Death waits for no one except IPART
Published 28 May 2019
The NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) is looking at the pricing of interment and cremation when what matters to people who buy funerals is in the overall pricing of funerals.
Pensioner cost of living up more than rest of country
Published 28 May 2019
FROM 1 January to 31 March 2019 the cost of living for Age Pensioners went up by a third of a per cent. Compensation in the form of indexation will not occur until September 2019.
Can Australia afford the boomers?
Published 28 May 2019
CAN Australia afford babyboomer Australians? That‘s the question the Parliamentary Budget Office, or PBO, tries to answer in a report recently published.
Bring out the blunt instrument!
Published 23 April 2019
THE Aged Care Royal Commission heard evidence from a number of systemic advocacy organisations. Counsel Assisting quizzed them on nursing home staffing. Apart from CPSA, their response was that mandatory staff-to-residents ratios in nursing homes would be too hard, too blunt an instrument. [more]
Aged Care Charter of Rights, a beautiful fantasy
Published 23 April 2019
THERE has been a lot to do about the new aged care Charter of Rights. This new Charter will cover people receiving care both in nursing homes and at home. Each care recipient must be given a copy of the Charter of Rights and this copy must be personally signed by the aged care provider who provides them with care. [more]
16,000 died waiting for a Home Care Package: Royal Commission
Published 23 April 2019
THE Aged Care Royal Commission has finished its second hearing. This hearing was about aged care at home, which means Home Care Packages (HCPs) and the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP). The Commission examined My Aged Care, the HCP waiting list, HCP fees and charges and the home care workforce. [more]
Energy: One-offs don’t solve entrenched problems
Published 23 April 2019
THE Australian Government announced a one-off Energy Assistance Payment to all pension recipients living in Australia on 2 April 2019.
Over-55s on Newstart: Career Transition Assistance
Published 23 April 2019
THE April Budget ignored them and the Response to the Budget ignored them. During the election campaign neither the Opposition nor the Government will want to talk about them.
The painful consequences of no universal dental care
Published 23 April 2019
EXISTING Australian public dental schemes are inadequate, uncoordinated, and inequitable. Unlike what happens when you visit your GP, Medicare does not pick up any of the bill for a trip to the dentist, leaving Australians largely out of pocket. [more]
My Health Record and Advance Care Directives
Published 23 April 2019
THE decision to sign up for My Health Record is a personal one, but if you have decided to sign up, you should make sure that your Advance Care Directive is included in your My Health Record.
NSW State Election 2019: now for keeping those promises
Published 23 April 2019
The NSW Liberal/National Coalition Government was returned on 29 March 2019 for a third four-year term. During the election campaign, the NSW Government made a number of promises directly affecting the lives of older people in NSW. [more]
Federal election 2019: affordable housing
Published 23 April 2019
THE federal election is coming up, so what are the major federal political parties promising to make housing affordable?
Abuse of older people: a national plan
Published 23 April 2019
ON 19 March 2019, the Federal Government announced the National Plan to Respond to the Abuse of Older Australians. The plan aims to combat abuse and assist older people who experience emotional, physical, or financial vulnerabilities. [more]
Cuts to NDIS and calls for Royal Commissioners to step down
Published 23 April 2019
THE Federal Budget announcement on 2 April 2019, presented a $7.1 billion surplus to be delivered by the next financial year. This projected surplus is possible in part due to a $3 billion cut to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). [more]
ACCC shows Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission the way on BUPA
Published 16 April 2019
“The spanking new Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has been shown up for what it is: an already tired re-iteration of its predecessor the Aged Care Quality Accreditation Agency and a watchdog lacking teeth and growl”, said Paul Versteege, Policy Manager for the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association (CPSA). [more]
Budget reply fails 185,000 Clayton’s Age Pensioners
Published 5 April 2019
“While there were many good things in the Opposition’s Budget reply speech, it failed to say anything meaningful about Newstart, the Clayton’s Age Pension, which is the 60% pension you get when you don’t get a pension”, said Paul Versteege, Policy Manager for the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association. [more]
Budget right of reply must address: Newstart, Aged Care, Public Dental, Affordable Housing
Published 4 April 2019
“There are encouraging reports about the federal opposition committing to increased health funding, but simply increasing funding for Medicare is not enough”, said Paul Versteege, Policy Manager for the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association. [more]
Budget 2019: When a tax cut is the unkindest cut of all
Published 2 April 2019
“A one-off Energy Assistance Payment is about the only thing that pensioners and carers take away from a Budget that ignores the aged care, the inadequacy of Newstart, the lack of a decent national public dental scheme and the urgent need for affordable housing to be addressed at a national level”, said Paul Versteege, Policy Manager for the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association. [more]
Bathurst: a tale of two bullets
Published 19 March 2019
BATHURST CPSA and the Bathurst community scored a big win on 21 October 2012 when the first Bathurst Bullet left Bathurst Station for Sydney Central Railway, but the story does not end there. Bathurst has continued to lobby and now a second Bathurst Bullet has been announced. [more]
Pension news: older Aussies on Newstart once again the losers
Published 19 March 2019
AS a result of indexation, pension payments including the Age Pension, the Disability Support Pension and the Carer Payment have increased by $9.90 a fortnight to $926.20 for singles, and by $14.80 a fortnight to $1,396.20 for couples. [more]
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