In nursing homes, child care centres, migrant welfare services, group homes for people with disabilities, and elsewhere around Australia, workers are employed to help other people meet their daily needs. These employees perform paid 'care work' in Australia’s community service industries. Gabrielle Meagher and Karen Healy present a profile of these care workers, using data from the Census of Population and Housing 1996 and 2001.

A second volume, Who Cares? Employment structure and incomes in the Australian care workforce is also available.