by Mark Woodland*
The “sandwich generation” isn’t new. Families have always raised kids while helping ageing parents. What’s new is the scale of it – and how hard the system makes it.
For the first time in our country’s history, Australia is supporting the largest older population we’ve ever had. At the same time, families are dealing with housing affordability, cost-of-living pressure, long working lives, and more complex health and disability needs.
So the squeeze in the middle isn’t just uncomfortable. It’s becoming unsustainable.
Because the reality is this: millions of Australians are now navigating two worlds at once – the needs of their children, and the needs of their parents – through systems that are fragmented, confusing, and often deeply dehumanising. And it usually falls to one person.
In so many families, it’s the eldest daughter who becomes the organiser. The mediator between siblings. The appointment scheduler. The form-filler. The crisis manager. The person who knows which numbers to call. The one who stays calm.
Over time, something deeply personal is lost. A relationship quietly shifts. A daughter becomes a carer. A son becomes a case manager. And that role reversal carries a heavy emotional cost.
I’ve spoken to countless families who have carried this burden for years – with little support, no roadmap, and no relief. And I’ve heard the same story more times than I can count: when a parent eventually passes, the eldest child sometimes feels a sense of relief. Not because they wanted the loss. But because the relentless responsibility has finally lifted. And almost immediately, that relief is replaced by guilt. Guilt for feeling free. Guilt for surviving the system. Guilt for emotions no one ever prepares you to have.
In a country as wealthy as Australia, this shouldn’t be what care feels like. We often tell ourselves our healthcare and aged care systems are “good”. We compare ourselves to other countries. We reassure ourselves we’re lucky. But good isn’t good enough.
If we truly believe in dignity – for older Australians, and for people with disability – then we should be aiming for a system that is not just well-funded, but well-designed. Because the future problem is staring us in the face. Today’s sandwich generation is tomorrow’s care recipient cohort.
And if navigating care today is exhausting, fragmented, and emotionally draining, then we are building a future where the burden will be even heavier – at the very point in life when people have the least capacity to carry it.
Technology won’t solve everything. Care will always be human. But technology should make life easier. That’s what it’s meant to do.
At its best, technology removes friction. It reduces duplication. It replaces paperwork with clarity. It helps families get time back. It allows people to return to their relationships as daughters and sons – instead of default care managers.
But technology alone is not the answer. Technology can only be useful if Government, providers, innovators and recipients band together to understand the purpose of care and how technology can unlock real productivity.
Independent research we commissioned by Mandala Partners shows productivity in the care sector has declined by around five per cent over the past two decades – even as demand has surged. That’s not because carers aren’t working hard enough. They’re already working beyond what’s reasonable.
It’s because the system is still too analogue. Too manual. Too administratively heavy.
And when a system isn’t productive, the cost gets shifted. It gets shifted onto families. Onto unpaid carers. Onto burnt out workers. Onto people who are already stretched.
The solution is not layering more complexity onto an already complex system. It’s clarity.
Government has to clearly define its role – as funder, regulator, market steward, and in some cases, first customer – so the private sector has confidence to invest, build, and innovate responsibly.
When government sets clear standards – especially around interoperability, data, and outcomes – it creates a platform for the entire sector to lift. It allows solutions that streamline coordination and reduce waste. It frees resources for direct care rather than administration.
And most importantly, it protects what matters most: human care.
Because the more time we spend filling out forms, repeating information, and navigating fragmented systems, the less time we spend caring. The less time we spend simply being family.
If we don’t rethink how care is coordinated now, we are setting the next generation up to inherit a system that already asks too much.
The sandwich generation has carried the weight quietly for a long time.
The real question is whether we’ll listen – and fix the system not when we’re forced to, but while we still have the opportunity to do it properly.
* Mark Woodland is the co-founder and CEO of Kismet, a purpose-driven technology company simplifying access to healthcare and disability services. Formerly the founder of Xplor, Mark is known for building technology that reduces administrative burden and helps families, educators and carers focus on what matters most.