Today the Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has hailed the increases to some welfare payments as the most generous indexation since they debuted in 1998.
Carer Allowance is among those benefits and allowances increased.
Each year unpaid informal/primary carers across Australia save the government more than $77.9 billion dollars!
This Clayton's increase doesn't take into account the realities of spiralling inflation, housing availability and affordability, cost-of-living pressures and the exorbitant increases to basic and essential goods and services.
Until 31 December 2022 Carer Allowance was paid at the rate of $3549 a year, $136.50 a fortnight, $68.25 a week, $9.75 a day, or just 41 cents an hour to look after someone fulltime 24/4, 365 days a year.
The current rate at which Carer Allowance is paid is unsustainable: just 43 cents an hour (YES, you read that right - a 2 cent increase), $10.34 a day, $72.40 a week, $144.80 a fortnight, $3764.80 a year; it is not even enough to keep a car on the road, let alone of any assistance to look after someone.
You call that generous - it is reprehensible.
The Minister is on record as saying that with cost of living pressures being felt most by people on low and fixed incomes, the indexation of government payments is even more important than before.
For an allowance that started 24 years ago at $75.60 a fortnight, and increased on average $2.88, or just 3.81% a year, the government has little to gloat about.
Whereas those 300,121 Australians receiving Carer Payment get 63.17% of the national minimum wage (as set in June 2022), those 623,742 in receipt of the Carer Allowance only get 8.91% for working four times as much as a paid support worker.
Item 4 of Schedule 1 (The Statement for Australia's Carers) of the Carer Recognition Act 2010 (No. 123, 2010) states "the valuable social and economic contribution that carers make to society should be recognised and supported."
Sweatshops are illegal and criminal, yet slave labour for fulfilling a legitimate work role is acceptable.
Last year this national Petition was raised calling on the Prime Minister and the federal government to better recognise and care for carers; with more signatures we will be in a position of strength to call the government to account.
If you haven't already, please consider financially contributing to the promotion of this Petition so that this Pandora's Box can finally be opened.