As well as the financial cost, unpaid caregiving responsibilities are taking a toll on carers’ mental health and their longer-term life satisfaction.
Like many who look after those who need them most, Meredith Coote took a financial hit when she stopped work to deal with her daughter’s complex mental health needs.
About 2.5 million Australians, or 12 per cent of the working-age population, provide unpaid care to family members or others with disabilities, long-term health conditions or issues related to old age.The analysis found carers’ work hours fell by 1.3 hours a week on average in their first year of becoming a caregiver, cutting their weekly income by $20.
Nearly one in five unpaid carers is aged 57, with both parents ageing and coping with the challenges confronting spouses, children, other relatives and friends. She has also lost significant income and superannuation entitlements, not to mention saying goodbye to paid leave. “You don’t get a break, you don’t get time off,” she says.Despite it all, Coote says her family has been lucky to be able to spend so much time together.
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