The report declared it unfair to allow grandparents to bear the full financial costs of raising their grandchildren, particularly when governments would otherwise most likely have to provide for the children through the foster care system.
The Committee recommended a raft of measures to help Grandparents who assume the role of full-time carers, including better counselling services, access to parenting classes and access to foster care allowances without needing an order from a court.
WA Liberal Senator Dean Smith, who initiated the inquiry, said the report is a first step in a much needed conversation about the unrecognised role played by grandparents rearing their grandchildren.
"The inquiry thinks it's time to call out the issue of financial hardship and for Australian government's to work together to end some of the disparity and the unfairness that accompanies the financial arrangements for grandparents", he told SBS News.
Among the 18 recommendations is a call for state governments to address the disparity between the assistance received by foster carers and that provided to grandparents.
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