Migration and Care in Oceania

Although Australia does not directly target care workers besides health professionals, proposed policy shifts in aged care and disability services are likely to increase demand for migrant workers.

This project probes the key policy and legislative developments that have shaped the intersection of migration and care in the past thirty years in both Australia and New Zealand. We conduct interviews with key stakeholders and analyze political party and ministerial statements, parliamentary debates, and employer, advocacy, and union materials.

We ask how the characteristics and conditions of migrant care workers differ from those of Australian-born care workers. We consider factors pushing a supply of Pacific Island-area workers to migrate (for example, from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam), and factors creating a demand for care work in the more developed Pacific Island nations.

This project is important not only to a achieving a more comprehensive understanding of how policy shapes care migration to Australia and New Zealand. It also offers an important comparison to North America and Europe as more-studied regions that receive care workers.

Refereed Publications

• Howe, J. M., Charlesworth, S., & Brennan, D. (2019). Migration Pathways for Frontline Care Workers in Australia and New Zealand: Front Doors, Side Doors, Back Doors and Trap Doors. University of New South Wales Law Journal, 42(1), 1-30.
• Howe, J., Berg, L., & Farbenblum, B. (2018). Unfair Dismissal Law and Temporary Migrant Labour in Australia. Federal Law Review, 46(1), 19-47.
• Reilly, A., Howe, J., van den Broek, D., & Wright, C. (2018). Working holiday makers in Australian horticulture: labour market effect, exploitation and avenues for reform. Griffith Law Review, 27(1), 99-130.
• Howe, J., Stewart, A., & Owens, R. (2018). Temporary Migrant Labour and Unpaid Work in Australia. Sydney Law Review, 40(2), 183-211.
• Withers, Matt. 2019. ‘Decent Care for Migrant Households: Policy Alternatives to Sri Lanka’s Family Background Report’. Social Politics.
• Charlesworth, S. and Malone, J. (2017). Re-Imagining Decent Work for Home Care Workers in Australia. Labour & Industry, 3, 1 – 18.
• Brennan, D., Charlesworth, S., Adamson, E. and Cortis, N. (forthcoming, accepted 23.10.16). Out of Kilter: Changing Care, Migration and Employment Regimes in Australia, Gender, Migration and the Work of Care: A Multi-Scalar Approach to the Pacific Rim, Editors: Sonya Michel and Ito Peng.
• Adamson, E., Cortis, N., Brennan, D. and Charlesworth, S. (2017). Social care and migration policy in Australia: Emerging intersections? Australian Journal of Social Issues 52(1): 78-94
• Adamson, E. (2017) ‘Crossing Boundaries: In-home childcare and migration in Canada’, in R. Langford, P. Albaneze, and S. Prentice (Eds) (Chapter 8). Caring for Children: Social movements and public policy. Vancouver: UBC Press.
• Adamson, E. and Brennan, D. (2016). ‘Return of the Nanny: Public Policy towards In-home Childcare in the UK, Canada and Australia’, Social Policy and Administration, Early view, DOI: 10.1111/spol.12250.
• Charlesworth, S., & Baines, D. (2015). Understanding the negotiation of paid and unpaid care work in community services in cross-national perspective: the contribution of a rapid ethnographic approach. Journal of Family Studies, 21 (1) 7-21.
• Charlesworth, S. and Macdonald, F. (2015). ‘‘The Decent Work Agenda and the Advancement of Gender Equality: For Emerging Economies Only?” International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, 31(1), 5-26.
• Adamson, E. and Brennan, D. (2014). “Social investment or private profit? Diverging notions of ‘investment’ in early childhood education and care”, International Journal of Early Childhood, 46 (1), 47-61.
• Baines, D., Charlesworth, S. and Cunningham, I. (2014) “Fragmented Outcomes: International Comparisons of Gender, Managerialism and Union Strategies in the Nonprofit Sector” Journal of Industrial Relations 56(1), 24-42.
• Baines, D. Charlesworth, S. and Cunningham, I. (2014) “Changing care? Men and managerialism in the nonprofit sector.” Journal of Social Work, September 7, 2014, DOI:10.1177/1468017314548149.
• Baines, D. Charlesworth, S. Turner, D. and O’Neill, L. (2014). “Lean social care and worker identity: The role of outcomes, supervision and mission/” Critical Social Policy. 34 (4), 433-453.
• Brennan, D. (2014). “Community Services, Individualism and Markets”, in A. McClelland and P. Smyth (eds), Social Policy in Australia, 3rd edition. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 220-229.
• Brennan, D. (2014). “The business of care: Australia’s experiment with the marketization of childcare”, in L. Orchard and C. Miller (eds.), Australian Public Policy, Bristol: The Policy Press, 151-168.
• Brennan, D. and M. Fenech (2014). “Early Education and Care in Australia: Equity in a mixed market-based system?”, in L. Gambaro, K. Stewart, and J. Waldfogel (eds.), Equal Access to Quality Care: Lessons from other countries about providing high quality and affordable childcare and early education, Bristol: The Policy Press, 171-192.
• Charlesworth, S. and Macdonald, F. (2014) “Australia’s Gender Pay Equity Legislation: How New, How Different, What Prospects?” Cambridge Journal of Economics, 39 (2):421-440.
• Charlesworth, S. and Macdonald, F. (2014) “Women, work and industrial relations in Australia in 2013” Journal of Industrial Relations, 56(3), 382-397.
• Cunningham, I., Baines, D. and Charlesworth, S. (2014). “Government Funding, Employment Conditions and Work Organization in Non-Profit Community Services: A Comparative Study”, Public Administration, 92(3), 582-598.

Non-Refereed Publications

• Hill, Elizabeth and Matt Withers. (8 November 2018). If Australia cares about Pacific nations, we should also invest in their care givers. Feature Article. The Conversation.
• Hill, E. (19 March 2019) ‘Investing in care key to boosting economic growth, East Asia Forum Quarterly’.
• Kintominas, A., Hamilton, M. (16 January 2019) Migrant grandparents to fill childcare gap, but at what cost?, The Conversation.
• Howe, Joanna (2016). ‘Di Natale’s au pair hypocrisy exposes flawed policy’, The Australian, 24 May.
• Hill, E. (2018). The Informal Economy in Theory and Policy: Prospects for Well-being. In Tae-Hee Jo, Lynne Chester and Carlo DIppoliti (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Heterodox Economics: Theorizing, Analyzing, and Transforming Capitalism, (pp. 276-289). Abingdon: Routledge.Adamson E; Brennan D. (2018) ‘Care and Migration’, in Handbook on gender and social policy, Edward Elgar, pp. 253 – 266, http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/9781785367168
• Brennan, D. and Adamson, E. (2018, forthcoming) ‘Migration and Care’, Sheila Shaver (ed), Social Policy Handbook, Edward Elgar.
• Adamson, E. (2017) Nannies, Migration and Early Childhood Education and Care: An international comparison of in-home policy and practice, Bristol: Policy Press.
• *Baird, M., Ford, M. and Hill, E. (eds) (2017). Women, Work and Care in the Asia-Pacific. Abingdon and New York: Routledge
• Brennan, D., Charlesworth, S., Adamson, E. and Cortis, N. (forthcoming, accepted 23.10.16). Out of Kilter: Changing Care, Migration and Employment Regimes in Australia, Gender, Migration and the Work of Care: A Multi-Scalar Approach to the Pacific Rim, Editors: Sonya Michel and Ito Peng
• Adamson, E. (2017) ‘Crossing Boundaries: In-home childcare and migration in Canada’, in R. Langford, P. Albaneze, and S. Prentice (Eds) (Chapter 8). Caring for Children: Social movements and public policy. Vancouver: UBC Press.
• Brennan, D., Kintominas, A., Hamilton, M. (2018). The Temporary Sponsored Parent Visa, Migrant Grandparents and Transnational Family Life.
• Hill, E., Jayasuriya, R., Withers, M. (2018). The Pacific Labour Scheme and Transnational Family Life: Policy Brief.
• Parvazian, S.,Charlesworth, S.,King, D.,Skinner, N. (2014). Developing job quality benchmarks: Work related injuries and illnesses In: Department of Social Services, Australian Government Adelaide, Australia
• Adamson, E. and Brennan, D. (2014). Submission to Productivity Commission Inquiry into ‘Early Childhood Learning and Child Care [With particular reference to nannies and in-home child care], 7pp.
• Brennan, D. and Adamson, E. (2014). Submission to Productivity Commission Inquiry into ‘Early Childhood Learning and Child Care’ [With particular reference to financing models and mechanisms], 70 pp., Available as Submission # 420
• Brennan, D. and Adamson, E. (2014). Submission to the Senate Education and Employment Committees, Inquiry into Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Measures) Bill (No. 2), 68pp.
• Brennan, D. and Adamson, E. (2014). Submission to Senate Education and Employment Committees, Inquiry into ‘The delivery of quality and affordable early childhood education and care services’, 68pp.
• Brennan, D. and Adamson, E. (2014). Submission to Senate Inquiry into ‘The immediate future of the childcare sector in Australia’, 68pp.
• Adamson, Elizabeth (October 2014). Nannies, au pairs and in-home child care: learning from international experience , Australian Policy Online, 16 October, Retrieved from http://apo.org.au/node/41779
• Adamson, Elizabeth (4 May 2015). ‘Nanny Pilot doesn’t have to be bad news for childcare workers’, The Conversation, May 2015, https://theconversation.com/nanny-pilot-doesnt-have-to-be-bad-news-for-childcare-workers-41156
• Adamson, Elizabeth (28 May 2015). Nanny trial offers flexibility, despite quality concerns, Early Learning Review, http://www.earlylearningreview.com.au/nanny-trial-offers-flexibility-despite-quality-concerns/
• Adamson, Elizabeth (2015).‘Flexible childcare to match our ’24/7′ economy: The Federal nanny trials’, Power to Persuade, http://powertopersuade.org.au/2015/07/01/flexible-childcare-to-match-our-247-economy-the-federal-nanny-trials/
• Howe, Joanna (2016). ‘Di Natale’s au pair hypocrisy exposes flawed policy’, The Australian, 24 May.

Publications in Progress

• Adamson, E. Recognition of what? Nanny agencies’ portrayal of in-home childcare in Australia and Canada (to be submitted June 2016)
• Adamson, E. “Crossing boundaries: Childcare policy and the Live-In Caregiver Program in Canada”, In R. Langford, P. Albaneze and S. Prentice (Eds), Caring for Children: Social Movements and Public Policy. Vancouver: UBC Press (expected publication December 2016)
• Adamson, E. and Brennan, D. Return of the Nanny? Public policy towards in-home childcare in the UK, Canada and Australia, Social Policy & Administration ( to resubmit February 2016)
• Adamson, E. Cultures of in-home childcare: Nannies, migration and early childhood education and care, Bristol: Policy Press. (expected publication November 2016)
• Adamson, E., Cortis, N., Brennan, D. and Charlesworth, S. ‘Social care and migration policy in Australia: Emerging intersections?’ for Australian Journal of Social Issues (submitted December 2015)
• Brennan, D., Charlesworth, S.; Adamson, E. and Cortis, N. (in progress) ‘Markets, migration and care: Australia in a global context’, Chapter for I. Peng and S. Michel.
• Charlesworth, S. and Howe, J. Employment Standards and Enforcement in Australia: Success & Challenges in Aged Care for Federal Law Review (to be submitted April 2016)