Domestic gas users pay more for no good reason
Published 3 March 2021
Australians have been paying more for gas produced in their own backyards than overseas gas importers pay for Australian gas plus export charges. The Australian consumer watchdog said there is no "adequate reason" as to why this is happening. [more]
Stopping aged care neglect can’t wait until the May Budget
Published 1 March 2021
The Government's initial response to the Royal Commission's final report shows the Government isn't taking problems in aged care seriously.
$3.57 daily Jobseeker raise slap in face of unemployed, young and old
Published 24 February 2021
After years of campaigning and despite everyone agreeing a meaningful increase to Newstart, now called Jobseeker, was needed urgently, the Australian Government has come up with a miserly increase of $50 a fortnight.
Aged Care Royal Commission: now for the real reform!
Published 24 February 2021
Friday 26 February is when the Aged Care Royal Commission finally ends, more than two years after it started. The Department of Health's responses to Counsel Assisting's recommendations to the two Commissioners seem to indicate disagreement between the Commission and the Government. [more]
End of the line for Lithgow Aged Care Ltd
Published 24 February 2021
Another nursing home is facing forced closure by the regulator, but the home is not part of a nursing home chain. It's stand-alone. 73 residents have to find something somewhere else.
$3.57 daily Jobseeker raise slap in face of unemployed, young and old
Published 23 February 2021
After years of campaigning and despite everyone agreeing a meaningful increase to Newstart, now called Jobseeker, was needed urgently, the Australian Government has come up with a miserly increase of $50 a fortnight.
Unsupportable burden: NSW property tax
Published 17 February 2021
An annual property tax proposed by the NSW Government would place an unsupportable burden on many households which now struggle to cover the cost of utilities and council rates, writes contributor Frances McMahon.
‘Dine and discover NSW vouchers’: no smartphone, no problem
Published 17 February 2021
THE 'Out and About Vouchers' that were announced in the November 2020 NSW state budget have been renamed Dine and discover NSW vouchers, and they are available in paper form, says the Minister.
A self-funded retiree responds
Published 17 February 2021
ROGER is a self-funded retiree who took exception to last week’s 'Crying poor and being poor: assistance for retirees' item. He wrote a response.
Aged care standards are substandard standards
Published 10 February 2021
New aged care standards came in just before the Royal Commission started, but the compliance results published by the Productivity Commission are curious, to say the least.
Crying poor and being poor: assistance for retirees
Published 10 February 2021
Apparently the Reserve Bank is being flooded with mail from retirees who can't see why the Governor doesn't put up the interest rates on their term deposits. Talk is of emergency measures. [more]
NSW retirement village law shakeup
Published 10 February 2021
New rules make it easier for a retirement village resident to sell up if and when they need to move into a nursing home.
Super could be super
Published 3 February 2021
In the debate about contributions, what's forgotten is what, and especially how, all these saved contributions are going to fund your retirement. [more]
Are self-managed home care packages a good idea?
Published 3 February 2021
Does choosing your own care worker sound like a good idea? It might be, but be careful of the pitfalls.
Second NSW Regional Seniors Travel Card now available
Published 3 February 2021
NSW regional seniors will be wasting no time to get this $250 freebie!
Aged care: why medication reviews are not popular in nursing homes
Published 16 December 2020
Free to nursing homes, free to residents, but medication reviews for new residents are only conducted twenty per cent of the time.
Does Centrelink terrorise pensioners?
Published 16 December 2020
The federal Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, let rip during Question Time recently, suggesting Robodebt was back, with a focus on age pensioners. Perhaps it's not quite that bad, but Automation of Income Streams reviews are not for the faint-hearted. [more]
Regional NSW funeral directors thumb their noses at new regulations
Published 9 December 2020
Recently, the NSW regulator introduced new rules about what pricing information funeral directors must publish online and display in their office. The requirement is for extensive pricing information as well as the price of the cheapest funeral package they offer. [more]
Financial outlook is bleak for many older single, childless women
Published 9 December 2020
Single older women without children face economic insecurity, University of Sydney Business School research has found.
Power of attorney protections increased in Queensland
Published 9 December 2020
Giving power of attorney to anyone means that you deeply trust that person. Queensland and Victoria ban paid carers from having power of attorney over the person they care for.
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