Creating Choice: Employment and the Cost of Care

By the Taskforce on Care Costs (Juliet Bourke, Chair)

Supporting workers with caring responsibilities (for children, elders and people with a disability) is a critical issue for individuals, business and the national economy.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that in NSW alone nearly 2 million people over 18 years of age care for another adult or child, however only 1 million of those carers are in employment1. Whilst some of this gap reflects personal choice, anecdotal reports by carers and preliminary academic research indicate that the high cost of care forces workers with caring responsibilities to choose between work and caring. This forced choice has a direct impact on quality of life for workers2 and their dependents, as well as flow on effects for business and the national economy.