Page 1957 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 23 June 2021
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Clause 7 defines the term “care and carer support agency”. Clause 8 creates a set of care relationship principles in relation to the treatment of carers. The principles detail that: a carer is to be respected as an individual and as a carer; the care responsibilities that a carer takes on need to be respected and supported; and the wellbeing of the carer is to be supported through the approach taken by the care and carer support agencies. The principles also note that certain characteristics of some carers require additional support; for example, supporting young carers with their education.
The care relationship principles in relation to the treatment of carers are essential to achieving the objectives of the bill. The principles are based on the barriers identified by carers that they experience which make it difficult to undertake their caring role and ultimately impact their own wellbeing. A key tenet underpinning the principles is that carers are individuals in their own right and with their own needs. The principles acknowledge that the caring roles carers undertake can and do impact other areas of a carer’s life in a way that people who do not have caring roles would not experience. By drawing specific attention to the areas where negativity is experienced by carers, the principles set a clear expectation of how carers should be treated so that they are valued and respected and able to carry out their caring role and maintain their own wellbeing.
Clause 9 acknowledges that people receiving care are individuals in their own right and that their rights as an individual are to be respected and upheld. The recognition of people receiving care is as integral to respecting the care relationship as that of recognising carers. It is important to acknowledge that people receiving care do not cease to have autonomy over their decisions simply by the fact that they receive care or are in a care relationship. To prevent this bill being used as a mechanism for disrespecting the rights of people receiving care, it is important that this clause be included.
Clause 10 sets out the obligations of care and carer support agencies under the bill. This clause requires a care and carer support agency to make both the agency’s employees and agents and the people receiving support from the agency aware of the care relationship principles. The agency is also required, along with its employees and agents, to uphold the care relationship principles when providing support services to people in care relationships. In addition, this clause requires care and carer support agencies to consult with carers and entities representing carers when planning, reviewing and developing support services, programs and policies that will affect people in a care relationship.
Throughout the consultations with carers, they have consistently provided feedback on the need for care and carer support agencies to provide transparency and accountability in how the objectives of the bill are realised. There was concern that if no accountability was placed on care and carer support agencies, the objectives of the bill would not be realised. By providing the publicly available report, care and carer support agencies will be clearly stating in an open manner what they have done to uphold the care relationship principles, providing for the transparency and accountability.
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