There has been a lot of talk lately of budget changes, costs increasing and supports decreasing.
We bring this blog to you to share some news that benefit our community and we are very happy about it!
What does a carer do?
A carer is a very important role, and the community are very thankful for every carer and advocate as their voice does not only support the individual they are listed to care for, but also helps shape the future for the entire 2.5 million* carers we have in Australia.
Personal Care: Assisting with bathing, dressing, toileting , and feeding. All of these daily personal care tasks can look differently for each person. For example catheters, bathing with hoists, enteral feeding.
Medical Assistance: Administering medication, attending medical appointments, and monitoring health conditions. All while documenting and providing information to health care professionals for continuity of care.
Household Management: Managing household chores, grocery shopping, and meal preparation.
Emotional Support: Providing companionship, emotional support, and ensuring social engagement.
There are strict rules and regulations that determine who is eligible for carers payment based around working outside of being a carer and here are some changes that have occurred in the last week:
Changing the 25 hour per week rule to participants to allow up to 100 hours of work over a 4 week period.
Removing education and volunteering activities from the participation limit
Removing travel time from the participant limit to provide more flexibility for carers to take up opportunities for work
Allowing carers to use single temporary cessation of care days. This allows time away from care, allowing more flexibility!
Rather than canceling your payment, leaving you to re-apply and endure the dreaded process of waiting - the budget now allows for your payments to only be suspended for up to 6 months when a carer works more than the 100 hour limit. This one is a very big change, allowing more flexibility to pick up some work and not risk wasting time waiting for a re application.
For more information on the carer payment changes, eligibility criteria and details:
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