Carers NZ and the Carers Alliance have released a State of Caring report from independent analytics company Synergia based on 1,648 survey responses from carers of all ages and ethnicities.
They say the report flags need for government leadership for family carers. The report shows:
- only 2% of carers feel valued by the Government despite their largely unpaid work having (according to Infometrics) an annual economic value of at least $16.8 billion – 5.1% of GDP.
- 59% of carers are struggling to pay their bills
- 70% of carers experience depression or anxiety
- only 21% of carers can work full-time
- only 7% of carers have been able to look ahead to save for retirement
- 90% of carers have had less or much less respite from caring since before the pandemic
The report makes 12 recommendations asking for authentic, urgent, long-term investment in carers.
- State of Caring Report [PDF]
- State of Caring Report [Word Doc]