19 October 2009

Doing it tough: Carers in rural Australia

A groundbreaking study of carers in regional and remote Australia has revealed that those living in drought-affected areas are less likely to be employed full-time.

And carers in outer regional and remote areas experience higher rates of disability or long-term health problems, and lower employment rates.

All carers in regional and rural Australia were more likely to be living in a jobless household and to experience more financial hardship.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies has undertaken the study - The Tyranny of Distance? Carers in Regional and Remote Areas of Australia – on behalf of Carers Australia and Commonwealth Financial Planning.

It is the first study in Australia to look at carers in rural and regional Australia, and the first to examine the impact of the drought on carers" employment.

The Deputy Director of the Institute, Dr Matthew Gray, said there were 580,000 people living in rural and regional Australia who regularly care for a family member with a disability, long term illness, or who is frail aged.

"These Australians have long faced multiple challenges, including lack of access to services and lower rates of employment.  Now they are more likely to experience further social exclusion through the affects of the drought,” Dr Gray said.

"With drought conditions likely to continue, it is important to understand how it impacts on those Australians providing one of the most valuable services in our society.

"Improving access to services for carers in remote and drought affected areas will be a key challenge for a civilised and caring society,” Dr Gray said.

The Institute"s Research Fellow and co-author of the study, Dr Ben Edwards, said little was known about the circumstances and challenges faced by carers in rural and regional parts of the country.

"This study fills in many of the gaps by identifying the spread of carers around the country and examining factors that impact on their wellbeing, such as access to services, employment rates and financial hardship, and their physical and mental health,” Dr Edwards said.

"It reveals that carers in remote, very remote and drought affected areas are particularly vulnerable groups of Australians.

"The study reveals a new finding that carers in drought areas are more likely to experience a reduction in employment if they are employed full time.

"It also highlights the vulnerability of Indigenous carers.

"Indigenous people comprise a very large percentage of the total caring population in remote and very remote areas.  Our study showed that carers in these areas are more likely to experience poor health themselves, or be unemployed.

"And in Indigenous communities, caring is falling more on the shoulders of the young.  In remote and very remote areas there are more carers aged 24 or less, and fewer aged 65 and over,” Dr Edwards said.

Key findings of the study include:

 

The tyranny of distance? Carers in regional and remote areas of Australia

 

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