abstract: 'Income support for carers has been available in Australia since the

  early 1980s. In contrast to most other forms of income support,

  eligibility for Carer Payment has been progressively expanded in recent

  years, and increasing numbers of carers are claiming the payment as a

  result. This article examines the history of income support for carers

  by reviewing changes in eligibility criteria in the social security

  legislation and considering how those changes were framed. We argue that

  reforms to carers'' income support have developed within competing frames

  of social justice and social investment, with an increasing emphasis on

  a social investment discourse, which prioritises paid work over care.

  Neither of the dominant frames addresses gender equality, and in

  practice, income support policy has reinforced familial (women''s)

  responsibility for caring. Given the gendered nature of caring in

  Australia, gender equality issues must be considered in future policy

  reforms to ensure that the competing pressures on women to care and to

  engage in paid work do not lead to greater disadvantage and inequality

  for women and the people for whom they care.'
affiliation: 'Maker, Y (Corresponding Author), Univ Melbourne, Sch Social \& Polit
  Sci, Melbourne, Vic 3010, Australia.

  Maker, Yvette; Bowman, Dina, Univ Melbourne, Sch Social \& Polit Sci, Melbourne,
  Vic 3010, Australia.'
author: Maker, Yvette and Bowman, Dina
author_list:
- family: Maker
  given: Yvette
- family: Bowman
  given: Dina
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1002/j.1839-4655.2012.tb00259.x
eissn: 1839-4655
files: []
issn: 0157-6321
journal: AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES
keywords: carers; family; income support; social justice; social investment
keywords-plus: POLITICS; WELFARE
language: English
number: '4'
number-of-cited-references: '51'
orcid-numbers: Maker, Yvette/0000-0002-3713-6273
pages: 435-456
papis_id: f63462c7ddf7d40c8ba1c542472a4650
ref: Maker2012incomesupport
times-cited: '6'
title: 'Income support for Australian carers since 1983: social justice, social investment
  and the cloak of gender neutrality'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000208855400001
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '7'
volume: '47'
web-of-science-categories: Social Issues
year: '2012'