00:00It was really important for me, for mum, to know that she was loved and cared for.
00:10And for her to be cared for and looked after and loved until the end.
00:14Beth Jackson gave up a career as a psychologist to move in with her mum who has dementia.
00:20It became an around-the-clock job.
00:23There were days when she would try to burn me with a hot spoon or throw boiling water
00:28at me.
00:29A nightmare.
00:31I didn't know how hard it was going to be.
00:34I really wasn't prepared for how the system doesn't work.
00:39There's not enough workers.
00:42After over 13 years of caring, Beth had no choice but to move her mum into residential
00:49aged care.
00:50It was really difficult because there are so many levels of grief.
00:54There's the grief around mum's loss of capacity and the need for her to go into a home when
01:01I knew that that's not what she wanted.
01:05She's not alone.
01:06There are over three million carers in Australia.
01:10Carers usually feel guilt around the carer choices that they have to make on behalf of
01:15the person they're caring for.
01:16So it is, it's an emotional struggle to make that choice.
01:21The move from home into an aged care facility can not only be emotionally difficult, but
01:26sometimes financially costly.
01:29And for some, it's about to get more complex, with federal government changes due mid-next
01:34year.
01:36In a bid to make the aged care sector more sustainable, there'll be an increase in the
01:41maximum amount aged care providers can charge residents as a lump-sum deposit, from $550
01:48to $750,000.
01:51And instead of refunding the full amount when a person leaves, the facility will be able
01:56to keep 10% for the first five years they've spent in aged care.
02:02It is highly recommended for those people to consult the financial planner before they
02:07make any financial decisions.
02:12As more older Australians choose to stay home for longer, easing pressure on residential
02:18aged care, there are calls for better support for those who care for them.
02:23We would ask the government to consider paying superannuation on the carer payment.
02:29For Beth, her long stint as a carer has meant she's missed out on years of a professional
02:36wage, leaving her with little money and few options for the future.
02:41I'd like to think if I'd known that this was how it was going to end, I would still
02:45have cared for my mother because we all deserve that, but I think we need to value the role
02:52of a carer way more than we do.
Comments