Senior Australian news and research
The Federal Government’s reforms to make private health insurance simpler and more affordable have delivered an average premium increase of 3.25 per cent from 1 April 2019. The premium change will see a single person pay an average of $59.28 more per year and a family on average will pay $122.20 more per year. The…
The 2018 Seniors Card Discount Directory, Your Lifestyle Guide, is now available for South Australian Seniors Card members. Close to 700 businesses are offering more than 370,000 Seniors Card members a range of discounts and offers that are listed in the easy-to-read guide. Seniors Card members can pick up a copy from one of hundreds of…
The Australian government is to enact legislation to create an Australian Veterans’ Card and an Australian Veterans’ Lapel Pin to permit businesses to offer discounts to veterans. The Government will develop an Australian Veterans’ Covenant in legislation so the nation can recognise the unique nature of military service and support veterans and their families. Like…
The Medicare levy low income thresholds for singles, families, seniors and pensioners has increased so that they will continue to be exempt from the levy. One million people are expected to benefit from lifting the Medicare levy low-income thresholds for the 2017-18 income year. Around 70,000 individuals are estimated to not have to pay the Medicare…
Dramatic policy changes deemed by the Commonwealth Ombudsman to have been ‘poorly communicated’ have left Bupa customers with no choice but to consider their private health insurance options, the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists warned. The warning comes following the release of The Commonwealth Ombudsman’s June 2018 report into Bupa’s planned hospital policy changes, which are…
All Victorian households will receive a $50 bonus if they seek out a better electricity deal on Victoria’s Energy Compare website, potentially saving them additional hundreds of dollars. The Victorian Budget 2018/19 will allocate $48 million in the Power Saving Bonus – which is aimed directly at getting Victorian families a better deal from power…
The Federal Department of Health has worked with the aged care sector to develop the draft Aged Care Quality Standards which have now been released. A single set of quality standards is a key deliverable of the Single Aged Care Quality Framework. The Aged Care Quality Standards will apply to all aged care services and…
Queenslanders are being encouraged to check their eligibility to a range of concessions and rebates, including the increased $340.85 annual electricity bill rebate. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Government had budgeted for $5.3 billion for concessions and rebates for Queenslanders, including for energy, water, seniors, transport, health, education disability, housing and training. This is equivalent…
Treasurer and Acting Minister for Energy Curtis Pitt is encouraging eligible Queenslanders to make full use of the many concessions and rebates on offer to help with cost-of-living pressures. Mr Pitt said in response to cost of living pressures and the Queensland Productivity Commission’s (QPC) findings, an additional $170 million was allocated in April to…
The Federal Government is reforming the way it manages Urgent Payments to break the cycle of debt and better support welfare recipients who find themselves under financial stress. Urgent Payments are not additional payments. They bring forward part of a person’s regular welfare payment to meet an urgent expense, leaving less for regular expenses on…
