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COTA seeks Agenda for Ageing in Victoria
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COTA Victoria recently led an alliance of 17 organisations at State Parliament, calling on the Victorian Government to develop a state-wide, bi-partisan strategy for ageing that includes all spheres of government.
The Minister for Disability & Ageing Martin Foley MP welcomed guests, before being joined by notable speakers, including the Age Discrimination Commissioner Dr Kay Patterson AO and former Deputy Prime Minister, Hon Professor Brian Howe AO.
The launch included a panel discussion to hear about the experiences of ageing from community activist Merle Mitchell AM, ageing activist Laura May and the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria’s Marion Lau, facilitated by COTA CEO Ronda Held.
For more information visit COTA Victoria website.
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Death of a partner booklet launch in Law Week
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COTA Victoria will launch its Death of a Partner resource booklet during this year’s Law Week events in May.
The Death of a Partner booklet was developed by COTA Victoria to help people navigate those legal, financial and administrative requirements after a partner’s death. COTA obtained funding from Victoria Law Foundation to develop this series of information sheets in plain English.
Death of a Partner will be launched on Wednesday, May 16, at the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages office, 595 Collins Street, Melbourne. To attend this free event, register at Death of a Partner.
Continue reading at COTA Victoria website.
Read the full Law Week program.
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New resource for older LGBTI people
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Victoria’s older LGBTI community now has resources to help with end-of-life planning following the recent launch of Safeguarding the End of the Rainbow: A guide to help LGBTI people in Victoria plan an end-of-life of their choice.
The Minister for Housing, Disability & Ageing, Mental Health Equality and Creative Industries, the Honourable Martin Foley launched the resource at Allens lawyers in Melbourne, who kindly donated their city office venue and catering for the occasion.
The event was also attended by Commissioner for Senior Victorians Gerard Mansour.
Attendees were encouraged by the passion of the speakers at the event, with their words ranging from policy positions to personal accounts. To read more go to the full article.
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Call for volunteers to support aged care advisory services
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COTA Victoria is seeking more volunteers for an advisory service it has been piloting to assist older people and their families or carers to understand the aged and community care system and to find the right assistance for their situation.
People interested in providing the advice by telephone need to have an understanding of the aged care system from having worked in the field and/or through personal experience of supporting someone to access aged care supports.
For more information go to aged care advisory service article.
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COTA considers ageism campaign
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COTA Victoria has obtained a grant to help scope a campaign to prevent ageism.
COTA is seeking interested people to form a co-design group to help develop a campaign proposal. The time required would be some reading and attendance at two to three meetings which will occur between May and early August at COTA’s Melbourne offices. We are seeking people who are passionate about preventing ageism and age discrimination, and who may have also had some experience in running similar campaigns.
COTA will reimburse travel expenses.
The campaign scoping project will be completed by the end of August 2018, with the aim of securing ongoing funding to put the campaign into action.
Please send expressions of interest by email addressed to COTA Victoria CEO Ronda Held.
For further information contact Project Officer Robin Inglis or phone 03 9655 2114 Tuesday-Thursday.
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Victorian Senior of the Year nominations open
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Do you know an older Victorian who contributes to their community you wish to nominate for Victorian Senior of the Year?
Last year Bary Witmitz received the Healthy and Active Living Award. He is President of the Kaniva Men’s Shed, and the local footy club - just two of the many local organisations he is involved with. Barry provides strong leadership in many local activities, particularly those associated with helping people to remain active and engaged in their community.
For more information go to Victorian Senior of the Year awards.
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Victoria leads Aboriginal treaty legislation
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Photo: Victorian Government
In a monumental event for Victoria, the first ever piece of treaty legislation in Australia had its second reading in Parliament last month before being slated for debate next month.
According to the Victorian Government, the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Bill 2018 will be a roadmap for other treaty negotiations.
The Bill is the result of the work of more than 7500 Aboriginal community members who have been working with the government during the past two years.
It reflects the shared aspiration of the Government and Aboriginal Victorians to negotiate a treaty or treaties that will help tangibly improve the lives of Aboriginal Victorians, and the lives of future generations. To read more go to COTA Victoria’s article.
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Ombudsman releases energy affordability report
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The Energy and Water Ombudsman (EWOV) recently released its final 2017 quarterly affordability report, highlighting the challenging work they do when people cannot pay their electricity or gas bills.
From 1 October 2017 to 31 December 2017, EWOV closed 512 credit cases flagged for high arrears – bills where customers owed more than $3000. Almost all of these cases related to electricity (63 per cent) or gas (32 per cent).
EWOV is optimistic that Victoria’s new payment difficulty framework, due to come into effect next year, may achieve its aims of limiting both disconnections and the growth of unmanageable arrears.
Continue reading at COTA Victoria website.
Read the full EWOV Affordability Report.
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Retirement village disputes gain central support
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Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) will refer relationship disputes between retirement village residents or management to the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria (DSCV) from the end of April.
DSCV provides a free and confidential range of dispute resolution services, including advice and conflict coaching to people to help resolve their own disputes.
CAV previously provided a conciliation service for disputes between a resident and a manager, while disputes between residents could be taken to DSCV.
Read more...
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Flu vaccine free of charge for older Australians
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The Australian Government is providing two ground-breaking flu vaccines free of charge to older people as a direct response to last year’s horrific flu season.
More than 3 million older Australians are eligible for the vaccines, according to the Australian Government, because more than 90 per cent of the 1100 flu related deaths in 2017 were people aged over 65 years of age.
According to New Daily, the USA is already suffering one of its worst flu seasons in almost a decade, triggering concerns among Australian health experts as our southern winter looms.
Older Australians aged 65 years and over are now able to access the Fluad® and Fluzone High Dose through the National Immunisation Program. For more information go to free flu vaccine.
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Retirement housing complaints workshop
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Residents living in retirement housing who have problems with their managers may find it hard to get results. They may feel frustrated that complaints to Consumer Affairs Victoria go nowhere, that managers flout the law or trample on residents rights with no consequences.
In this two hour workshop, residents will hear about the types of issues that can be taken to the regulator Consumer Affairs Victoria and the best way to make your complaint count.
DATE AND TIME
Mon. 14 May 2018 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm AEST
LOCATION
Haydn Raysmith Room. Level 4, Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane. Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Bookings on Eventbrite
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Finance Information Service hosts retirement seminars
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The Australian Government has a Financial Information Service offering financial information seminars on a number of subject areas - including retirement, getting ready for retirement and living in retirement seminars – to help people prepare for this next stage in life.
Seminar topics include: understanding superannuation, retirement reality and investment choices, age pension and your choices, understanding retirement income streams, understanding shares, accommodation options in retirement, understanding your pension, aged care fees and charges, estate planning for older people, financial planning and choosing a financial planner, running your own super fund and understanding property investment.
Continue reading at COTA Victoria website
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My Aged Care website improvements
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Have you seen the new My Aged Care website?
The updates include a new homepage and simpler navigation across the website to guide users through the steps to accessing aged care services.
The project was informed by a co-design process involving extensive feedback from users as well as sector stakeholders representing:
• senior Australians, their families and carers
• service providers
• health professionals
• aged care assessors.
So take a look at My Aged Care website and feel free to send your feedback to AACEI@health.gov.au
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Your Will
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Order or download free copies for your clients
It doesn't matter whether you're 25 years old and about to start a new job, a time-poor parent or a retiree with an ambitious bucket list: everyone needs a Will.
Your Will is the definitive, easy-to-understand guide for people in Victoria and explains important terms and definitions as well as issues to consider when making or changing a Will.
You can order free copies of Your Will for your clients or direct them to the online version, which can also be downloaded.
*Resource developed by the Victoria Law Foundation.
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Diverse radio program about ageing well
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Speak My Language is an exciting new ethnic and community radio program, providing CALD seniors, their carers and families with the latest information in-language about healthy ageing options.
Fourteen priority aged care topics have been developed into interactive bilingual scripts for radio broadcasts. Topics include: My Aged Care, Commonwealth Home Support Program, Packaged Care, Residential Care, Planning for the Future, Costs and Fees, and Dementia.
During the next two years, the program will be broadcast throughout Australia in more than 25 languages across 80 ethnic radio stations. The program aims to reach an audience of over 50,000 people each week.
Continue reading at COTA Victoria website
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Researchers consider how old is old?
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University of Melbourne researchers looking into ageism have found that intergenerational competition is a key driver of ageing attitudes that needs addressing.
The university’s research found that most Australians know the population is ageing and that one of the consequences was that older people are staying in the workforce longer, encouraged by governments to do this to keep a balance between working-age people and people who need to be supported by those workers.
The researchers carried out a survey to see what Australians think about these changes and what is fuelling ageism. The researchers asked a range of people to find out what they think, with some surprising, moving and often humorous responses.
To read more about the research go to An Older Society Will Need to Work for All or for a survey snapshot see How Old is Old?
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English town finds cure for isolation – community
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The Guardian news service has highlighted the great results of a wonderful project to combat emergency hospital admissions and isolation in the English town of Frome, Somerset, creating a sense of community.
Information from the project has shown that when isolated people who have health problems are supported by community groups and volunteers, the number of emergency admissions to hospital falls spectacularly. To read more go to The Guardian article
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ABS reviews 2021 Census topics
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The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has opened consultation to review the 2021 Census topics that will provide critical data to inform Australia's important decisions.
Every Census, the ABS makes a recommendation to the Australian Government on the topics that should be included in the Census.
This review provides people with an opportunity to share their views on the most useful information to collect in the 2021 Census.
To read more about the review go to Census Consultation on Topics or learn more about the public consultation.
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Victoria joins This Girl Can fitness campaign
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VicHealth is supporting This Girl Can campaign to inspire more Victorian women to become more active.
The Victorian campaign is based on Sport England’s highly successful This Girl Can campaign which motivated more than 3.9 million women in England to take their fitness into their own hands.
Phrases like `sweat and jiggle’ and `unleash your inner beginner’ dot the English campaign website, empowering women to become more physically active regardless of their ability or body shape.
Read the full article at COTA Victoria website.
In the meantime, be inspired by the This Girl Can campaign advertisement.
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Arts Centre requests older LGBTI people review shows
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Throughout this year, the Arts Centre Melbourne will offer older people from the LGBTI community free tickets to see performances and theatre shows in return for collaborating to design a podcast series of reviews.
Older people from the LGBTI community who attend performances will be asked to work with All The Queens Men for the podcast series that will be broadcast online and on radio.
Bookings are encouraged to be done quickly as tickets are limited. For conditions please read below. Dates include:
Anthony and Cleopatra - Saturday 28th April, 1.45pm. Book tickets here.
The Bleeding Tree - Saturday 19 May, 1.45pm. Book tickets here.
Verve - Saturday 30 June, 1.15pm. Book tickets here.
Julius Caesar - Saturday 28 July, 1.45pm. Book tickets here.
Conditions: Tickets reserved for LGBTI elders (65+ years). One ticket per person and a maximum of two shows in this season. 20 - 25 tickets are available per performance. By booking a ticket, you agree to participate in a recorded discussion before or after the show, that may be broadcast publicly. Tickets are booked online only. Rainbow Reviews is supported by Arts Centre Melbourne.
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