News & Issues

A year-long campaign by a local seniors’ advocate has spurred the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Council to lobby the Federal Government on the aged care services it is able to provide.

UnitingCare Queensland has become the first non-Catholic aged care organisation to join Catholic Health Australia, which is the country’s largest non-Government provider group for health, community and aged care.

A shuttered aged care home in South Australia will receive a new lease on life, with its owners repurposing it to provide temporary accommodation for NDIS participants transitioning out of hospital.

There’s a new name for a prominent aged care legal advocacy group, with Aged-care Legal Advocacy & Reform Matter (ALARM) revealing its new, snappier branding: Aged Care Justice.

Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia has released its policy agenda for the next Federal Parliament, with tackling ageism and elder abuse high on the list of priorities. The peak body and advocate for older Australians set out 12 public policy areas and 37 recommendations for the 47th Parliament following next month’s Federal Election, with the agenda available to view online. According to Chief Executive Ian Yates AM (pictured), the next Government and Parliament will have the opportunity to improve the lives of older Australians. “We are not apportioning blame for the past.

BaptistCare NSW has celebrated hitting $255,000 in its flood appeal – more than double its initial $100,000 goal. Around 40 local NSW Northern Rivers-based staff members have received $5000 each in gifts and grants to help them rebuild their lives, with other money going to emergency response and relief efforts. BaptistCare CEO Charles Moore said that efforts are ongoing to distribute funds raised to affected residents, clients, tenants and staff.

Kiama Municipal Council’s Blue Haven aged care business, including its Bonaira retirement village, is staying in Council hands after it overturned its own decision to sell the business off. Though the business on the NSW South Coast was labelled “financially unviable”, Council took the 5-4 decision in an extraordinary general meeting not to sell the 134-bed residential aged care home and 259 independent living units, as well as Blue Haven’s home care services, in the face of community opposition.

The National Aged Care Advisory Council will have a new voice to support First Nations aged care with the addition of Yugambeh woman and care expert Jody Currie.

Aged Care Employee Day is only a month away, which means it’s time to start thinking about – and thanking – the hard-working people who look after older Australians. The fourth annual Aged Care Employee Day, an initiative of the Aged & Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA), falls on Sunday 7 August this year, and ACCPA Interim CEO Paul Sadler says that “superhero” workers have gone above and beyond the call of duty in dealing with floods and the continuing coronavirus threat.

The Federal Government will invest millions into helping First Nations Elders access aged care, with $106 million to provide face-to-face support and $115 million to build culturally safe aged care facilities over four years.

Labor has promised $6.1 million to Sri Om Care, an aged care provider focused on the South Asian community, as part of a push for more culturally sensitive aged care should it win Saturday’s election. The ALP’s candidate for Parramatta, Andrew Charlton (pictured right, image from Fiji Times), made the announcement at an event in western Sydney; the money would go to supporting Indian and Hindu seniors in aged care as well as building up Sri Om’s assisted living services.

A Victorian state MP has called for more funding to upgrade the outdated Numurkah Pioneers Memorial Lodge aged care home in northern Victoria. Located 40km north of Shepparton and built in 1976, the home has 34 permanent beds, as well as two respite care beds and two transitional care beds, in individual ensuite rooms.

Palm Lake Care is shutting down its Redland Bay aged care home in Brisbane, with plans to demolish it and build residential apartments on the site.

RSL LifeCare temporarily closes beds in Merimbula, NSW

South Australian Senator Anne Ruston will be Australia’s next health minister if the Coalition is returned at the May 21 Federal Election. Senator Ruston, currently Minister for Families and Social Services and Women’s Safety, will replace retiring Health Minister Greg Hunt in the health portfolio in the event of a Coalition victory. Ms Ruston praised Mr Hunt’s work as Health Minister, and promised to prioritise regional health should she succeed him. “It is an absolute honour to be named the next health minister should the Australian public honour us with returning us to government.

A recent study by Carers Queensland has found 59 per cent provided more than 12 hours of care a day. Nearly half said they worked 120 hours or more a week. To put that figure in perspective, the average full-time Australian worker puts in 40 hours a week. The ‘Quality of Life’ study surveyed 494 respondents and revealed why many of our unpaid carers are at breaking point. It’s a figure that will only increase too, with the number of unpaid carers – including sandwich carers, people caring for more than one person across two generations – predicted to rise dramatically in coming years.

Aged care provider splashes $14 million at Brunswick in Melbourne The anonymous provider beat off rival offers from another operator and an Asian developer to secure the 5200m2 site on the corner of Brunswick Rd and Barkly Street. They are just one of a number of aged care providers looking to build in Melbourne’s waterside and eastern suburbs. Bupa recently paid $23 million for the empty Oakleigh South primary school in Beryl Road.

The Sheriff’s Court ordered the auction of Trevor Sampson’s Clovelly Park house after he didn’t pay a $17,370 debt owed to Allity, owners of the Somerton Lodge aged care home (nursing home) where he resides. Mr Sampson, a paraplegic, says he cannot pay the debt because he is broke after trying to make his house wheelchair-accessible. Despite this, he still paid $10,000 of the debt in May. The Aged Care Act lets provider find “suitable alternative accommodation” for residents who have unpaid fees of 42 days or more.

Aged service group calls for a comprehensive review of aged care funding Aged & Community Services Australia (ACSA) is calling for any review of the $1.2 billion in cuts to the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) to be comprehensive rather than quick, following the collapse of a Senate vote for an inquiry by the Greens and the Xenophon team. The Labor Opposition announced in September they would introduce a private member’s bill into Parliament to look at aged care funding.

“Am I just a nurse?” – Australian nurse’s powerful Facebook post goes viral Caitlin Brassington, 38, a registered nurse from Toowoomba has made headlines around the world after posting a moving open letter on Facebook. Stopping at a shop in her scrubs after work, she had run into an old acquaintance who had never seen her in uniform and said she didn’t realise she was “just a nurse”. “Wow! Over my 18 year career I have heard this phrase many, many times, but today it got to me. Am I just a nurse?” she wrote.

Apartment building to drop by half by 2020 The housing boom is over, with construction of apartments set to plunge by 50 per cent in the next four years, based on a new report from economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel. The Building in Australia 2016-2031 study shows multi-residential buildings will fall from around 107,000 a year currently to just 53,800 by 2019-20. Its Associate Director Dr. Kim Hawtrey blames a backlog of housing completions and declining population growth for the expected over-supply after building peaked at an “improbable” 220,100 new dwellings in 2015/16.

Banksia Village Business Profile Set in the heart of Broulee on NSW’s pristine south coast, Banksia Village offers an ideal opportunity for a secure and rewarding lifestyle, close to both river and the sea. A fully accredited aged care facility, Banksia Village offers a complete range of retirement living and aged care services, from independent living villas for people over

Brisbane Council faces backlash over incentives to solve impending seniors’ housing crisis Lord Mayor Graham Quirk revealed the plan to boost the number of retirement village and aged care homes (nursing homes) in the Brisbane area this week. The package includes cutting infrastructure charges for aged care units by 33% for three years. That’s a big decrease, from $8,000 down

Former nursing home employee Garry Steven Davis had pleaded not guilty to murdering two residents and attempting to kill another, but has been found guilty after a four-week trial. Davis, 29, a team leader at the SummitCare nursing home in the Newcastle suburb of Wallsend had been trusted to care for the residents, but instead was accused of injecting them with large doses of insulin over two days in October 2013. As a result, residents Gwen Fowler, 83, and Ryan Kelly, 80, died. Audrey Manuel, 91, recovered from her overdose, but has since died from unrelated causes.

Is our PM a “stingy” man? Graham Long, pastor of Wayside Chapel, says no Malcolm Turnbull came under fire on social media recently after pictures surfaced of him giving $5 to a homeless man in Melbourne. The PM was widely criticised for being “stingy”, especially considering he was captured holding a money clip in the other hand.

Over 30 per cent of nurses planning to leave the profession in the next 12 months – how will this affect our aged care system? A survey of nurses and midwives[1] just released by the Monash University has found over 30 per cent of respondents were “likely or “very likely” to leave the job within the next year. It sound much more likely than earlier figures that have estimated the turnover rate in nursing at three to six per cent every year.

Private health cover costs have risen 35 per cent since 2010 – are consumers being ripped off? That’s well above the inflation rate. Australians paid a massive $22 billion in premiums over the last financial year. In the latest rate rise approved by the Federal Government back in April, that figure increased by another 5.59% – for the average family, that works out to an extra $200 a year they need to pay. However, average household income grew by just 1.8 per cent during the same time. We’re also getting less return for our hard-earned dollars too.

The Australian Taxation Office has come out in top in the continuing battle over whether retirement village developers can claim the 10 per cent GST on their costs, the same as normal housing. Last week, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Brisbane found the case in favour of the Tax Office, but developers are certain to appeal the decision in the Federal Court. While Not For Profits developers can recover the money spent on projects, private developers can’t which put them at a disadvantage according to Matthew Cridland, the head of GST in Australia for law firm, DLA Piper (pictured).

Second jury dismissed in case of NSW aged care nurse accused of murder The trial of Megan Haines, 49, who is accused of murdering two women at a north coast nursing home, has been shifted to Sydney for a third trial after the first two juries were dismissed. It’s alleged the nurse gave lethal insulin injections to 82-year-old Marie Darragh and 77-year-old Isabella Spencer at the St Andrews aged care centre at Ballina in May 2014.

WA Labor announces policy to free up government buildings and land for nursing homes The Opposition says the plan will fast-track new facilities by converting existing government buildings and land into nursing homes if it wins next year’s election in March. The Opposition leader Mark McGowan (pictured) has also vowed to reduce red tape for developers, saying they were being put off by the regulations under local government planning schemes.

Some surgeons are hitting patients with thousands of dollars in fees while others charge nothing – why is the gap so wide? Australians pay more for medical procedures like prostate surgery, heart bypasses and hip and knee replacements than the US and Europe[1]. There are also huge variations between states. In the ACT, patients had out-of-pocket costs of $2802 for endoscopic prostate procedures – in South Australia it was only $183. A number of recent reports highlight the discrepancies in specialists’ fees.

Nearly three-quarters of all Australians are willing to sacrifice their own inheritance so their parents and grandparents can enjoy the retirement they deserve, according to a new report by B2B aged care service CompliSpace.

It is only May, but already $88.7 million has been stolen from people through investment scams, by far the most popular form of theft.

On 1 July, there will be changes to the aged pension system that directly impacts individuals aged 60 and above. The pension rate remains the same, but the thresholds that determine how much pension is paid have been adjusted to cover for the rate of inflation, now 7%.

Making the decision to place an ageing parent into residential care because they can no longer live independently at home is not an easy one – and is often complicated by the finances involved. It’s a good idea to consider obtaining financial advice – here, we share a case study where the family saved thousands of dollars, but only after seeking professional help.

The Federal Government’s Aged Care Taskforce is currently reviewing funding arrangements for aged care and developing options for a better system – and they want your help.

You may now be eligible after increases to the income threshold for the Card, which can save couples up to $4,000 a year on health costs. The income threshold for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, which was indexed in line with inflation on 20 September, sees the threshold for singles rise to $95,400 from $90,000, and to $152,640 for couples, from $144,000.

When it comes to aged care planning, it's not only the emotional toll that families have to confront but also a maze of financial complexities. In a recent case, a family found this out the hard way

The latest assurance review of the Home Care Packages Program and the Pricing Transparency on the Government’s My Aged Care portal is advising existing or potential care recipients to carefully check pricing information on its website.

At AgedCare101, there’s a question that we are asked more than any other: "Do we have to sell our family home to enter aged care?" The second most-asked question is: “Will the family home be counted in the means test for aged care?”

If your ageing loved ones, be they your parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles, are becoming frailer in their mental and physical health, perhaps it is time over the holiday period to discuss their future needs.

Federal Government is planning for the new Aged Care Act to come into force on 1 July 2024. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety found that the current Aged Care Act is no longer fit for purpose.

The ride service, popular with young professionals, has launched a phone-booking facility designed to attract more older people.

It turns out our bee industry is the only one worldwide that hasn’t been hit by the varroa mite, which has killed masses of colonies in the US and Europe.

The Department of Health and Aged Care has announced that it wants people in residential aged care, Home Care Package recipients, the carers, and their families to give their feedback on:

With residential aged care beds already beyond a scarcity in the NSW Illawarra region, and the situation likely to be replicated across the nation in the future with more than one in four people aged over 65 in two years’ time, new or forgotten initiatives must be brought out.

Perri Waddell has dedicated her career to aged care, to personally building her knowledge and experience, to providing excellent care to her residents, and to training and coaching others.

The peak body for residential aged care operators will hold an annual Aged Care Employees Day on Wednesday 7 August, which will feature for the first time Excellence Awards.

The fourth annual event by peak body Aged & Community Care Providers Australia recognising the caring and professional work of over 280,000 aged care staff was held across the country on Wednesday.

To help offset the rising cost of living, the Age Pension will rise when the latest indexation takes effect on 20 September 2024.

Paula Duncan, who is perhaps best known in the role of Detective Danni Francis in ‘Cop Shop’ (1977-83), celebrated her 72nd birthday in September.

Anyone who watched the opening episode of Maggie Beer’s Big Mission on ABC, will remember how she recoiled in disgust when she first tasted the lunch food being served to residents at Meath Care's Dr Mary Surveyor Centre in Kingsley, 20km from Perth, Western Australia.

Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells (left) and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announce the Government’s aged care reforms package on 12 September 2024. Credit: Anika Wells’ Facebook

The Government has laid out a 10-year plan designed to increase dementia awareness, reduce the population’s risk of dementia, and drive better coordinated dementia services.

Intergenerational programs can bridge the gap between generations, fostering mutual understanding and respect.

With the new Act to start on 1 July 2025, the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) will conduct a free one-hour webinar detailing how it may affect stakeholders.