Financial Support for Family Carers
The extent of family care, and carers’ characteristics [1]
Estimates for most other developed countries are that between 20-25% of all adults provide some unpaid care.
In the 2006 New Zealand Census, approximately 420,000 people aged 15 and over indicated that they had provided care to someone with ill-health or disability in the previous four weeks. The proportion of people reporting unpaid caring work in the previous four weeks was:
- 7.8 percent (6.3% of men, 9.1% of women) caring for an ill or disabled household member;
- 9.1 percent (6.5% of men, 11.5% of women) caring for an ill or disabled adult not living in their household;
- 16.2 percent (11.4% of men, 20.6% of women) caring for a child not living in their household.
Around two-thirds of all carers were women, and women aged 45-64 were the group most likely to be providing care to ill or disabled adults or children (38% of all carers in 2006).
Māori and Pacific people (both men and women) were significantly more likely to provide unpaid care. For example, 12.6% of Māori (9.7% of men, 15% of women) and 12.7% of Pacific people (10.5% of men, 14.7% of women) reported caring for a member of their own household who was ill or had a disability.
Analysis of the 2001 census data indicated that the proportions of Māori and Pacific family carers were particularly high for the 15-24 and 25-44 age groups [2]. This is in line with United States research showing that carers from non-European back-grounds were on average younger, more likely to live with the care recipient and more likely to have multiple caring responsibilities including children and adults with disabilities [3].
[1] Information in this section is largely sourced from an unpublished paper (October 2005) by the other carers working group that contributed to the development of the government’s “Choices for Living, Caring and Working” plan of action updated with 2006 census data.
[2] Statistics New Zealand, data from the 2001 and 2006 Census of Population and Dwellings. There is no data on informal care provided by those aged under 15.
[3] National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, Caregiving in the U.S., Metlife Foundation, April 2004 (cited in the Other Carer’s paper).
