Carers provide a great service to the community through supporting and caring for those with disabilities.

One-off carer bonus
The Government will provide $255 million for a one-off carer bonus to be paid to eligible carers in June 2004 in recognition of their role of caring for a person with a disability.
• Recipients of Carer Payment at the payment date will receive the $1,000 bonus payment
• Recipients of Carer Allowance at the payment date will receive the $600 bonus payment The bonus is tax free and not treated as income when calculating social security payments.

Expanded eligibility for Carer Allowance
The eligibility criteria for Carer Allowance will be expanded at a cost of $107 million over four years. This will enable carers who provide at least 20 hours of care per week to a person with a disability, but do not live with the care recipient, to receive the payment.

Access to respite for older carers
There are a growing number of ageing carers who care for an adult child with a disability. The Government will expand this group’s access to respite services, subject to receiving matched funding from the States, at a cost to the Australian Government of $73 million over four years.
• Parents aged 70 and over who provide primary care for a child with a disability will be guaranteed access to four weeks of respite per year
• Up to two weeks respite per year will be available for a primary carer parent aged between 65 and 69 who needs to be hospitalised.

Young carers
Young carers aged under 25 will benefit from expanded access to in-home respite care in addition to a range of information, referral and advice services, costing $27 million over four years. This will help young carers to continue to participate in education and training.