Working parents across Australia are sounding the alarm: the care system supporting them is no longer dependable. As a recent article highlights, many families are navigating impossible choices – trying to secure affordable, safe and quality care, not only for children, but often for ageing family members too – and they’re exhausted. But the impact reaches far beyond the household.
Unreliable care is costing women, men, children, employers and ultimately the national economy. It is a collective issue that demands immediate reform and meaningful investment, alongside workplaces that truly support the people who care.
The hidden burden on families
For years, the burden of unreliable care has been absorbed quietly by families, mostly by women. When care falls through, women are more likely to cut hours, step back from career pathways or leave work entirely. Men feel the strain too: expectations at work often prevent them from stepping into their full caring role, reinforcing outdated gender norms.
Children also carry the consequences. When care arrangements shift constantly or early learning options are limited, it disrupts their routines, stability and development. These early experiences shape long-term wellbeing, learning and opportunity.
A major cost to the economy
Unreliable care isn’t just a family challenge, it’s an economic one. When parents cannot access stable, high-quality childcare, workforce participation falls. Productivity drops. Businesses lose valued talent. The broader economy absorbs billions in lost output.
The International Labor Organisation research estimates the value of unpaid care at close to nine per cent of global GDP — yet it is barely counted in economic planning. Australia’s experience is no different: until we recognise and account for the real cost of unreliable care, we will continue to underestimate its impact on growth, inclusion and national resilience.
Workplaces can’t solve this alone – but they are part of the solution
At Parents At Work, we see every day how care breakdowns show up inside workplaces: increased absenteeism, stress, burn-out, reduced hours and stalled career progression. Even the most supportive employers are limited when the care system remains fragile.
Workplaces that offer flexible work, predictable scheduling, parental support, carers’ policies and invest in a culture of inclusive leadership are essential. But they cannot deliver on their promise without a broader public care infrastructure that is accessible, affordable and reliable.
In other words: we need work and care systems that work together to deliver certainty.
What Australia needs now
To lift the care burden families face, strengthen the workforce and build a more equitable society, several urgent reforms are required:
1. Universal quality early childhood education and care
Every child, regardless of circumstance, should have access to high-quality, reliable early learning. Universal care policy settings would unlock participation, reduce inequality and support children’s development – providing a sustainable workforce of the future.
2. Genuine affordability, stability and safety
Families should not face the impossible decision between working more hours and paying more for care. Sustainable funding models are essential to keep fees fair and providers strong. Families need assurance that care providers are safe and held to account to provide quality care, without question. We need the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Commission to provide stricter enforcement of quality standards, crack down on substandard providers, and improve safety.
3. Gender-intelligent policy and cultural change
Reforming care is fundamental to improving a gender inequality. We need policies that support both women and men to participate fully at work and at caring responsibilities at home – and workplaces that reinforce, rather than restrict, this participation.
4. Recognition of the care economy
Unpaid care must be recognised, measured and valued. Caring is not a private responsibility, it is social and economic infrastructure.
5. Alignment between workplaces and public policy
Employers want to support their people to be productive. Government wants more people participating in the workforce. The fastest way to achieve both is through coordinated investment in workplace care policies, care infrastructure and care systems that deliver for families and employers.
A leadership call
To HR leaders, CEOs and government policymakers: the question is no longer “why should we invest in care?” but “can we afford not to?”
- Organisations that embed family-friendly practices as foundational -not add-on – will win the talent and commitment of both men and women and demonstrate genuine inclusion.
- When governments invest in a reliable care infrastructure, they unlock untapped workforce capability, reduce inequalities and strengthen economic resilience.
- For children and families, reliable care systems mean more than convenience. They mean equity, wellbeing and opportunity.
At Parents At Work we are advocating and consulting to support workplaces in embedding programmes that reflect this reality: care aligned with work, policy aligned with practice, and culture aligned with human need. But we can’t do it alone, it takes a village.
This is the moment to count the cost of unreliable care and then commit to building the universal, high-quality, stable care system that families and our economy urgently need.