Investigators: Prof Julie Byles, Dr Emily Callander, Prof Deborah Schofield (CI), Dr Rupendra Shrestha.

A report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare projected a 27% increase in the number of carers between 1998 and 2013. This may have a large impact on labour force supply as people may be forced to take premature retirement to provide care to family and friends.

The study’s objective is to demonstrate that people caring for family members are likely to have a lower probability of being in the labour force and caring for family members is likely to impact on their income. The study will analyse the association between caring and being out of the labour force among persons aged 45–64 years, analyse how this association varies by carers’ own health status and estimate the impact of staying out of the labour force to provide care on a carers’ income.