Operational guidelines
How will they improve or impact on carers' lives?
Operational guidelines: do they provide the necessary foundation for effective Carer Recognition Policy framework?
Participants were asked to comment on this question "To what extent do the operational guidelines provide the necessary foundation for an effective Carer Recognition Policy framework?"
Approximately one-quarter of participants indicated that the operational guidelines provided a good basis for further action by government. Again, one of the recurring themes was the need for further action, by which participants meant implementation, evaluation and further funding.
Operational Guidelines - suggested improvements
Participants were asked the question "what improvements do you believe should be made?"
The need for adequate resources emerged again as a theme, as did the need for a timeline for implementation of the Policy. The need for coordinated rather than fragmented community support was raised. Some carers did not appear to be aware of the organisations that currently advocate on behalf of carers and suggested that one needed to be formed.
Operational Guidelines - other comments
Participants were asked "are there any other things you could identify that could improve or impact on the lives of carers?" Many participants mentioned the need to plan for the future in case something should happen to the carer and commented on the difficulty of doing this. Some commented that services responded to crises only and were not interested in future planning.
The suggestion for a Carer's Card was popular. Some people were interested in this for identification purposes, whilst others wanted some business discounts and possibly concessions attached to a Carers Card. The desire for financial benefits to be attached to a Carer's Card is linked to the suggestion for an increase to the Commonwealth Government's Carer Payment and Carer Allowance.
Another issue participants raised was the need to access assistance whenever they needed it, even if it was only over the telephone. Some participants felt that service providers needed to be reminded and educated about carers' roles.
Focus Groups
The Indigenous service providers discussed the need for a holistic approach in caring which takes into account the needs of the individual being cared for as well as the family and wanted this reflected in the guidelines. They suggested that there would need to be an educational package/campaign to change the culture of government and service providers in respect to their interactions and support provided to carers.
In respect to the suggestion of a Carer's Card, Indigenous service providers stated that there would need to be some substantial benefits attached to it for Indigenous people to overcome their distrust of government and identify as carers.
The focus group for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds highlighted the need for more services and in particular aged care facilities that catered for people who speak languages other than English. They requested more culturally appropriate services and facilities so that people who speak a language other than English are not linguistically and socially isolated.
Last updated February 2009