Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Pursuant to order I present the report of the Community Affairs References Committee on grandparents raising their grandchildren, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee.

Ordered that the report be adopted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I would like to quote Mrs De Young, Secretary of Grandparents Rearing Grandchildren in my home state of Western Australia, who said:

This road grandparents are on is long, hard, tough, bumpy, painful, soul-destroying and exhausting, but much love, determination and courage is given by grandparents to raise healthy and happy grandchildren. This caring role has been pushed upon them by the inability of their own children to care and take responsibility for their children. Grandparent carers need moral support, emotional support and financial support from everyone in the community to raise these grandchildren so they are not a burden on the taxpayer but become role models in society in their adult lives.

That sums up a vast amount of what we were told during this inquiry. I express, first off, my deep admiration for the amount of work done by grandparents. I am gobsmacked by what they go through while still remaining positive and supporting and loving of the grandchildren they are raising. I would also like to acknowledge the work of Senator Dean Smith, who proposed this reference in the first place. He has been doggedly pursuing this issue and has contributed hugely to the outcomes of this committee report. Because I always run out of time, I want to thank the secretariat now for the hard work they have put into the report.

The report makes 18 very detailed recommendations. One of the issues raised at the very beginning was the need for data and support. You would think that we were being boring, but we do not know how many grandparents raising their grandchildren there are in this country. There are some that do actively seek support, and we sort of know about them, but we do not know how many there are. Many grandparents might be ashamed of the circumstances in which they are having to look after their grandchildren, or they do not know about the supports or they do not want to seek support—they want to do it on their own.

The recommendations cover a wide range of issues, because so many issues affect grandparents. There are issues like financial support and where people access information from. There is support for legal aid, because grandparents often cannot get access to legal aid to represent themselves in the courts when they are trying to seek orders for their grandchildren. In health, we thought the issues around Medicare cards and things like that were sorted but we still received evidence about that. There is a need for mental health and counselling services. Often the children that have come into grandparents' care are traumatised, either through the loss of parents or through other traumatic circumstances they have had in the home environment. One of the big issues is accommodation. Sometimes when grandchildren come into the lives of their grandparents the grandparents have downsized. Sometimes they have downsized because they are grey nomads—they have bought a caravan or a big campervan and they are travelling around Australia, and all of a sudden they need to care for their grandchildren. Of course they do that gladly. They might be in a one-bedroom flat now. We heard of a number of cases where grandparents were raising sometimes two or three grandchildren in a one-bedroom flat. That situation cannot be allowed to continue. We make a number of recommendations and I am happy to report that we have a consensus report. The Community Affairs References Committee strives for consensus reports and, although we do not always achieve it, in this case we have.

There are some other recommendations that we think need to be considered. We have made a number of recommendations to the Australian government, to state and territory governments and to the COAG process. Some thing's the states and territories can do straight away instead of waiting for the COAG process. One issue we think is important is the number and placement of grandparent advisers in Centrelink. Almost overwhelmingly the evidence was positive in terms of the support for grandparent carers, but the issue there is being able to access advisers—they are overworked and sometimes they are not able to provide advice in a timely manner, so we are suggesting that a review be carried out with a view to maybe providing more of that support.

I will finish up because I do want to provide other committee members with the opportunity to speak to the report, in particular Senator Smith, but one big issue is that grandparents raising their grandchildren have found it difficult to access information. Sometimes they do not know where to start. There are many support groups throughout Australia, for example Grandparents Rearing Grandchildren WA, that provide invaluable support to grandparents. Sometimes it is just a matter of being there to listen and provide advice, and to provide a social environment. Grandparents find themselves isolated from their peers because they are raising their grandchildren. Most of their peers are not doing that, so they become isolated. Some people just want to be able to talk about their issues, to be with a group of people who understand what it is like to turn up as a grandparent with your grandchildren at school and be a generation separate from the other parents. Those are the sorts of issues that a lot of people do not realise exist. When they realise that they understand them, but they do not realise what goes on for grandparents raising their grandchildren. I commend the report to the Senate and I commend Senator Smith for doing so much work on it and bringing on this referral. I encourage people to read the report and I encourage governments around Australia to look at the recommendations and, please, look at implementing the recommendations with a sense of urgency.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to be able to speak to the Committee Affairs References Committee report into grandparents rearing their grandchildren. First and foremost, I think it is a fantastic demonstration of how local issues, often invisible to the Senate, sometimes invisible to senators, can find their way not just into the Senate but into a Senate committee process. As a result of that, we have a report, which we are now debating and which we hope will form the foundation for a much more active discussion in our country, about the fantastic role played by grandparents who are taking full-time, day-to-day, 24/7, 365-days-a-year care of their grandchildren.

Grandparents come to this situation for a variety of reasons. Through the committee hearing process we heard a lot of challenging, courageous stories about what had happened to grandparents and their families. I think what is important is that we focus on how we can support those grandparents who are rearing their grandchildren and at another time perhaps tackle those very difficult issues—mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse—that unfortunately afflict families with young children and find many grandparents having to take primary responsibility for caring for their grandchildren.

I want to share something briefly to give people a sense of what it is exactly that we are talking about. This comes from a submission to the inquiry by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. When talking about the age profile of grandparents and children in families with grandparent guardians, grandparents in these families tended to be older than parents in other families and the children in grandparent families tended to be older than children in other families. Sixty-one per cent of these grandparents, including any partner, were 55 years and over, compared to one per cent of parents, including any partner. In those cases, the youngest child in these grandparent families was either five to 11 years or 12 to 14 years, whereas the youngest child in other families was most commonly under five years or five to 11 years. But this is the most alarming point: of all the families headed by a single grandparent, most were grandmothers—93 per cent.

When we look at their employment status and the reliance on government payments, no grandparent was employed in 66 per cent of these grandparent families, as opposed to 15 per cent in other families. Government pensions, benefits or allowances represented the main source of cash income in 63 per cent of these grandparent families and in 20 per cent of other families. Not only are we talking about the trauma, the challenge and the grief that often accompanies these grandparents; we are often talking about many Australian households who find it difficult anyway.

I would like to acknowledge and give my sincere thanks to other members of the committee: Senator Claire Moore, Senator Rachel Siewert, Senator Carol Brown and Senator Catryna Bilyk, who joined me travelling around the country. I am pleased we were able to go to Albany in the south-west of Western Australia and hear from grandparents in regional locations.

People get bored hearing from politicians. I think in this particular instance it is best to hear from the grandparents themselves. I would like to read two quotes, the first from Kaye Bendle, the President of Grandparents Rearing Grandchildren in my home state of Western Australia. Kaye said:

Money is not everything, but it relieves the financial burden to help grandparents focus on the other issues with regard to their grandchildren's welfare. Also, official recognition, which has been sadly lacking, would help make grandparents proud of the role they are playing in society.

Who would have thought that grandparents were not already proud of the role they are playing in our society? The second quote is from Mrs Sharyne De Young, the Secretary of Grandparents Rearing Grandchildren WA. Sharyne said:

This road grandparents are on is a long, hard, tough, bumpy, painful, soul-destroying and exhausting, but much love, determination and courage is given by grandparents to raise healthy and happy grandchildren. This caring role has been pushed upon them by the inability of their own children to care and take responsibility for their children. Grandparent carers need moral support, emotional support and financial support from everyone in the community to raise these grandchildren so they are not a burden on the taxpayer but become role models in society in their adult lives.

There is much in the report that is commendable—everything in the report is commendable. But it is the first step in what I hope will be a fresh conversation about supporting grandparents who are rearing grandchildren in our community. In 2003, the government at the time, with support of the Council on the Ageing, commissioned an inquiry into this issue, and there were a number of recommendations. Then a few years ago the University of New South Wales issued a very comprehensive report into this issue in our community, with no recommendations. That is not a criticism; it was a university based study. Only now, in 2014, are we having this discussion to bring these issues to people's attention.

I would again like to thank my colleagues and of course the committee secretariat for their work. In closing, I will make a few thankyous—of course, to Kaye Bendle and Sharyne De Young, who were a bit confused that a single guy, a senator for Western Australia, might be interested in their issues. I thank them for their trust. I thank those grandparents who appeared in Perth: Malcolm and Liz Burton, Susette Evans, Shirley Fitzthum, Eugene and Helen Hinkley, Diane Robinson and Jan Standen. And I thank those grandparents who appeared in Albany: Sue Brooks, David and Kim Killey, Michael Tugwell, Graham Benporath, Aishya Mason, Geoffrey and Nicolette Pratt, Barbara Anderson, Roy Cox, and Ron and Patricia Richards. This is just beginning of something that is very important.

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I to rise to speak on the tabling of the report of the Community Affairs References Committee inquiry into grandparents who take primary responsibility for raising their grandchildren. I echo Senator Siewert's comments, thanking Senator Smith for bringing this important reference to our committee. I also thank Senator Siewert, Senator Moore and Senator Bilyk, who all participated in this very important inquiry.

This inquiry took place over the course of seven months and we heard many personal accounts from grandparents and grandchildren. We heard evidence of the physical and mental toll the caring role can have on grandparents. We heard the stories of the often difficult circumstance under which grandparents come to this role. We heard of the significant financial impact of taking on the caring role, whether it be grandparents having to leave work to care for children with complex needs or cashing in superannuation to meet the costs of raising children, or reverse-mortgaging their home to meet the costs of Family Court cases.

What we also heard were stories of great love and care, of grandparents' devotion to their families and of the deep gratitude of their grandchildren. The quote from the evidence of Mrs Sharyne De Young from Grandparents Rearing Grandchildren WA, which opens the concluding chapter of the report, I think, encapsulates the evidence the committee heard. She said:

This road grandparents are on is long, hard, tough, bumpy, painful, soul-destroying and exhausting, but much love, determination and courage is given by grandparents to raise healthy and happy grandchildren.

The grandparents and even grandchildren who made submissions and gave evidence to the inquiry detailed the range of challenges that are faced by grandparent carers.

What was clear to the committee and is outlined in this report is that whilst every grandparent carer has a unique experience there are also many similarities in the struggles they face. And whilst there are a number of very successful services across Australia that provide vital support to these families, it is clear that these supports are too few and far between. Many grandparent carers slip through the gaps, struggle to navigate the maze of services and supports or are simply unaware of what is out there or how to access the help they need.

It is clear that this is an issue that both Commonwealth and state and territory governments must work collaboratively to address. Whilst the evidence received by the committee makes it clear that the number of grandparents raising grandchildren is increasing in Australia, the evidence also shows that there is no clear picture of these families. The committee heard evidence in my home state of Tasmania suggesting that an estimated 2,000 grandparents are taking primary responsibility for raising their grandchildren. But the number could be much higher. For this reason, the committee has made recommendations in relation to the need for better statistical data and longitudinal research on grandparent carers and their families. This evidence is vital to ensure that we can understand, recognise and support these families.

The committee also made a range of recommendations about the financial and non-financial supports which are needed by both formal and informal grandparent carers. I wish to highlight several of the recommendations which I think go to the heart of much of the evidence we received from across the nation. Time and time again, we heard from grandparents that they were simply unaware of where to start or who to turn to when they found themselves taking on the caring role.

At times of greatest uncertainty and upheaval, many grandparents found themselves without support and without access to information about where they might even start to look for this support. It is important to ensure that there is a comprehensive system of supports and services available to grandparent carers. But just as important is the need for information and resources for grandparent carers to ensure that they are aware of the supports available and know where to go to get them. Awareness and recognition within service organisations, government agencies and the broader community is also vital to ensure that grandparent carers get the support they need to raise their grandchildren.

Many grandparents who made submissions and gave evidence told the committee that they felt their role and contribution was not understood or acknowledged. Grandparent carers recounted challenges they have faced when dealing with government agencies, schools and other service providers, and also on a more personal level with friends and others within their community. Tackling this issue will be a key element of the response to the committee's report. I urge the government to consider the recommendations in this report and join with the state and territory governments to develop a collaborative response to the needs identified throughout this report.

I am proud to have been able to be part of this inquiry. Like Senator Smith has done, I thank the grandparents, grandchildren and organisations who contributed to this important inquiry. The contribution made by grandparent carers to the children for whom they care cannot be understated.

The words of a young woman who appeared before the committee at the hearing in Hobart highlight the gravity of this issue and why the recommendations in this report are so important. She said:

I think I was incredibly lucky to have [my grandparents] rescue me and take me out of that position ... If I had not been taken out of that position I would have died. I really honestly believe I would not be here today.

I commend the report to the Senate.

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the report to the Community Affairs References Committee inquiry into grandparents who take primary responsibility for raising their grandchildren. I am pleased I was able to participate in this inquiry and to hear firsthand the concerns of grandparents who do such a wonderful job in usually very trying circumstances. When a grandparent does become a primary carer for a grandchild, it is almost always in tragic or unfortunate circumstances. Whether the child has been orphaned, the parents have a substance abuse problem or a debilitating illness, or whatever the reason that prevents them from being able to care for the child or children in question, it is the grandparents who step in and pick up the pieces.

I have two sets of very dear friends, both of whom have brought up grandchildren. One set took on a grandchild who was three. I have seen firsthand how it has affected their lifestyle and delayed their retirement, and a whole range of areas

The other set of really good friends took on two young girls, one with a very severe heart illness. I have seen also how it has changed their lives. They would all do it again, but they would like to do it with a bit more help and support.

Too often, these grandparents might receive a call in the middle of the night telling them to pick up their grandchildren or just have their children unexpectedly left in their care. Having spent their lives raising their children, they then face that emotional and monetary cost of raising a second generation, spending time and money that they were expecting to contribute to their retirement.

There is very little support for these grandparents and very little information on who they should turn to or where they should turn to for support. They are faced with a minefield of issues that make it difficult for them to provide the care their grandchildren need, whether it is gaining emergency clothing and bedding when the child first comes into their care or gaining custody through the court system, receiving the minimal assistance Centrelink provides, getting the child on their Medicare card or even interacting with the child's school. Roadblocks are constantly placed in their way.

This report has made 18 recommendations that if adopted by this government will make life considerably easier for grandparents raising grandchildren. I would like to take a few moments to focus on a couple of those recommendations. One of the key concerns of grandparents raising grandchildren is the lack of financial assistance they are able to receive from Centrelink and other government agencies. Many grandparents raising their grandchildren are aged pensioners or part-age pensioners, or moving very close to that pension age. They often have limited financial resources available to them.

The committee's recommendation 9 recommends that state and territory governments consider extending foster-care allowances to grandparents who are raising their grandchildren without orders from a court, exercising family-law jurisdiction or care-and-protection jurisdiction, and investigating means of facilitating contact arrangements between children in grandparent headed families and their birth parents.

The committee hopes that this recommendation will help grandparents meet some of the additional costs, associated with raising their grandchildren, which are currently unmet. This recommendation would also help children being raised by grandparents to spend time with their birth parents, if possible, without the grandparents having fear of losing the child or children.

Committee recommendation 10 raised a number of important issues that need addressing. The committee recommends: state and territory governments consider reviewing the rates of financial assistance paid to grandparents as out-of-home carers, with particular consideration to addressing the disparity in financial support between foster carers and grandparents; the provision of training to grandparents raising their grandchildren, to better support them in their daily parenting roles; the provision of respite services to grandparents raising their grandchildren, with a focus on enhancing and extending those services to all grandparents raising grandchildren; the formal assessment of kinship care placement within six months of the commencement of a placement, with a view to ascertaining specific supports and services required by a grandparent carer; and existing policies and practices relating to the priority allocation of public housing, with a view to expediting accommodation suitable to the needs of grandparent headed families.

Other recommendations dealt with a diverse range of issues and these included: exploring options for providing informal grandparent carers with access to legal assistance, including legal representation in relation to care arrangements for the grandchildren; enhancing the provision of mental-health services for grandparent headed families, with special attention given to grandchildren affected by trauma; and examining increased and more certain funding for voluntary support groups that provide peer support to grandparents raising grandchildren, to better facilitate the establishment, maintenance and operation of such groups.

I too hope the government will adopt the recommendations of this report. It will dramatically change and improve the lives of those extremely caring and selfless grandparents and their grandchildren. I thank Senator Smith—for heading this inquiry—Senator Siewert, Senator Brown and Senator Moore. I also thank the secretariat for the great work they have done in supporting this inquiry.

Most of all, I thank all the witnesses, especially the grandparents and the grandchildren we heard from, for sharing their lives and their concerns with us. I know that for a lot of them it was not easy and there were some quite emotional times through the inquiry. To come in and lay it on the line to us took great courage for a lot of them. It is very easy to feel you might be judged in that area. My friends told me it is very easy to feel judged—that if you said you might need some money you would be told you should do it for the love of it. They do it for the love of it—but a lot of them also need some financial support, and if they need that financial support it is incumbent upon us to make sure they can get it.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in the inquiry. It was one of the most interesting inquiries in my almost-seven years in this place. I was really pleased to be able to participate. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted. Debate adjourned.