Health and wellbeing

Young carers often provide care because they have always done so for the people they care about, and because they believe that the care recipient could not manage without them. For many young carers, looking after their own health, combining caring with schoolwork, getting access to training or having time off from carer duties can be a major challenge (Department of Health [DH], 2008).

Supporting caregivers and enabling continued workforce participation are central strategies in Australia's response to an ageing population, however these strategies have potential disadvantages for carers, particularly women, including reduced workforce participation and retirement income, and poorer health status. This paper explores the nexus between paid work and caregiving for Australia's baby boomer cohort as this group faces unprecedented pressures to manage paid work alongside caring longer and more intensively for family members, including grandchildren.