Family and caring responsibilities significantly impact output, employment, educational opportunities, and experiences for students and staff. Balancing caring responsibilities alongside HDR requirements places significant strains on the time and energy of HDR carers. While ANU is committed to providing services and policies to assist staff and students in balancing family and caring responsibilities with their work and study, the Higher Degree Research (HDR) cohort is poorly understood and inadequately supported. The post-COVID-19 era of high inflation and rising cost of living makes it timely to review and investigate the challenges and opportunities.

In section 2, this white paper reviews existing academic literature to shed light on the specific situation of HDR students with caring responsibilities. In section 3, a scoping review of current ANU policies finds that significant gaps exist. ANU can and should implement workplace policies and practices conducive to HDR carers balancing their work and caring duties. Section 4 makes key recomendations that ANU could implement over the short and medium term to improve the HDR carer experience and support.

Read the full report