Carers & Chronic Illness
The Carers and Chronic Illness Issues Group meets to hear the perspective of staff dealing with these challenges, in order to shape our Enterprise Bargaining strategy for this round. We want to hear from you, and ensure that we have the right information to get the best bargaining deal for carers and those dealing with chronic illness. Be in touch!
Contact person is Associate Professor Annie Pohlman: apohlman@nteu.org.au
Why do we need more support for carers?
Almost 5% of all Australians (around 1.2 million people) are primary carers, providing essential informal support to a family member or friend. This responsibility falls disproportionately on women, who make up two‑thirds of all primary carers.
Behind them are people whose lives, careers, health, and financial security are significantly affected by their caring responsibilities. See here, for more on Who is a carer? For example, carers who are parents of children with disabilities and/or serious chronic illness, are significantly impacted to varying degrees, across each of the following areas:
• EMOTIONALLY: Carers who are also parents to these children have to process significant emotions and feelings, including trauma; grief; extreme, ongoing chronic stress, to name a few. These feelings are very intense, and enduring to differing extents. Some parent-carers face this situation temporarily, for some it is permanent, but, regardless, the emotional impact is a permanent one, and it often has different levels of intensity at different stages of a particular carer’s journey.
• FINANCIALLY: It is a common misconception that all financial outlays are covered by the NDIS or similar governmental financial supports – this is categorically not the case. The extra, sustained financial impact is not insignificant and typically includes additional therapies and medical treatments, as well as treatments abroad, along with associated travel and accommodation costs. Some children (those with significant chronic illnesses that are not classified as a “disability” or do not meet the NDIS criteria) and their carers are not eligible for any financial support. One of the obvious consequences of these financial commitments are decreased working hours.
• TIME CONSTRAINTS: Planning and attending children’s medical and therapy appointments, providing children with extra care, researching conditions and their management, dealing with an opaque NDIS (which can impact time on a daily basis) and applying for other support, as well as advocating for their children place significant time pressures on carers.
• RESPONSIBILITY: There is an extra burden of responsibility, which parents caring for children with special needs and/or chronic conditions, and terminally sick children must bear. This responsibility is substantive, and in a constant state of flux, with challenges that present differing in impact and severity – each case is unique. When it comes to children with special needs, it can include finding ways to overcome particular special needs and life difficulties, which the child would otherwise face, helping the child to maximise his/her potential, teaching the child how to live with certain handicaps or chronic illnesses, advocating for them and promoting their inclusion, future independence, happiness and success. In that sense, when it comes to UQ employees and students with disabilities, it is also essential to talk about and recognise the special extra care imparted by carers, usually parents, as behind every person with a disability is someone who deeply cares and also wants them and wants to thrive and succeed.
• HEALTH: The toll of being a carer impacts our own mental and physical health, and relationships.
For more, read the 2025 Annual Report by the UQ Network for Carers of Children with Special Needs and Serious Chronic Illnesses (UQ NCC) HERE.
Caring for carers also benefits the employer
Learn more HERE.
Building a Fairer Workplace for All Staff
UQ aspires to be an inclusive, equitable employer. To achieve this, the lived experiences of staff with chronic illnesses must be reflected in our EBA and workplace policy. These colleagues contribute deeply to UQ’s research, teaching, and service missions. Providing targeted, compassionate supports helps ensure they can continue contributing without compromising their health or financial security.
As the 2026 bargaining process progresses, the NTEU encourages all staff to support these proposals and participate in a conversation about meaningful, structural support for chronic illness across the University.