Keep the change: cash must stay
Published 29 June 2020
Media reports suggest that cash has all but vanished as a method of payment but the Reserve Bank of Australia begs to differ.
Australia needs to get tough on elder abuse
Published 29 June 2020
Powers of attorney are a great tool for people's affairs to be managed, but they can and are abused as well. What to do about this?
Housing stimulus not for those who need it
Published 29 June 2020
The Government's housing stimulus package ignores the need for social and affordable housing in favour of helping home buyers and renovators, who will appreciate the extra cash, but what about the massive waiting list for social housing? [more]
The great Narromine toilet roll heist
Published 25 May 2020
In a letter to CPSA, CPSA member Bob Meadly provides an insight in how COVID-19 is lived in rural NSW and also opines that free-to-air TV these days is so bad it probably gives you dementia.
Hip, hip, hurray for the PBLCI!
Published 25 May 2020
The Pensioner Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI), used in pension indexation, has proven its worth in the March 2020 quarter once again, but pensioners haven't always be so lucky.
Dutch High Court euthanasia decision highlights Advance Care Directive conundrum
Published 25 May 2020
The aim of an Advance Care Directive is to keep control of your life when you no longer have the capacity to be in control. A decision by the highest Dutch court in a euthanasia case shows where this can lead.
The COVID-19 luck of Aussie nursing homes
Published 25 May 2020
There is plenty of evidence that shows Australian nursing homes escaped COVID-19 disaster not through planning and skill but simply because COVID-19 never took off in Australia generally.
Nothing to see here: Coronavirus in nursing homes
Published 25 May 2020
CPSA asked the NSW Health Minister for daily updates on COVID-19 in NSW nursing homes, but that would be inappropriate, says the Minister.
Good news on Home Care Packages not good enough: aged care continues to be in short supply
Published 25 May 2020
Some good news on waiting lists for Home Care Packages, but analysis reveals the misery for tens of thousands of people will continue for years to come. Aged care on the cheap and never never.
New financial planning regulator already hostage to vested interest?
Published 25 May 2020
The new Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) is supposed to clean up the financial planning industry and keep it clean, but critics of the industry are already crying foul over continuing conflicted fees and charges. [more]
Stamp duty out, land tax in: downsizing easier?
Published 25 May 2020
Stamp duty adds thousands of dollars to the cost of buying a house or apartment. Would replacing it with an annual land tax, where you pay the same but over time, make it easier to sell and buy elsewhere? Would it be helpful in downsizing? Victoria has it, the ACT is getting it, NSW is thinking about it. [more]
Newmarch House crisis must end: transfer COVID-19 positive residents to hospital
Published 7 May 2020
The only sure way of stopping new infections at Newmarch House is by transferring COVID-19 positive residents to hospital and by giving the home a deep-clean so that residents not infected can safely stay at a place that had a good reputation locally before the virus got in. [more]
Aged care watchdog asleep in its kennel
Published 28 April 2020
CPSA is calling for the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) to resume inspections of nursing homes at a time of extreme risk to the health and wellbeing of nursing home residents.
Unemployment skyrockets: what happens after the crisis?
Published 28 April 2020
UNEMPLOYMENT benefits have been more than doubled for six months, but the Government is adamant they will return to Scrooge proportions after that. What should really happen in six months' time?
Reverse mortgages no longer for spending the kids’ inheritance
Published 28 April 2020
THE Banking Royal Commission continues to do good. From 1 July 2020, reverse mortgages will have to be marketed responsibly and ethically. Whether the best-interest test will weed out any remaining spivs is debatable, but the regulation of home equity release will certainly improve. [more]
Coronavirus: Tips for those receiving home care
Published 28 April 2020
IF you receive home care, it is important to be aware of how the staff coming to your house deal with the coronavirus infection risk.
Taking super out early, a good idea?
Published 28 April 2020
THE demands and pressures of the here and now may seem, and perhaps are more pressing than those of a distant future, but leaving your super alone if you can is the best strategy.
Where there’s a way there can be a will
Published 28 April 2020
IT'S not advisable but you can record your last will in many peculiar ways without it becoming invalid.
Hibernating aged care watchdog needs to wake up: pensioners
Published 16 April 2020
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has suspended its regular compliance monitoring of nursing homes, replacing it with a ‘risk-based approach’, which appears to depend heavily on telephone contact and contact via Skype and Zoom with nursing homes. [more]
Two-off pension boost, Newstart to double
Published 24 March 2020
A quick guide for pensioners and self-funded retirees to the Australian Government's stimulus measures announced in March 2020.
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