below their skill level as a result of caring responsibilities (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2004).

Research shows that caring responsibilities can affect economic security, and the long-term health and social participation of carers (ABS, 2004).

Professor Bettina Cass, and Cathy Thomson from the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of NSW will lead the forum, supported by SA Equal Opportunity Commissioner Linda Matthews and UniSA Director of Human Resources, Ruth Blenkiron. Prof Cass is also a member of the South Australian Social Inclusion Board.

Blenkiron says that bridging the work/care gap is difficult in a “work obsessed society”.

“It is a difficult conundrum - those in paid employment have less time and those who need care have a surplus of time, which means we have a societal dilemma that requires focused debate,” she says.

“When I call my 80 year old mother, I wonder if she is picking up on my monosyllabic responses, or can hear me typing emails while we chat.

“A democratic society has a shared responsibility to care; that is what defines our civility. Employers are a microcosm of that equation. This forum is a means to discuss, argue, persuade and reason on how we respond to an unfathomable issue.”

The forum is presented by the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, SafeWork SA‘s WorkLife Balance Strategy, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, and supported by the Office for Carers.

National Carers Week is an annual initiative of Carers Australia, the national peak body representing the diversity of carers in Australia, to acknowledge the vital role carers play in our society.

Event details:
Carers in the workforce – a new age?
Wednesday 21st October, 4:30pm start
Level 5, Hawke Building, UniSA City West Campus
Register here


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