Valuing older Australians, Strategic Ageing

Valuing older Australians: summary

SUMMARY

Valuing older Australians: 1999-2000 Federal Budget submission
Strategic Ageing vol.7/99

The 1999 International Year of Older Persons has been initiated by the United Nations to tackle emerging issues relating to ageing populations around the world. It aims to set in train policies, programs and processes within national governments and communities to achieve the key goals outlined in the United Nations Principles for Older Persons:

• Independence: access to the necessities of life, employment and education, safe, adaptable environments and the capacity to stay at home as long as possible.

• Participation: integration into society, opportunities for service to the community, and representation in older persons' organisations.

• Care: adequate care and protection within families and communities, access to health care services including preventive services, access to social and legal services, appropriate institutional care as needed, human rights and fundamental freedoms under all circumstances.

• Self-fulfilment: full development of potential and access to educational, cultural, spiritual and recreational resources of society

• Dignity: living with dignity and security, free of exploitation and abuse and fair treatment regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, economic status or any other factor.

This submission outlines a series of recommendations which COTA believes would establish a solid base for the Government to achieve these goals in coming years.

COTA's priority recommendations for the Government in the 1999-2000 Budget are:

Community Care: increase funding for Home and Community Care (HACC) to a growth rate of 10 per cent per year; move towards needs based funding in the long term; establish a working group to assess HACC funding needs; set limits on individual's copayments for HACC services; examine the problems of community transport within HACC; establish a $29 million fund for care coordination in HACC regions.

Residential aged care: commitment of funds to aid further restructuring; address anomalies and inequities relating to fees, charges and capital funding; increase the residual assets limit for people going into residential care; provide funding for a national web site directory on residential aged care facilities.

Care and special care needs: increase funding for Carers Respite Centres and HACC respite services; additional funding through HACC to provide additional support services in households where there is a carer of a frail elderly or disabled person; funding for the raining of carers of people with Alzheimer's disease.

Health financing: retain Medicare as a health scheme that all Australians use; establish targets and evaluate the impact of the private health insurance rebate; set in place a reform process for the private health insurance industry; establish a forum for consumers to have a greater say in health policy.

Health care services: investigate early discharge practices in public hospitals; develop better convalescent arrangements for older people; improve access to palliative care; focus on preventive health and health promotion strategies.

Pharmaceuticals: fund education of the public, doctors and pharmacists as a key strategy to contain expenditure on PBS; assist older people on the full Age Pension with costs of medicines resulting from price increases in prescription and non-prescription medicines; fund peer education to promote wise use of medicines amongst older people; and provide resources to keep older people informed about pharmaceutical brand choice.

Dental care: establish a national dental health policy with Commonwealth funding of around $120 million per year with a focus on preventive dental health strategies and special needs groups.

Older Aboriginal Australians: the National Strategy for an Ageing Australia include a Strategy for Ageing in Aboriginal communities; expand geographically accessible and culturally appropriate health services, community services and residential aged care; ensure Aboriginal communities have access to mainstream services staffed by people with cultural awareness skills; assist older Aboriginal carers with income and services

Retirement incomes: review position of full Age Pensioners with no other sources of income and consider periodic supplementation; review the adequacy of compensation for GST for Age Pensioners; increase the benchmark for the Age Pension to 26 per cent of Male Total Average Weekly Earnings to compensate for the GST; establish a home equity conversion program; review Australia's retirement incomes system.

Pre-retirement incomes: assist older people to maximise their pre retirement incomes; annualise earned income from casual employment for the Centrelink income test; abolish asset testing of the superannuation of unemployed people over 55; increase rates of Newstart for unemployed people and ease liquid assets test and waiting periods; expand eligibility for the Pension Bonus Scheme.

Employment issues for older people: foster positive attitudes towards older workers and counter age discrimination; establish a specific employment program for older people, address employment as a key to economic security in the National Strategy for an Ageing Australia; open up opportunities for life-long learning and remove impediments to adult education and retraining; focus on information technology skills for people over 45.

Housing: protect older people in private and public rental accommodation from flow-on effects of the GST; increase public housing stock and upgrade existing stock as part of the Commonwealth State Housing Agreement; continue to provide capital funding for the Community Housing Program; support the work of organisations providing housing choices to disadvantaged older people; older people on the full Age Pension in private rental accommodation should be able to access good quality public and community housing; fund housing relocation services for older people who wish or need to move; establish a home equity conversion scheme.

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Council on the Ageing (Australia)
Level 2, 3 Bowen Crescent, Melbourne Vic 3004
Tel (03) 9820 2655 Fax (03) 9820 9886
email cota@cota.org.au