Carers Week 2020 Focus - with Liz Callaghan

Parents At Work Podcast

With all the events that have transpired this year, carers deserve recognition now more than ever. In this podcast, Emma Walsh, CEO of Parents At Work, interviews CEO of Carers Australia, Liz Callaghan, to discuss both the work of Carers Australia and National Carers Week. National Carers Week aims to recognise the 2.65 million unpaid carers in Australia and the work they provide for their loved ones. It aims to raise awareness of this crucial role and the incredibly impactful service they are providing for not only those they are caring for, but the community as a whole. Ultimately, Carers Australia wants to see unpaid care recognised as a shared responsibility between family, community businesses, and government especially as the role of unpaid carers seems to be invisible to many. The lack of recognition leads to insufficient support of carers, especially during this pandemic where this already isolating role has become even more distant from society and existing support networks shutting down. To put things into perspective, the replacement value of all unpaid care this year (prior to COVID-19) is nearly 78 billion dollars - that's nearly 1.5 billion dollars per week! This Carers Week we aim to raise awareness to create more carer friendly options within employment and the general community.