The recently released 2001 census figures confirm that Australia is undergoing a major social transformation. Over recent decades, there have been a number of demographic and cultural shifts that have major social policy implications for the future.

These changes include an increasingly ageing population, a decline in fertility rates, and a decrease in the number of families that fit the traditional model of a nuclear family. All of these have implications for the way that Australians manage caring responsibilities and paid work.

Due to an increase in life expectancy and a decrease in fertility rates, the Australian population as a whole is ageing. The census found that the average age of the population is now 35, and that the proportion of people over 65 has increased to 12.6%.

Australia’s birth rate is currently below replacement rate, and many women are having children later in life. In 2000, the fertility rate was 1.75 children per woman, down from 3.6 in 1961. [Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Births Australia, Catalogue Number 3301.0, pp. 8 and 46.] The average age of Australian mothers has risen from 26.3 years in 1978 to 29.8 years in 2000. [ABS, Births Australia, Catalogue Number 3301.0, p. 6.] Women are now most likely to have children between the ages of 30 and 34 [ABS, Births Australia, Catalogue Number 3301.0, p. 16].

Projections suggest that the natural increase in population in Australia will begin to fall in the 2030s, and that immigration at current rates will only keep Australia’s population growing for about 20 years beyond this [Barnes, A., Low fertility: A Discussion Paper, Department of Family and Community Services, Canberra, 2001, quoted in HREOC, Valuing Parenthood: Options for Paid Maternity Leave, Interim Paper 2002, p. 62].

The 2001 census data also shows that ‘mum, dad and the kids’ now represent a minority of households. Fewer than half of all families in 2001 had children and a growing number are single-parent homes, or made up of people living alone and couples without children. Sole-parent families now represent more than 15% of family units and people living alone account for 23% of all households [ABS data as quoted in Sydney Morning Herald, 18 June 2002, p. 1].

There was also an increase in couples identifying that they were living with their same-sex de-facto partner [Dale, D., The closet door opens on 19,596 gay couples, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 June 2002, p. 1]. In NSW, 1.5% of couples without children identified that they were living with their same-sex partner. In the 1996 census, the bureau concluded there were 10,214 declared ‘families with same-sex couples’, and in the 2001 census, the number had risen to 19,596 couples [Dale, D., The closet door opens on 19,596 gay couples, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 June 2002, p. 1].

The notion of what constitutes a family has clearly diversified in recent decades, as have arrangements for caring for children and other family members. The traditional model of the male as full-time wage earner and the female as full-time carer has been substantially challenged by the increasing numbers of women in the paid workforce.

The ABS found that the proportion of couple families with dependants in which one or both partners were employed was 93% in June 2000 [Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families, ABS, June 2000]. Dependants are defined as all family members under 15 years of age; family members aged 15-19 attending school or aged 15-24 attending a tertiary educational institution full-time (except those classified as wives, husbands or sole parents). The male partner was employed in 89% of all couple families with dependants, and in 95% of these cases was employed full time. Statistics are not available for this study regarding same-sex relationships.

The female partner was employed in 61% of couple families with dependants. The proportion of female partners in full time employment rose as the age of the youngest dependant increased.

In June 2000, 15% of all families were one-parent families, with 83% of these having a female parent and 58% with the youngest child aged under 9. The parent was employed in 51% of one parent families with dependants present, with the employment rate generally increasing as the age of the youngest dependant increased.

In NSW, in families where both parents or the sole parent worked full-time, 50% of children were regularly cared for informally, most frequently by grandparents. Informal care is defined as non-regulated care, arranged by a child’s parent or guardian, either in the child’s home or elsewhere. It comprises care by brothers or sisters, grandparents, other relatives and other people such as friends, neighbours, nannies or babysitters. It may be paid or unpaid. In families where one parent was employed and the other wasn’t in the labour force, 22.9% of children were regularly cared for informally.

Many discussions about workers and their caring responsibilities focus on parents with young children. However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that in addition to those looking after children, there are 2.3 million carers in Australia today looking after relatives who are ageing or have a disability or illness [Australian Bureau of Statistics, Caring in the Community, Catalogue No. 4436.0, 1998]. The ABS 1998 Disability, Ageing and Carers Survey defined primary carer as a person of any age who provides the most informal assistance, in terms of help or supervision, to a person with one or more disabilities. The assistance has to be ongoing, or likely to be ongoing, for at least six months and be provided for one or more of the core activities of self care, mobility or communication. Other carer was defined as a person who provides informal assistance, but who is not the main/primary source of assistance.

This amounts to substantial informal care being provided in the equivalent of one in every 5 households. ABS research found that more than half of all carers (59%) combined their caring role with some sort of paid work, and most of them worked full-time.

In statistics commissioned by the Anti-Discrimination Board in relation to carers in NSW, the ABS found that 15.4% of people who work full-time and 20.2% of people who work part-time are the primary carers of relatives who are elderly or have a disability or long-term condition.

Many institutions, policies and practices relating to work and family in Australia do not reflect the reality of most workers’ experiences of balancing employment and caring responsibilities. As a result, there has been increasing tension and debate about the responsibilities of government, the role of employers and the rights of workers.

As well as the increasing participation of women in the paid workforce, there have been other changes that have impacted on managing work and caring responsibilities, such as the increase in non-standard working arrangements and changing patterns of working hours. For some workers this has manifested as increasingly unpredictable and short-term casual work, while for others it has meant longer and more pressured working hours.

It has been argued that there has been a decline in universal standards and state protection of wages and working conditions, an increasing ‘ad hocery’ in employment terms and conditions, and the growth of individualised employment contracts [Buchanan, Dr J. and Thornwaite, Dr L., Paid work and parenting: charting a new course for Australian families, pp. 50-51]. Many employers have advocated these changes to improve efficiency, and have been supported by government policies and industrial reforms.

The increasing casualisation of the workforce has dovetailed with the increasing participation of women in paid work. Recent statistics indicate that about a third of Australian workers are casual employees, and casual jobs still account for most of the employment of women at less than full-time hours [Appelbaum, E. et al., Shared Work, Valued Care: New Norms for Organizing Market Work and Unpaid Care Work, Economic Policy Institute, Washington D.C., 2002, p. 18.] Other studies indicate that 44% of women in Australia work part-time [Cass, B., ‘Emplyoment Time and Family Time: The Intersections of Labour Market Transformations and Family Responsibilities in Australia’, in (ed.) Callus, R. and Lansbury, R.D., Working Futures: The Changing Nature of Work and Employment Relations in Australia, The Federation Press, 2002, p. 144]. Two-thirds of part-time workers are casually employed - most of them women [Pocock, Dr B., ‘The Effects of Long Hours on Family and Community Life: A Survey of Existing Literature’, ‘A Report for the Queensland Department of Industrial Relations’, August 2001, p. 5].

Changes to our economic and industrial environment have meant a deregulation of terms and conditions in the workplace, accompanied by a decrease in full-time, life-long secure employment, and an increase in short-term, part-time and casual jobs. While this has enabled many women in particular who would not be able to work full-time due to family responsibilities to participate in the paid workforce, it has not necessarily resulted in equitable career opportunities, pay or terms and conditions for those women.

Attempts to address these inequities are reflected in a developing legal and policy framework regarding sex discrimination and affirmative action for women in the workplace, and the introduction of certain industrial rights such as unpaid maternity leave. Industrial relations jurisdictions also play a role in relation to considering workers’ entitlements when assessing the merits and implementation of awards and agreements and protecting workers from discriminatory dismissal.

In NSW, sex discrimination in employment has been unlawful under the ADA since 1981.
With the introduction of anti-discrimination legislation in Australia over the last twenty years, a body of cases has developed as a result of working parents, predominantly women, making complaints regarding direct and indirect discrimination by their employers on the basis of their family responsibilities.

As the ground of family or carers responsibilities is relatively new in NSW, the more subtle impacts of conventional work practices and arrangements have previously been challenged within the legal framework of indirect sex discrimination - requirements or conditions that are more difficult for women to comply with than for men.

There is legislation in the Commonwealth and every state/territory except South Australia which makes discrimination in employment on the ground of family/carers responsibility or parent/carer status unlawful. Under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW), it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate, directly or indirectly, against an employee or an applicant for employment on the ground of the employee’s or applicant’s responsibilities as a carer - defined as a person’s responsibility to care for or support a dependent child or another immediate family member who is in need of care or support.

Immediate family members are defined by the Act, and include a spouse or former spouse of the employee, grandchildren, parents and step-parents of the employee or their spouse or former spouse and brothers and sisters of the employee or of their spouse or former spouse. ‘Spouse’ in this case has the same meaning as in the amended Property Relationships Act 1984 (NSW), and includes same-sex partners.

Such a provision acknowledges that the type and level of care that employees may provide for family members may change over time. It may require short-term measures, or more long-term arrangements to be negotiated regarding working hours, working from home or periods of leave.

Everyone will need care at some stage of their lives. Given the ageing of the population, over time there will be an increased need for younger family members to provide varying levels of care and support for older family members. A certain amount of this care may be provided by professionals, but even people who have a short-term illness or temporary disability will require both physical and emotional support from family and friends.

Although federal and State governments in Australia have introduced measures such as legislation that provides enables individuals to make complaints on the basis of discrimination on the grounds of sex or family or carers’ responsibilities in the workplace, governments have generally left the responsibility to negotiate the balance of work and family responsibilities at an enterprise or organisational level.

It is clear that recent demographic changes have major implications for the ways that governments, employers, unions and families manage the balance of paid work with caring responsibilities.

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