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]
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]
Ring, ring, why don’t you give me a call?
Published 19 March 2019
EVERYBODY remembers the old ABBA song asking that question and THE VOICE can finally reveal why that call is not being made now that your home phone is going through the NBN.
Generic medications shortage
Published 19 March 2019
HAVE you been to the chemist lately and been told that your usual generic, cheaper prescriptions are not available and that you will need to shell out for brand prescriptions?
Palliative care boost for NSW
Published 19 March 2019
THE National Palliative Care Strategy 2018 has been launched for implementation over a five-year period. All Australian Health Ministers have signed the Strategy, but how worthwhile is it.
Hospital waiting lists not getting better
Published 19 March 2019
ACCORDING to an annual report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in 2017–18 about 874,000 patients joined the public hospital elective surgery waiting lists. This was just under one per cent higher than the previous year, which doesn't sound like much but which masks some pretty horrible facts. [more]
Aged care planning gone mad
Published 19 March 2019
There are just over 207,000 nursing home places in Australia, but only 187,000 of those places are filled, 20,000 are vacant. The nursing home occupancy rate is in free-fall. It’s just over 90 per cent when it used to be 98 per cent. [more]
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