National Respite and Community Care Conference
The Future of Carer Supports
23 October 2014
Sue Elderton
National Policy Manager
Carers Australia
About Carers Australia
 Carers Australia is the national
peak body representing the
diversity of Australians who
provide unpaid care and
support to family members and
friends with a:
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disability
chronic condition
mental illness or disorder
drug or alcohol problem
terminal illness
or who are frail aged.
 Carers Australia has
associations in all states and
territories which provide:
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information and referral
counselling
respite
education and training
and a host of other
supports.
The future of carer supports:
that is the question
In the beginning was the PC report on Caring for Older
Australians
 Concerns identified in the 2011 PC report included:
 reduced access to carers and family support due to changes in social and economic circumstances
(ageing population demanding more informal carers combined with labour market pressures which
will require more workers)
 variable care quality across the system, which older Australians and their carers also find complex
and difficult to navigate
 Remedies for carers:
 Aged Care Gateway should assess the capacity of informal carers required supports, but carers
could also separately approach Carer Support Centres for a wide range of assistance, including
emergency respite.
Role of Carer Support Centres
“Services specifically for supporting carers should be coordinated and
undertaken, where appropriate, by a network of Carer Support Centres, which
could also provide services to carers of people with disabilities. Most
emergency respite services would also be organised and administered through
these Carer Support Centres.”
The PC report begat LLLB
 Labor Govt commits to CSCs “as the place to go for carers” as part of its
aged care reforms.
 CSCs to commence - 1 July 2014.
 Centres to provide:
 carer specific information,
 education and training,
 counselling,
 access to emergency respite
 and referral to other services.
And then the Govt begat the NDIS
 Original NDIS policy excluded carers.
 However, in March 2014 an Operational Guideline
emerged including flexible respite for carers.
(Operational Guideline – Planning and Assessment – Supports in
the Plan – Supports for Sustaining Informal Supports)
 As with Home Carer Packages in aged care, respite,
subsidised respite comes through the NDIS participant’s
package.
 Where will carer supports for the carers of people with a
disability who are not eligible for an NDIS package sit?
Model for CSCs lags behind the design of the 2 big
reforms
 CSC design a second
order priority
 Largely viewed as a biproduct of services and
supports for “direct”
clients
 Government changes –
CSCs get caught up in
departmental changes
 Funding to existing
CRCCs extended for one
year (to July 2015)
During the battle,
Absalom happened to
come upon some of
David's men. He tried
to escape on his mule,
but as he rode beneath
the thick branches of a
great tree, his hair got
caught in the tree. His
mule kept going and
left him dangling in the
air.
Samuel 2 - 8:9
Consequences of lag: gaps in supports, provider
uncertainty
 Carers Australia is pleased that the Government has not rushed to implement
a badly thought through model.
However:
 Reforms to aged care and disability supports appear to have pre-empted
some options for carers – e.g. prospects that carers that can access
important services in their own right out of their own funding bucket.
 Many carers fall between the gaps both within the NDIS and between the
NDIS and aged care.
The new integrated carer support project
 Delighted to hear that DSS has restored the focus on integrated carer
supports.
 Much work to be done and it will take time to do it properly.
 Our two asks:
 That associations representing carers be closely consulted in the
development of models
 That funding to existing providers be renewed for at least another year
Principles for integrated carer supports
 The existing suite of supports available to carers be maintained (but in some
cases improved)
 Carer support services are most effective when harmonised and streamlined
 This means:
 Where they can be coordinated substantially through a one-stop shop
 No division between the delivery of carer supports based on artificial
distinctions (such as the age, disability or illness of the person being cared for).
Principles for integrated carer supports
 As much as possible, carer supports should be delivered to carers on a
Consumer Directed Care basis
 Provision of carer supports through personal budget if carers choose(UK
model)
Plug: Carers Australia National Conference