Unpaid carers: Toowoomba man calls for significant increase to unpaid carer’s allowance after federal election

George Helon gets just under $10 a day to cover all the expenses involved in caring for his elderly and disabled mother. He says unpaid carer support needs to be a major election issue:

Toowoomba resident George Helon is an unpaid carer for his mother Elizabeth Helon. Picture: Morgan Burley

George Helon can barely afford to keep his car on the road — an essential and increasing cost so he can take his elderly and disabled mother Elizabeth to appointments.

“If I didn’t have to do it, there’s no way I’d have a car, because I couldn’t afford it,” he said.

The Toowoomba resident, who is the full-time, unpaid carer for his mother, wants the next federal government to raise the carer’s allowance to a reasonable level, saying the current situation was consigning people to poverty.

Mr Helon said the allowance, which was created in 1999 when the government ended the carer’s pension, has increased from $75.60 per fortnight to just $136.50 in 2022 — an average increase of $2.65 a year.

More than 623,000 Australians get the allowance, but Mr Helon is one of 323,000 people who can’t also get the carer’s payment ($987 per fortnight) due to already receiving the disability support pension.

He said the current payment did not come close to covering the costs of transport and gap fees for a variety of medical and allied services his mother accessed.

“We also have all these care groups, and every one of them charge out-of-pocket expenses for services,” Mr Helon said.

“This has to stop, because we don’t have that money.

“My mother has an aged pension, I have a disability pension – where am I meant to find the money?”

The concept has backing from industry groups, with a Carers Australia-commissioned report from March recommending the payment should be raised by as much as 475 per cent to offset nearly a third of an average carer’s lifetime income losses.

Mr Helon’s petition calling for the increase has earned about 500 signatures.

Both Labor candidate for Groom Gen Allpass and independent Suzie Holt have expressed support for increasing the carer’s allowance, but Mr Helon said he was left disappointed by incumbent MP Garth Hamilton’s response.

“Suzie and Gen were very good, but the attitude from Garth — he said it was noted and left it until after the election,” he alleged.

“I’m dumbfounded, gobsmacked — I couldn’t believe it was the attitude of a sitting LNP member.”

When asked about Mr Helon’s concerns, Mr Hamilton spoke generally in favour of a review of carer supports.

“I’ve been having conversations since I came in, with the carers groups,” he said.

“It’s important to acknowledge there are a lot of carers in our community (that) do a lot of good work for us.

“It’s entirely appropriate that we review that on a regular basis.”

Ms Allpass, who introduced Mr Helon to Labor Senator Anthony Chisholm recently, said she would back increasing the carer’s allowance.

“We agree that they need to be recognised for their full-time work and remunerated accordingly, or paid,” she said.

“It would be something, once in, I would be pushing for — the situation for them is quite dire.”

Ms Holt said she would commit to making sure carers were recognised for their service to the community and supported financially for it.

“A national summit would allow for light to be shone on this issue and for a start to a conversation nationally about what meaningful financial support carers should be receiving for the government,” she said.