As Australians live longer, many older adults are looking for housing that supports a comfortable and connected lifestyle. Two of the most popular choices are retirement villages and land lease communities. Each offers its own mix of costs, benefits, and lifestyle perks. Retirement villages Retirement villages are designed for people aged 55 and over who...

When someone passes away without a valid will, this is known as intestacy. In this situation, the law in each state and territory sets out a formula for how your estate is divided. These rules often follow a standard order – spouse first, then children, then other relatives, but they may not align with what...

Many Australians are finding themselves part of the “sandwich generation” – adults who are juggling the demands of raising their own children while also caring for ageing parents. It’s a tough spot to be in, emotionally and financially. Whether you’re still working and trying to build your own wealth, or you’ve recently retired and expected...

Government concession cards, including the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card and state-based Seniors Cards provide significant savings. These cards help you reduce costs on healthcare, prescriptions, and daily expenses, making life more affordable. Federal Government Concession Cards These cards offer lower prescription costs of $7.70 compared to the general rate...

Last year, new Aged Care legislation was enacted aiming to improve aged care quality and sustainability. The changes were originally set for 1 July 2025 but will now start on 1 November 2025. Here’s a look at the main changes and what they mean for older Australians. The reforms aim to strengthen the aged care...

The ability for life insurers to discriminate based on adverse predictive genetic test results will be banned under a new Government proposal. Predictive genetic tests detect gene variants associated with heritable disorders that appear after birth, often later in life, but are not clinically detectable at the time of testing. To overcome concerns about discrimination...

New nationwide research released by ASIC’s Moneysmart reveals that 47% of Australian adults with debt, the equivalent of 5.8 million people, have struggled to make repayments in the last 12 months. Alarmingly, the research revealed that more than half surveyed, said they are not aware that they are entitled to ask their bank or lender...

Not so many years ago a new scheme was introduced which also established a national register that could affect anyone who answers “yes” to any of the following scenarios — are you in business, and do you: sell goods on retention of title terms? hire, rent or lease out goods? buy or sell valuable second-hand...

Did you know that dementia is the second leading cause of death of all Australians[1] with data indicating that it will likely soon be the leading cause of death? It’s a scary thought but at some point in the future, you may not have capacity to make important legal or medical decisions. This article summarises what you...

Following a recent cyber-attack, Optus customers are advised they could be at risk of identity theft. While Optus has not yet revealed how many of its 9.7million customers were impacted, they did confirm that the number was “significant”. Importantly, the breach has affected past Optus customers back to 2017, as well as current customers. Customers...