Submission to IPART Max Opal Fares 2020 Draft Report
Published 31 January 2020
This submission provides recommendations that address the maximisation of community benefits and the affordability of fares, both of which have been identified as objectives of IPART’s draft recommendations.
Turning nursing homes into tourist traps – Submission to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety
Published 17 December 2019
Additional services are top-ups of the standard services provided in residential aged care services. User-pays applies, with fees and compound interest very commonly accrued against residents’ nursing home bonds. At 30 June 2018, the overall pool of money comprising refundable accommodation deposits stood at $27. [more]
Submission on public consultation draft for the Financial Services (Improved Consumer Protection) (No. 1) Regulations 2019: funeral expenses facilities
Published 23 October 2019
CPSA welcomes the changes to funeral expenses policies. Stricter regulation as recommended by the Banking Royal Commission will assist in preventing consumers being ripped off when purchasing insurance policies to fund funerals. However, CPSA challenges the Government to go further and abolish these predatory insurance policies that thrive on vulnerable people and grieving families. [more]
Submission on public consultation draft for the Financial Services (Improved Consumer Protection) (No. 1) Regulations 2019: funeral expenses facilities
Published 11 October 2019
CPSA supports of the Financial Services (Improved Consumer Protection) (No. 1) Regulations 2019: funeral expenses facilities, which removes the exemption for funeral insurance products from the definition of a financial product and ensures the consumer protection provisions of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 apply to these products. [more]
Submission to the Inquiry into the adequacy of Newstart and related payments and alternative mechanisms to determine the level of income support payments in Australia
Published 12 September 2019
The Newstart Allowance can no longer deliver the best means of support to Australians who need assistance the most. Newstart has not been increased in real terms for a quarter of a century and it shows.Newstart is no longer a safety net, but rather a thin cushion to soften the crash into poverty Australians on Newstart experience. [more]
Submission to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety: The Family Home and Aged Care Funding
Published 10 September 2019
The family home is seen by diverse campaigns as an obvious, and in the minds of some campaigners, magic-pudding type of funding source. Their proposals invariably involve some form of home equity release through lending. This submission sets out to show that not only is home equity release on the scale required to contribute meaningfully to the sourcing of aged care funding financially risky in the extreme, it also is unable to contribute very much at all, really. [more]
Submission to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety Revocation of accreditation: What if the approved provider just shrugs?
Published 29 August 2019
What's the bet it won't happen? At the time of writing, the Bupa Eden nursing home had just been re-accredited on the day it was set to lose its accreditation. Two further Bupa homes faced loss of accreditation. Bupa Traralgon will lose its accreditation on 14 September 2019. [more]
Submission to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety Staffing levels and a new residential aged care funding model
Published 23 August 2019
In this brief submission, CPSA offers an analysis of the nursing home staffing levels debate within the context of the impending implementation of the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) as a replacement for the current Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI). [more]
Submission: CPSA’s Response to the Draft Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019
Published 1 August 2019
Currently around one-third of private dwellings in NSW are rented. In the past, renters were primarily young people who rented for only a short time. However, more people are now renting for longer and families and older people are making up a larger portion of tenants. [more]
Submission: Draft Fair Trading Regulation 2019 – Funeral Information Standard
Published 29 July 2019
The existing NSW Fair Trading Regulation 2012 is due for automatic repeal on 1 September 2019. The Government is proposing to remake the Regulation with some changes. Among other things, the new Regulation will provide information standards relating to funeral service providers. [more]
Response to Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s issues paper on Review of Opal fares from 1 July 2020
Published 14 June 2019
CPSA’s primary concern is the affordability and usefulness of public transport to its constituents: people receiving a pension-type payment
Response to Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s issues paper on Review of interment costs and pricing
Published 7 June 2019
In 2013, which much pomp, the NSW Government established the Cemeteries and Crematoria Authority to deal with the shortage of burial plots in Sydney. The main remedy it offered at the time was renewable-tenure burial plots. These are plots that will accommodate remains for a period of 25 years. [more]
Response to NSW Department of Fair Trading’s consultation paper on Rules of Conduct for Operators of Retirement Villages – Retirement Villages Amendment Regulation 2019
Published 7 June 2019
CPSA’s submission focusses on the impact of the shift from residential aged care services to in-home care services under way in Australia on the operations of retirement villages.
Response to Department of Health’s Proposal for a new residential aged care funding model – consultation paper
Published 31 May 2019
CPSA is concerned that the proposed model, the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC), has been developed on the basis of care practices funded and shaped by the current Aged Care Funding Instrument, which may compromise the effectiveness of AN-ACC. [more]
Response to The Treasury’s Retirement Income Disclosure Consultation Paper
Published 28 March 2019
Building on the release of the Retirement Income Covenant position paper in May 2018, Government is seeking views on the disclosure fact sheet for retirement income products. Its consultation paper proposes a standardised, simplified document that outlines key metrics and features to help consumers compare different retirement income products. [more]
Review of the Social Security Commission Bill 2018
Published 1 March 2019
Submission to the House Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs
Witness Statement to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety
Published 7 February 2019
On 12 February 2019, CPSA's Policy Manager Paul Versteege gave evidence to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. A transcript of this evidence is available on the Royal Commission's website. Paul Versteege's evidence was based on a witness statement provided to the Royal Commission. [more]
CPSA’s response – Draft Older Persons Transport and Mobility Plan 2018–2022
Published 24 January 2019
CPSA welcomes the draft plan, noting that it is thorough and attempts to address a range of issues of concern for older people using transport in NSW. However, there are two major areas of concern that CPSA believes were not adequately addressed in the plan. [more]
Pre-Budget Submission 2019
Published 20 January 2019
CPSA welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the 2019 Budget and would like to highlight the following federal budget priorities it has identified in the areas of aged care, social services and health.
Submission to the Financial Services Royal Commission – Interim Report
Published 26 October 2018
CPSA welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Financial Services Royal Commission’s Interim Report. In this submission, CPSA will confine itself to commenting on issues related to the provision of financial advice. CPSA’s comments are in response to the questions listed at the end of the financial advice section in the Commissioner’s interim report. [more]