Visit our webite for the
latest news and comment.
Also see the NSW Carers Action Plan 2007-2012.
The report of the Inquiry into Better Support for Carers is to be launched this Friday 1 May at Parliament House, Canberra.
National
Asbestos case sets legal precedent for carers
A Sydney grandmother who died after contracting mesothelioma has been awarded a posthumous payout of $500 000 from building material company James Hardie.
Margaret Dawson, who sued the company in 2007, claimed that spending more than two decades washing the asbestos infected clothes of her husband and father, led to the disease. Margaret died a year ago but the family continued the legal battle. Recently, the Dust Diseases Tribunal awarded Margaret personal compensation and in a legal first, unpaid earnings for looking after her two grandchildren.
Read newspaper reports.
Campaigners for both asbestos victims and carers’ rights see the case as setting an important legal precedent for compensation being extended to carers in future cases. For carer advocates this goes further - the case shows a recognition of the unpaid work of carers, regardless of the caring situation.
Reform agenda for carers
Jenny Macklin, the Australian Government Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, delivered a speech during the March national conference on caring outlining the Government's new agenda for carers. Carer Payment changes were foreshadowed in the upcoming May Budget and the Minister also indicated her intention to introduce the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Improved Support for Carers) Bill 2009 into Parliament.
Read Jenny Macklin's speech.
Review of the Carer Payment (Child)
Up to 19,000 more family carers of children with disabilities may be eligible to receive the Carer Payment (Child) following a review of the payment. The Carer Payment (Child) provides income support for families caring for a child with a chronic medical condition or severe disability. The changes will come into effect from July 2009. For background to the review, read the report and recommendations. For further information, go to the 'Chronic conditions' section of this e-bulletin.
New
South Wales
NSW carer named Woman of the Year
Cheryl Koenig, a Carers NSW carer representative, has been named NSW Woman of the Year by Premier Nathan Rees at a dinner at NSW Parliament House in early March. Read more in the 'Carers representation' section below.
New child protection laws
The recommendations of a child protection inquiry were adoped by the NSW Government in April. The Children Legislation Amendment (Wood Inquiry Recommendations) Bill 2009 passed through Parliament recently. The legislation includes an increased reporting threshold and facilitates shared information between agencies. Read the Minister's press release and follow the passage through Parliament with this Hansard transcript. Go to the 'Publications' section of this e-bulletin to read the child protection report that prompted the changes.
Carers NSW conference - Carers in action in NSW
The third Carers NSW biennial conference for professionals in acute care, primary and community health, community care and NSW Government agencies will take place in June 2009. The conference aims to highlight innovations and responses to the priorities under the NSW Carers Action Plan 2007-2012. Go to Carers NSW website to view the preliminary program and to register.
When: Thursday 11 - Friday 12 June 2009
Where: Novotel, Brighton-le-Sands, Sydney
Details: flyer
Asian Pacific autism conference - Connecting Today: Inspiring Tomorrow
This conference aims to bring together people with an interest in autism spectrum disorders: people living with autism, families and carers, educators, researchers, service providers and practitioners from across Australia and the Asia Pacific.
When: Thursday 20 – Friday 22 August 2009
Where: Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre
Details: website
Keep Them Safe. A shared approach to child wellbeing
Recommendations to revitalise child protection in NSW are outlined in this report. The key points are that child protection is a shared responsibility and that Aboriginal children in particular deserve a more coordinated response from government and the non-governement sector. Resulting from the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW conducted by Justice Wood, the report identified the importance of getting services to more children sooner. Read the report online.
Papers on the National Conference on Caring - Building the future with family carers
Hosted by Carers Queensland in early March 2009, this conference focused on four main themes: caring as a shared responsibility; carers and employment; carer legislation and innovative carer support. Speakers presentations are now available online.
Toolkit for ageing parent carers
The resource toolkit for the older parent carer support coordination program
has been designed to help service providers target older parent carers with appropriate materials and information that will allow them to identify themselves as carers and assist them in accessing appropriate high quality local support services. It includes:
- six fact sheets
- A DVD of four older parent carer stories
- posters in ten community languages
- A TV and radio advertisement
To obtain a toolkit, contact the carer support officer in your local NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC) area.
The toolkit was a cooperation between Carers NSW and NSW Council on the Ageing (CoTA) and funded by the DADHC.
To read more on ageing parent carers, go to the DADHC website, or visit the Carers NSW site. The older parent carer support coordination program assists hidden carers, a priority in the NSW Carers Action Plan 2007-2012.
APromoting social networks for older people in community aged care
Recent research by the Benevolent Society and the Social Policy Research Centre has found that involvement in social groups is associated with higher levels of wellbeing and indicates that community activities improves quality of life for older people. The message for community aged care service providers is to actively promote social engagement for those in their care. Read the report.
Nurses national aged care campaign
The provision of skilled staff to care for older people is the aim of a new campaign launched by the Australian Nursing Federation. The Federation claims that nurses in the aged care sector are paid on average $300 less a week than their counterparts in other nursing occupations. The implication is that the care of older Australians can only improve if skilled staff are retained by providing them with a fair wage. Read the media release.
Inquiry into aged care in Australia
An inquiry by the Australian Government is currently underway to investigate residential and community aged care. The Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration is to determine, among other things, if the levels of governement finance available to the aged care sector is sufficient to create a high quality and sustainable standard of care. The Committee is due to report on 29 April 2009. For backgroud information on the Committee, visit the Senate website. An excerpt from the transcript of evidence is also available here.
Future publication of quality and compliance information - aged care sector
From 1 July this year help will be available to families considering placement of aged family members. The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing will release data on the quality and compliance of aged care homes. Read the media release.
Positive Living in Aged Care Awards
Organisations that provide aged and residential care are invited to apply for this award by showcasing innovative approaches to care. Aimed at improving the mental health of residents, the award hopes to promote collaboration between mental health and other specialist services in the aged care sector. For details, see the information and application form.
NSW carer named Woman of the Year
Cheryl Koenig, a Carers NSW carer representative, has been named NSW Woman of the Year by Premier Nathan Rees at a dinner at NSW Parliament House in early March. Cheryl has cared for her son Jonathon, who has brain injury, for the past 11 years. She has written about the experience in her book Paper Cranes and continues to raise awareness about acquired brain injuiry. Read the media release. Cheryl's work with Carers NSW as a carer representative furthers the aims of the NSW Carers Action Plan 2007-2012 to ensure that carers are consulted as partners in care (Priority 4).
NSW Carers Action Plan 2007-2012 commits all NSW Government agencies to help support carers to combine caring and work (Priority 5).
Fair Work legislation passed - flexible work entitlements for carers
New industrial relations legislation was passed through the Australian Parliament on 20 March with special flexible work provisions for families with caring responsibilities. The new laws initiate National Employment Standards which will include
entitlements to personal and carer’s leave and the right to request flexible working arrangements for parents of young children or children with disabilities. Read about the legislation in the Hansard record, page 3227. Excerpts from the Senate Report can also be viewed here.
These terms were negotiated with the Green Party and independent members of Parliament before being passed. Read about the passage of the Bill from ABC News. Carers Australia lobbied to improve the protections offered to carers by the legislation. See the submission. The new workplace arrangements should be implemented by 1 January 2010. For more information, go to the Carers Australia website.
2009 Employer of Choice for Women Awards
The 2009 Employer of Choice for Women Awards were announced in March by the Australian Government’s Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA). Read the Working Carers Gateway article.
Single parents and pensions
An increase in the number of single parents moving from Parenting Payment to a Carer or Disability Support Pension is anticipated by the National Welfare Rights Network. The movement to a more substantial payment is expected to occur when the Australian Government announces an expected increase of approximately $30 a week for the age, carers and disability support pensioners in the May Budget. See the details.
How much inequity should we allow? - Ken Henry speech
In preparing the ground to deliver his report on the review of Australia's pension, tax and transfer system, Ken Henry, Secretary to the Treasury and Chairman of the Review, has given a speech discussing inequity as a social choice and the implications for the tax system. Read the ideas from his address to the Australian Council of Social Service Service national conference in April.
Pension draw down relief for retirees
The Australian Government has annouced a temporary waiving of the superannuation minimum draw down requirement. Read more from the press release.
Help for older Australians affected by Victorian Bushfires
A $1.5 million emergency fund has been announced by the Australian Government Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, to help older Victorians affected by the bushfires. Items lost in the bushfires, such as wheelchairs, frames and hoists can be replaced with this extra assistance and the cost of emergency nursing home care can also be covered. For more details, go to the Carers Australia website.
UK research report
Individual budgets: impacts and outcomes for carers
C Glendinning, H Arksey, K Jones, N Moran, A Netten, P Rabiee
Social Policy Research Unit, Universtiy of York, York; 2009
Individual Budgets (IB),
primarily intended to benefit chronically sick people, those with disability and
older people in the UK, also affect carers. This study investigates how carers are impacted by IBs. Read the report.
Let's talk about rights - Australian human rights consultations 2009
The National Human Rights Consultation Committee has produced a toolkit and information sheets for people interested in making a submission to the Committee. The information deals with human rights as experienced by a range of groups in the community including Aboriginal Australians, young people, the gay and lesbian community, women, faith-based groups and people affected by counter-terrorism laws.
The National Human Rights Consultation Committee is trying to determine how human rights are perceived and protected in the Australian community. Their final report, due in August 2009, will examine the costs and benefits of promoting certain human rights in Australia.
For more information including community consultation dates, go to the website. Most of the NSW consultation process occurred during March 2009 but written submissions can still be made online or can be mailed to the Committee.
Review of the Carer Payment (Child)
Up to 19,000 more carers of children with disabilities may be entitled to receive the Carer Payment (Child) following a review of the payment. The Carer Payment (Child) provides income support for families caring for a child with a chronic medical condition or severe disability. In 2007, the Carer Payment (Child) Review Taskforce was established to examine the eligibility criteria for the payment and to consider its effectiveness. For background to the review, read the report and recommendations. Legislation to adopt many of these recommendations was introduced into the Australian Parliament during the March 2009 sitting. Carers Australia provided a response to this review. Visit the Carers Australia website.
New directions for disability respite services in NSW. A discussion paper inviting feedback
This paper broadly outlines the direction that the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC) intends to take to reform and expand respite services in NSW. The strategy will guide future respite service system reform commencing in 2009. DADHC invites comment before 26 June 2009 from people with a disability, their carers and families, advocates and service providers. Read the discussion paper.
Personalising disability services
The NSW Shadow Minister for Disability Services, Andrew Constance, released a discussion paper this month entitled "Personalising service delivery". The NSW Opposition is examining models of service provision for people living with disabilities and their families so as to implement changes by a future State Liberal/National Government. Read the media release with the discussion paper appended.
New Disability Employment Services
The Australian Government has announced details of the new Disability Employment Services. Following the release of a discussion paper in December, the Government has made key changes to the new services.
From 1 March 2010 existing caps on services will be removed and all job seekers with disability will have access to individually tailored employment services with stronger links to skills development and training. A new Employee Assistance Fund will better support employers with broader access to workplace modifications and Auslan interpreting services. The new service also includes an intermittent post-placement support option which will better support employees with episodic disability. For more information, go to the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website.
Western Australia transport concession
Seniors, the aged and disability support pensioners can now access free public transport every day during off-peak times in Western Australia. Transport by bus, train and ferry is covered in this scheme, the first of its type in Australia. Read the media release.
Dementia statistics
New statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicates that dementia and Alzheimer's disease is now the fourth leading cause of death, up from seventh place, incurring a commensurate cost to the community. The other three leading causes of death have remained unchanged for the last ten years - heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. Read the ABS report.
Palliative care National Standards Assessment Program (NSAP)
In March, Palliative Care Australia launched the NSAP in order to strengthen the networks that exist between specialist palliative care providers and other care providers and families. Read the media release.
NSW Carers Action Plan 2007-2012 commits all NSW Government agencies to identify and support hidden carers (Priority 2). CALD carers are often hidden carers.
African Australians: a report on human rights and social inclusion issues
The Australian Human Rights Commission invites consultation to improve opportunities for African Australians to participate in decision-making on matters that affect them. Broad areas of interest to the Commission are: health, housing, education and experiences within the justice system. Read the discussion paper on the Human Rights Commission website. Submissions will be taken by the Commission up until 30 June 2009.
Use of interpreters
The Commonwealth Ombudsman reports on the use of interpreters by four Australian Government agencies. The Ombudsman noted that Centrelink provides close to best practice support for people in need of translation services. Read a summary of the report from the Commonwealth Ombudsman website where the full text report is also available. (Information provided by communityNet)
NSW Government reponse to the Garling Report
In November 2008, Peter Garling completed the Special Commission of Inquiry into Acute Care Services in NSW Public Hospitals. The NSW Government has recently responded to the report by accepting 134 of the 139
recommendations made by Commissioner Garling. The suggested improvements to the health system in NSW are to take place in the following areas of care:
- maternity care
- aged care
- interpreter services
- hospital in the home
- preventative health
- rural training for junior doctors
- safe mental health assessment rooms
- workforce planning and employment packages for health personnel
Read many more recommendations and the Government's proposed action in the document Government response to recommendations. Following community consultation, a plan was developed by the Government to implement changes to the health system in NSW. Plans are outlined in the response paper Caring Together: The Health Action Plan for NSW. To monitor the implementation of these plans, subscribe to the Caring Together newsletter.
Hospital in the Home
Hospital in the Home programs will be expanded as part of the NSW Government's committment to the recommendations of the Garling report. It is envisaged that treatment provided by medical workers in patient's homes will relieve pressure on hospital staff, while making treatment more convenient for those receiving it. Read the media release.
Australian Health Ministers’ Conference
Among the issues discussed by Australia's Health Ministers at the recent Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting were privacy aspects of a range of eHealth initiatives. The concept of individual healthcare identifiers (IHI) is a cornerstone in eHealth record keeping. Read about the progress of this initiative in the Health Ministers' joint communique.
NSW Carers Action Plan 2007-2012 commits all NSW Government agencies to identify and support hidden carers (Priority 2). eHealth records may facilitate the identification of carers in the health system.
Indicators for consumer, carer and community participation - Victoria
New indicators are being developed for Victorian health services by the Health Issues Centre in Melbourne. For recent developments, see the project bulletin.
Australian Government Parliamentary Inquiry into Men's Health
The Senate Inquiry into Men's Health has heard that Aboriginal men are in dire need of health assistance more so than any other group of Australian men. Rachel Yates of the Australian General Practice Network gave evidence that in spite of significantly higher rates of chronic illness, Aboriginal men access health services infrequently. Read the report in the National Indigenous Times. Carers Australia has prepared a submission to the Inquiry highlighting the vulnerability of male carers to health impacts. The Senate report is due at the end of May.
Senate Select Committee Inquiry into Regional and Remote Indigenous Communities
The Australian Government is conducting an inquiry into the effectiveness of government policies on Indigenous rural and remote communities in the wake of the Northern Territory Emergency Response. Health, welfare, education, employment and security of children are the concerns of the Inquiry. Carers Australia has made a submission outlining the circumstances of Indigenous carers in Australia. There were 11,600 Indigenous male carers and 20,000 Indigenous female carers in 2006 and Indigenous people between the ages 15-34 were twice as likely to be carers as non-Indigenous people of the same age. The full text of the submission is available online.
United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
In early April, the Australian Government formally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, overturning the previous governments stance on the issue. The chair of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), Dr Mick Adams, released a media statement congratulating the Rudd Govenment.
Working with Aboriginal people
The NSW Department of Community Services has developed a best practice guide for community service providers who work with Aboriginal people. A better understanding of Aboriginal family and community dynamics can only improve the quality of services offered within NSW. The guide emphasises that there are many Aboriginal groups, tribes and communities and that a one-size-fits-all approach to communication is illadvised. Read the guide.
Indigenous Women's Leadership Program
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women working in the not-for-profit community services sector at a senior level are invited to participate in a leadership program over a 12 day period starting in June 2009. For details, see the flyer.
Australian trends - mental health
Australian social trends is an Australian Bureau of Statistics quarterly online publication presenting statistics on Australian society. The most recent release in March 2009 includes a statistical analysis of mental health in Australia. Some of the less surprising facts found were that people with a mental illness may not be able to fully participate in the labour force. Severity, types of illness and comorbidity are all examined. Read the article online.
Home truths: mental health, housing and homelessness in Australia
A report which calls for specialist housing designed to provide support for people experiencing mental illness has been released by the Mental Health Council of Australia (MHCA). The Rudd Government has made commitments to halving homelessness by 2020 and believes that addressing homelessness depends on a changed approach to managing mental illness. People experiencing an episode of mental illness should not be allowed to exit from hospitals, mental health services, alcohol and drug services, and prisons into homelessness. Home truths: mental health, housing and homelessness in Australia explains how this will be done. Read the full text report on the MHCA website.
Same-sex reforms under Australian Government law
From 1 July 2009, changes to social security and family assistance legislation mean that Centrelink will recognise all couples, regardless of sexual orientation or gender of a partner. For an explanation of the changes, read the flyer Couples are couples.
Journal
article
Consumer-centred management of personal health. A changing landscape
Jude Foster
Health Issues, Summer 2008: 13-14
Previous professional experience as a nurse could not prepare Jude Foster to become an advocate for family members with complex medical needs. She found it was a full-time job. Read the full text of the article.
NSW Carers Action Plan 2007-2012 commits all NSW Government agencies to identify and support hidden carers (Priority 2). Young carers often remain unidentified when services are provided to parents or other siblings.
New research on young carers
A new report for the National Youth Affairs Research Scheme (NYARS) has been released. Young Carers: their characteristics and geographical distribution looks at demographic characteristics of young carers. Analysis looks at things such as cultural background, the care situation, engagement in education and employment, income levels and geographic distribution. Recommendations on how to better identify and support young carers are also included. To see the report go to the Australian Government Department of Education, Training and Workplace Relations website.
Young people and human rights
Which human rights are important to young people? The Australian Human Rights Commission invites young people to make a written submission so that their interests and concerns can be considered by the Commission. A Facebook link can be found on the Commission website as well as information about how to make a submission. Their final report, due in August 2009, will examine the costs and benefits of promoting certain human rights in Australia.
Social inclusion
To experience social inclusion, Australians must have the opportunity to have a job, access services, have a network of family and friends and have their voices heard. See the new Australian Government website, launched in April.
Contribution of the not-for-profit sector
The Productivity Commission, Australian Government's independent research and advisory body on a range of economic, social and environmental issues, is conducting an inquiry into the contribution of the not-for-profit sector. Visit their website.
Health Alliance for Research Collaboration (HARC)
Read the quarterly eBulletin published by HARC, working towards the improvement of hospitals with evidence and research.
Caring resources (US)
For books, DVDs and other resources, visit In-sight books online catalogue.
