Austrian workers can get up to three months of paid leave a year to care for elderly relatives, while Japanese carers can take the same for each family member and Italians get 36 days a year. But in Australia, employees are only entitled to 10 days of carer's leave for each year of employment.
Research commissioned by the aged care royal commission says boosting leave provisions and financial support for family and friends who provide informal care is a "key area" for improvement, amid a push to keep more Australians out of nursing homes.
A report prepared for the royal commission into aged care says increasing support for informal carers is a key area for improvement. Credit: Think Stock
The Flinders University report found Australia has a relatively high number of informal carers when compared with other OECD countries, with about 28 per cent of Australians over 65 receiving care from family and friends. In Germany, about 17.5 per cent of older people receive informal care, compared with 18.4 per cent in England, 13.4 per cent in Sweden and 1.1 per cent in Denmark.
"We believe that Australia could provide higher levels of support for informal carers, which is important in helping older people to remain living in the community, in their own homes," Flinders University senior research fellow Dr Suzanne Dyer said.
Australians who care for frail and aged family members can get a means-tested carer payment, worth a maximum of $933.40 a fortnight for a single person. There is also a carer allowance of $131.90 a fortnight and a carer supplement of $600 a year for some eligible carers.
In Australia, the 10 days carer's leave provision is combined with sick leave entitlements. Unused sick/carer's leave carries over from year to year.
Dr Dyer said other countries used a range of strategies to boost the autonomy of older people and reduce the reliance on institutional care.
In Austria, up to three months of paid leave – at 55 per cent of a person's income – is available each year to look after people with severe needs.
Germany provides cash benefits to older people, which can be used to pay family members for services. In Denmark, family members can be registered as care workers and receive a salary.
The Flinders University report, which also calls for more professional help for people at home, comes as more than 112,000 people sit on the home care package waiting list and amid a blow out in the time it takes for older Australians to enter a nursing home after being assessed as needing that level of care.
The royal commission released a damning interim report on the state of Australia's aged care system last year, describing it as "sad and shocking". The report said when older people move into a nursing home it is "often a last resort," while also calling for immediate action to increase home care packages.
The Morrison government released a $537 million package in response, with the royal commission due to provide its final report in November.