Financial hardship
The 13th Annual Statistical Report of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey reports on findings from waves 1 to 16. The survey includes a self-completion questionnaire, which asks whether the respondent experienced a shortage of money due to any of 7 indicators, such as not being able to pay rent or mortgage on time, or unable to heat home. A person is defined as reporting financial stress if they report 2 or more of the 7 indicators.
Analysis of the HILDA survey estimated the probability of financial stress due to a range of factors. The study found that health and disability of household members have substantial impacts on the risk of financial stress. Based on some analyses, the probability of financial stress increases with:
- the presence of a child aged under 15 with disability (2.5%)
- the presence of a household member aged 15 or over with poor general health (2.8%)
- the presence of a household member aged 15 or over with poor mental health (7.3%)
However, disability of an adult member of the household does not significantly impact on the risk of financial stress (Wilkins and Lass 2018).
The HILDA Survey is a household-based longitudinal study of Australian households and individuals conducted in annual waves since 2001. All household members aged 15 years or older are invited to participate in a personal face-to-face interview. The HILDA Survey defines disability as an impairment, long-term health condition or disability that restricts everyday activities and has lasted, or is likely to last, for a period of 6 months or more.
Primary carer income
Depending on the needs of the person receiving care, an informal carer may need to reduce their working hours or may not be able to earn income from wages or salary. A primary carer’s main source of income varies with the age of the carer. Primary carers aged 65 and over are more likely (68% or 156,000) than those aged 15–64 (39% or 243,000) to receive government pension or allowance as their main source of income (Table INCOME.1).
A primary carer’s main source of income also varies by whether the carer lives with the recipient of their care:
- 1 in 4 (40% or 191,000) primary carers aged 15–64 who live with the recipient of their care receive wages or salary as their main source of income, compared with 58% (or 86,500) of those who do not
- almost 3 in 4 (73% or 145,000) primary carers aged 65 and over who live with the recipient of their care receive government pension or allowance as their main source of income, compared with 43% (or 12,800) of those who do not (ABS 2019).
Informal carer
Informal carers are important to households and families with a person with disability. Primary carers are usually a family member (60% or 516,000), partner (37% or 315,000), and a small proportion are a friend or neighbour (3.5% or 30,300).
The ABS SDAC defines a carer as a person who provides any informal assistance, in terms of help or supervision, to people with disability or older people (aged 65 years and over). Assistance must be ongoing, or likely to be ongoing, for at least 6 months. In cases where there may be multiple persons providing informal assistance to a single recipient of care, the SDAC distinguishes between primary, other and unconfirmed primary carers.
For more information see ABS SDAC.
Primary carer
In the SDAC, a primary carer provides the most informal assistance to a person with disability with 1 or more core activities of mobility, self-care or communication. Primary carers only include people aged 15 and over.
Table INCOME.1. Main income source of primary carers(a) whose main recipient of care is a person with disability, by age group, 2018 (%)
Main source of income
|
Primary carers aged 15–64
|
Primary carers aged 65 and over
|
Wages or salary(b)
|
44.7
|
7.1
|
Government pension or allowance
|
38.9
|
68.4
|
Other sources(c)
|
11.5
|
22.8
|
No source of income
|
4.8
|
|
Total
|
100.0
|
100.0
|
(a) Aged 15 years and over living in households.
(b) Including from own incorporated business.
(c) Includes child support or maintenance, superannuation, an annuity or private pension, workers’ compensation rental property, unincorporated business or share in a partnership, dividends and/or interest and other source of income.
Notes
1. Categories that are not shown have a relative standard error greater than 50% and are considered too unreliable for general use.
2. The values reported in this table exclude people for whom main source of income was recorded as not known or not stated.
Source: ABS 2019; see also Table INCM13.
Primary carers, aged 15–64, of people with disability are less likely to have a high level of personal income than people aged 15–64 who are not carers:
- almost 1 in 3 (27% or 145,000) primary carers have a low level of personal income, compared with 28% (or 3.6 million) of people who are not primary carers
- half (49% or 262,000) have a mid level compared with 36% (or 4.5 million)
- 1 in 4 (24% or 128,000) have a high level compared with 35% (or 4.4 million) (Figure INCOME.7).
Whether the carer lives with the person with disability they assist has an impact on their personal income. Primary carers aged 15–64 who live with the recipient of their care:
- are more likely to have a low level of income (29% or 119,000) than those primary carers who do not live with the recipient of their care (21% or 25,100)
- are less likely to have a high level of income (20% or 82,600) than those who do not (37% or 45,300) (ABS 2019).
Most (65% or 366,000) primary carers aged 15–64 report their personal income has decreased or expenses increased because of their role (Figure INCOME.7). This is more likely for primary carers who live with the recipient of their care. Seven in 10 (69% or 297,000) have lower income or higher expenses because of their caring role, compared with half (51% or 69,600) who do not live with the recipient of their care (ABS 2019).