Suchergebnisse

Background: Population ageing is projected to reduce labour force growth and aggregate labour force participation, whilst increasing demand for informal carers. Increasing the labour force participation of Australians who face barriers to employment (including carers) is part of the solution to labour market pressures occurring due to demographic change and may improve the financial wellbeing of carers. ; Aims: To examine the availability, usage and barriers to accessing Special Working Arrangements (SWA) to provide care while employed in Australia. ; Data and methods: The 2015 ABS Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers was used to measure the prevalence of the availability, usage and barriers to SWA to care stratified by carer status and gender. ; Results: About 94% of workers reported access to at least one type of SWA (n=25,094). Of this group, about 22% have used SWA to care in the last 6 months. The proportions using SWA to care were highest among primary carers (64%) followed by other carers (43%) and non-carers (19%). Of those who have used SWA, about 15% wanted to use additional SWA to care in the previous 6 months, but faced barriers in doing so, with higher proportions of primary carers (24.6%) and other carers (21.8%) reporting barriers. The main barriers faced by employed carers included insufficient paid leave and/or work commitments. Conclusions: A range of paid and unpaid arrangements are necessary for carers to combine paid work with their caregiving responsibilities. Labour market legislation and workplace policies should be strengthened to reduce barriers to take up of SWA.

Using data from the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, this study provides timely evidence on the effects of on‐site child care at the workplace and employer‐provided family leave on worker absenteeism, turnover, and productivity. The study found that workplaces with on‐site child care compared with workplaces with no on‐site child care had lower rates of absenteeism and higher ratings for worker productivity. Workplaces that had a family leave policy also had lower rates of absenteeism than workplaces that had no such policy in place. Analyses also suggest that workplace characteristics, such as presence of a human‐resources manager or union representative, are associated with higher worker productivity. Firm size, mission, and shift work were other predictors of worker performance. The findings argue strongly for an extensive, new workplace survey that can elucidate how parents today manage to abide by new workplace agreements while still handling the demands of family life.

It is widely understood that households with low economic resources and poor labour market attachment are at considerable risk of food insecurity in Australia. However, little is known about variations in food insecurity by receipt of specific classes of social assistance payments that are made through the social security system. Using newly released data from the 2016 Household Expenditure Survey, this paper reports on variations in food insecurity prevalence across a range of payment types. We further investigated measures of financial wellbeing reported by food-insecure households in receipt of social assistance payments. Results showed that individuals in receipt of Newstart allowance (11%), Austudy/Abstudy (14%), the Disability Support Pension (12%), the Carer Payment (11%) and the Parenting Payment (9%) were at significantly higher risk of food insecurity compared to those in receipt of the Age Pension (<1%) or no payment at all (1.3%). Results further indicated that food-insecure households in receipt of social assistance payments endured significant financial stress, with a large proportion co-currently experiencing "fuel" or "energy" poverty. Our results support calls by a range of Australian non-government organisations, politicians, and academics for a comprehensive review of the Australian social security system.

Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. International Migration and Australia's Population -- Chapter 3. Projection Methods, Data and Assumptions -- Chapter 4. The Future Demography of Australia's Migrant Populations -- Chapter 5. Discussion and Conclusions -- Chapter 6. Birthplace Population Profiles.

In recent years, Australia's older population (aged 65 and over) has been growing rapidly, accompanied by a shift in its country of birth composition. Although a great deal of research has been undertaken on past and current aspects of Australia's migrant groups, little attention has been paid to future demographic trends in older populations. The aim of this paper is to examine recent and possible future demographic trends of Australia's migrant populations at the older ages. We present population estimates by country and broad global region of birth from 1996 to 2016, and then new birthplace-specific population projections for the 2016 to 2056 period. Our findings show that substantial growth of the 65+ population will occur in the coming decades, and that the overseas-born will shift from a Europe-born dominance to an Asia-born dominance. Cohort flow (the effect of varying sizes of cohorts moving into the 65+ age group over time) will be the main driver of growth for most older birthplace populations. The shifting demography of Australia's older population signals many policy, planning, service delivery and funding challenges for government and private sector providers. We discuss those related to aged care, health care, language services, the aged care workforce, regulatory frameworks and future research needs in demography and gerontology.

AbstractUsing the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, this paper examines exposure to interpersonal racism and avoidance reported by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disabilities. We find that in 2014–2015, 32 per cent of people aged 15–64 without a disability experienced racism compared with 42 per cent of those with a disability. Half of those living with an intellectual or psychological disability reported racism, and about 20 per cent of those with any disability avoided settings such as healthcare, education or the general public due to past instances of racism, relative to 11 per cent of those without a disability. After adjusting for confounding factors and complex survey design, presence of a disability was associated with a 1.6–1.8 odds increase in exposure to racism, more frequent racist exposure and avoidance. Disability was further associated with an approximate doubling of the odds of reporting multi‐context avoidance and the likelihood of reporting both racism and avoidance in tandem. Severity of disability, higher numbers of disabling conditions and specific disability types were associated with increased odds of racism and avoidance. Independent of these effects, removal from one's natural family and identifying with homelands was strongly associated with racism and avoidance.

Abstract

Objectives
This study aimed to determine the proportion of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples participating in cultural events and activities and determine the demographic and socio-cultural characteristic associated with participation.


Methods
The Australian Bureau of Statistics National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (2014-15) was used to measure prevalence of participation in cultural events and activities. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to measure associations. Socio-cultural factors were selected by matching survey items to the 12 socio-cultural factors described in the Good Spirit Good Life Framework, a culturally validated quality-of-life tool for older people.


Results
Majority (62.0%) of survey respondents 45-years and older participated in cultural events (e.g., ceremonies, funerals/sorry business, NAIDOC week activities, sports carnivals, festivals/carnivals) or were involved in organisations. Many (58.5%) also participated in activities (e.g., fishing, hunting, gathering wild plants/berries, arts/crafts, music/dance/theatre, writing/telling of stories). In regression models including demographic and cultural variables, participation in cultural events was highest amongst people living remotely (OR=2.71), reporting recognition of homelands (OR=2.39), identifying with a cultural group (OR=3.56), and those reporting having a say in their communities (OR=1.57), with similar odds seen for participation in activities. Participation was inversely proportional to increasing age, with a greater proportion of females participating in events and males in activities.


Discussion
The social lives of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were characterised by the widespread participation in cultural events and activities. These findings provide important insights to services as they support older people to live a good life.