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Budget winners and losers
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Sydney Morning Herald
WINNERS
Pensioners:
Pensioners will receive a boost
in payments.
Single pensioners on the full
pension rate will receive an
extra $1689 a year, while
pensioner couples (combined)
will get an extra $527 a year.
This means that, from September
20 this year, single pensioners
will receive an extra $32.49 a
week. This is made up of an
extra $30 a week in the base
pension and an extra $2.49 a
week in a new fortnightly
pension supplement.
Pensioner couples will receive
an extra $10.14 a week in the
new fortnightly pension
supplement.
The Government will also
simplify the payments system.
From July 1, 2010, pensioners
will be able to access about
half of the pension supplement
on a quarterly basis and have
better access to advance pension
payments.
A new price index will be
developed for households that
rely on the pension to keep pace
with the cost of goods that
pensioners purchase. This will
be used to index pension rates
where it is higher than the
Consumer Price Index.
Carers:
The Government says it
recognises the "vital role" that
carers play in the community.
Those who receive a carer
payment will receive the pension
increases of $32.49 a week for
singles on the full pension
rate.
As well, a permanent carer
supplement of $600 a year will
be introduced for carer payment
recipients and an extra $600 a
year for carer allowance
recipients for each person in
their care.
The supplement will replace the
Government's one-off bonuses.
The first payment to carers will
be made at the end of June.
First home owners:
To support the housing market
and first home buyers, the
Government will provide $539
million over three years to
extend the First Home Owners
Boost scheme.
But the current scheme will be
wound back from October.
For first home buyers entering
into contracts between July 1,
2009, and September 30, 2009,
$7000 will continue to be
provided for the purchase of
existing homes and $14,000 for
the purchase of new homes.
Combined with the existing $7000
under the first home owners
grant, first home owners will
receive a total of $14,000 for
existing homes and $21,000 for
new homes.
But for first home buyers
entering into contracts between
October 1, 2009, and December
31, 2009, the First Home Owners
Boost scheme will provide only
$3500 for the purchase of
existing homes and $7000 for new
homes. These home buyers will
continue to receive the existing
$7000 first home owners grant.
Parents:
Paid parental leave will be
introduced from January 1, 2011,
at the federal minimum wage,
currently $543.78 a week, for up
to 18 weeks.
The scheme will cost an
estimated $730.7 million over
five years.
But parents who receive this
payment will not be eligible for
the Baby Bonus, except in cases
of multiple births where parents
will not receive the Baby Bonus
for only the first child.
Parental leave payments will be
taxable and will have an impact
on the parents' entitlement to
family assistance payments, but
will not be deemed income for
income support payments.
Parents who choose not to
receive the paid parental leave
or who do not qualify will still
receive the Baby Bonus and other
family payments.
Primary carers will be eligible
for paid parental leave if they
earn less than $150,000 in the
full financial year prior to the
birth or adoption of a child,
have worked at least 330 hours
over the 10 months preceding the
birth or adoption of a child and
have worked continuously with
one or more employers for at
least 10 of the 13 months before
the expected date of birth or
adoption.
In some cases, the paid parental
leave will be able to be
transferred to another caregiver
if the primary carer returns to
work early.
LOSERS
Private health insurance
members:
The current 30 per cent rebate
will be reduced for private
health insurance holders but
will be dropped altogether for
singles on high incomes.
From July 1, 2010, three new
private health insurance tiers
will be introduced.
The regime will remain unchanged
for singles with income of less
than $75,000 a year and families
with incomes of less than
$150,000 a year.
Tier one: For singles with
income of more than $75,000 (and
families earning more than
$150,000) the rebate will be 20
per cent, increasing to 25 per
cent at 65 years of age and to
30 per cent at 70 years. The
surcharge for not having
insurance will remain at 1 per
cent.
Tier two: For singles with
income of more than $90,000 (and
families earning more than
$180,000), the rebate will be 10
per cent, increasing to 15 per
cent at 65 years of age and to
20 per cent at 70 years. The
surcharge for not having
insurance will be increased to
1.25 per cent.
Tier three: For singles with
income of more than $120,000
(and families on more than
$240,000), no rebate will be
provided. The surcharge for not
having insurance will be
increased to 1.5 per cent.
Aged pensioners:
The Rudd Government argues that
"tough decisions" need to be
made to take into account
demographic changes impacting on
the sustainability of the
pension system.
Under the changes, the age
pension qualifying age will be
progressively increased to 67
years beginning in 2017.
The Government says that the
increasing longevity of
Australians means that "people
are receiving the age pension
for far longer periods than in
the past". |
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Aged
care will sink without help:
Libs
Monday, 13 April 2009
By Bonny Symons-Brown
Sydney Morning Herald
The Australian aged care sector
needs more federal government
funding if it's to stay afloat,
the coalition says.
Opposition spokeswoman for
ageing Margaret May said there
was little incentive to invest
in an aged care industry that
was barely turning a profit.
"Aged care providers are making
decisions not to build any
further aged care facilities
because the return on their
investment is not there," she
told AAP on Monday.
"The message I am hearing right
around the country is unless we
see more funding in aged care
we're going to have a crisis on
our hands.
"We were disappointed that in
the two stimulus packages there
was nothing for aged care.
"If the federal government
doesn't put some money in ... we
are going to hit an even bigger
crisis point with the ageing of
our population."
Mrs May's comments follow the
release of an Access Economics
report, commissioned by a
multi-denominational alliance of
eight national aged care
provider groups including
Anglicare Australia and
UnitingCare Australia, into the
daily cost of nursing home
accommodation.
The report found that new
nursing home accommodation costs
$40.32 per bed per day over 25
years to build and fit out, not
including the cost of land and
the care provided to the
resident occupying the bed.
But under the Aged Care Act, the
maximum daily accommodation
payment is $26.88, a
means-tested amount that can be
paid by the government or levied
to eligible residents to pay for
the cost of constructing more
nursing homes.
The alliance said the $13.44
shortfall between the cap and
the true cost of accommodation
is preventing the already
stretched aged care industry
from expanding and called for
Minister for Ageing Justine
Elliot to amend the law.
"Australia's aged population is
growing at a rate never seen
before, and yet it is no longer
financially viable to build new
high-care aged care facilities,"
the chief executives of the
coalition's member groups said
in a joint statement on Monday.
"There is no reason the current
government should need to defend
the previous government's flawed
funding formula.
"At the same time, we are keen
to protect the right of all
those who need it to access aged
care ... and the government must
continue to help out those who
are unable to pay."
A spokesman for Mrs Elliot said
the aged and community care
sectors would receive more than
$41 billion funding over the
next four years.
But he would not say whether
there would be any more support
for the industry in next month's
federal budget.
"We will continue to consider
proposals and ideas presented to
government of behalf of
providers and consumers, but ...
we cannot speculate on the
budget," he said. |
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Supplement for aged could reduce
falls
Monday, 13 April 2009
Sky News
Australian Researchers are
hoping a supplement which has
proven to reduce falls among
older people will soon be widely
available.
Testing has found the dairy
additive improves bone and
muscle strength, resulting in
fewer fractures.
For two years, residents at an
aged care centre in Melbourne's
Templestowe have been eating
food containing the powdered
supplement.
It contains milk minerals,
protein and vitamin D aimed at
strengthening bones and reducing
fractures.
Researcher Dr Sandra Iuliano-Burns
said the study had seen a
reduction in the number of falls
by participants.
'Those that did fall, fell fewer
times,' Dr Burns said.
'It's an opportunity to improve
the quality of life and also
hopefully reduce the burden of
falls and fractures on the
health system,' Dr Iuliano-Burns
said.
1,200 residents from 20 homes
took part in the study conducted
by The University of Melbourne
and Austin Health.
The supplement reduces levels of
a hormone which when high,
causes bones to break down
faster.
The extra vitamin D is believed
to have improved muscle function
and balance.
The findings were welcome news
for 78-year-old Mavis Liddall
who lives with the constant fear
of falling.
'I'm very concerned about
falling. I'm very concerned
about the way I walk and what I
do,' Ms Liddall said.
It is hoped that foods
containing the supplement will
eventually become available
commercially. |
Dutch aged care model to benefit
Australians
Friday, 10 April 2009
By Sharon O'Neill for The 7.30
Report
ABC News
In the heart of Bondi, the
Benevolent Society has proposed
accommodation and services for
the elderly.
In the heart of Bondi, the
Benevolent Society has proposed
accommodation and services for
the elderly. (www.flickr.com:
jonrawlinson)
By mid-century, it is likely a
quarter of the population will
be over 65.
As much as we'd all like to live
independently into old age, that
goal will be unattainable for
many people if the current
housing and care options remain
the same.
The good news is that the aged
care sector is starting to take
inspiration from a highly
successful Dutch aged care model
which lists its main aim as
happiness.
At 80, Joan Poole is in good
health and happy in her own
home.
But she also knows if her
situation changes and her health
deteriorates, she will have some
tough decisions to make
"I lived here 20 years, love the
district, but I guess the time
really is approaching when I've
got to make some provision for
older age, when I won't be as
agile as I am at present," she
said.
"This house has two steps in it.
"Two steps to get into it and
two steps within the house. Not
too good news with a broken leg
or hip. So that's one of the
considerations ... it's always
with me now."
The potential problems of aging
and accommodation that worry
Joan Poole are of paramount
concern to thousands of elderly
Australians, particularly when
they reach the stage of needing
nursing home accommodation.
Richard Spencer runs the
Benevolent Society, Australia's
oldest non-denominational
charity.
For several years, he and his
colleagues have been trying to
come up with a new concept in
lifestyle and accommodation for
older Australians, regardless of
their needs or income levels.
"What we have done in this
country is to say to people when
they need that care, they have
to leave their friends, they
have to leave their community
and they have to go to somewhere
where those services are
provided," he said.
"So we were increasingly feeling
[is] this is not the best way
for people to age well. How else
could this be done? What new
models are there?"
The Benevolent Society found
those answers from Dr Hans
Becker.
Dr Becker is chief executive
officer of the Humanitas
Foundation. He developed the
concept of apartments for life,
a form of accommodation which
allows older Dutch people to
stay living in their own homes,
no matter what level of care
they require, and with one very
specific aim.
"I know nobody who want to end
in a nursing home," he said.
"But what can you do to make it
better. And then I changed the
philosophy.
"The ultimate goal is happiness.
How can I realise that they are
happy?"
Dr Becker has just concluded a
visit to Australia, where he was
a key speaker at a retirement
communities conference.
"These are very important. If
you look out of danger, you have
other values than if you look
out of happiness."
There are 1,700 apartments for
life in Holland run by the
Humanitas Foundation, but
nowhere near enough to meet the
demand.
The apartment complexes offer
bars and restaurants, internet
cafes and remembrance museums,
especially important for
residents with dementia. But
most importantly, they offer
autonomy.
"You should be and stay the boss
of your own life, even if you
are crippled of Alzheimer, you
should be the boss of your
life," Dr Becker says.
"And for that, you need an own
apartment with a front door that
you can lock."
Joan Poole agrees people need
their independence.
"People may be old, but they're
still people," she says.
"People may even be not very
well, but they're still people
and they want to be able to say,
'I would like to do this or
that'."
Bondi life
In the heart of Bondi, the
Benevolent Society has proposed
accommodation and services for
the elderly in the area based on
Dr Becker's apartments for life.
But it won't be a gated
community, but rather a place
where everybody can come to
enjoy the facilities.
"Hans Becker has shown that just
simply having a great building
is not enough," Mr Spencer says.
"You have to have a culture
shift. You have to have this
connected to the community, so
half of the space on this site
will be open to the community."
Ms Poole is one of a number of
older residents at Bondi who is
now part of a social committee
offering input on the project to
the Benevolent Society.
Ms Poole says she got her name
on the list straight away.
"I heard someone describe them
as 'paradise by the sea'. I
think that's pretty accurate."
Heather and Bob Johnson are also
on the social committee.
The Johnsons are long-term
residents of Bondi and like many
of their friends, they don't
want to leave the area if their
health deteriorates and they
need higher levels of care.
"I thought, 'What a terrific
idea! And why hadn't someone
come up with it before? Why
hadn't I come up with it
before?" Heather Johnson says.
"You see what people are put
through, you know, the
anxieties, the emotions and this
is not just the individual, but
the relatives too.
"You know, they don't want to
lose contact with their parents
or with their family member. And
it's out of their hands. So
they're just - most people feel
they've lost control."
While leaving friends and family
is hard enough, for Ms Poole,
moving away from the local
services she has come to rely on
would also be tough.
"One of the elements that's so
important is that I will still
be able to visit my own doctor,
I know the pharmacy that I
prefer, I know the dentist I
like and they're all here," she
says.
"It's not a good thing to have
to do to leave your
environment."
In Bondi, the Benevolent
Society, like the Dutch model,
is trying to create a mixed
community, with 40 per cent of
the apartments subsidised for
those who can't afford market
prices.
"What we want to reflect on this
site is the differences within
the surrounding community," Mr
Spencer says.
"You've got people who do own a
home and who can sell and
relocate into the project. Then
we're going to have - those
people have virtually nothing.
"They will pay a proportion of
their pension."
Bob Johnson says his only
concern was the long waiting
lists.
"If it's a goer, then there are
going to be long waiting lists.
And I'm 85, so I don't want to
have to wait too long," he says. |
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Aged Care Sales Australia
Director,
Property Services
Kevin Stapleton
Director,
Corporate Services
Shane ChambersTencaten
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us today on
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517
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