With the 2025 federal election fast approaching, there have been many discussions around campaign promises and how either party plans to invest in Australia’s future.
Much of the focus has been on housing and the cost of living. And while these are undoubtably important talking points, this election presents an opportunity to highlight a sector in the Australian economy that is often overlooked.
With an aging and expanding population, our Care Economy requires meaningful and consistent attention on a national level.
Like with the Future Made in Australia initiatives, where greater investments in manufacturing, renewable energy, and education will future-proof the careers of thousands of Australians and the economy, so too would investments in aged-care and early childhood care and education.
Why the Care Economy?
Because lifting wages and conditions for care workers doesn’t just improve their individual and family circumstances, it boosts economic growth.
Every additional dollar earned by low-income workers is spent back into the economy, lifting aggregate demand for goods and services.
More fundamentally, though, investing in the care economy reaps benefits across society, in more than monetary terms.
It improves the quality and increases the availability of care services, increases the wellbeing of recipients, reduces ill-health and social exclusion, and strengthens community and social cohesion.
The Case for a Care-Led Recovery
In October 2020, Per Capita made the Case for a Care-Led Recovery, publishing a paper that advocated for significant government investment in the care economy.
While COVID-19 exposed the fault lines in Australia’s economy and industries, Per Capita’s research demonstrated thoroughly that the government’s policies in response overwhelmingly favoured male-dominated industries.
Vocations in construction and manufacturing were prioritised over the women-led care industry which had been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Per Capita argued for significant investment in the care economy, to create jobs for women, improve the pay and conditions for essential care workers, and improve the overall quality, affordability and accessibility of care for all Australians, ending decades of undervaluing this important work.
It’s meaningful advocacy that we continue to this day, especially today in the lead up to the federal election.
Small Steps Forward
Since publishing our report back in 2020, there has been some headway in fixing this broken system.
In March 2024, following the Health Services Union (HSU) work value case filed with the Fair Work Commission, Aged Care Workers won an up-to 28.5 per cent wage rise.
Around about the same time, students studying to enter the care economy, whether that is social work, teaching, or nursing, were no longer required to do hundreds, perhaps even over a thousand, hours of unpaid placements.
And in August 2024, the Federal Government announced its support to increase wages for workers in the early childhood and care sector. That includes 10% on top of the current national award rate in the first year and 15% above the current national award rate in the second year, starting that December.
These are important steps in building a better care economy.
But this is just a start.
We must continue to invest in the care economy, as it reaps benefits across society in ways investing in construction, energy, or manufacturing may not.