Here’s what seniors want from government

The Federal Budget is due to be brought down late next month and National Seniors Australia (NSA) has been working hard to represent your voice and concerns to the government as it prepares economic policies for 2025-26. 

It is highly probable a federal election will be called in the meantime. That would effectively put the budget on hold until after the next government is sworn in. 

However, we’re ploughing ahead telling government what seniors throughout Australia want and what they should do about it.  

Our 30-page budget submission contains 16 important policy recommendations and can be read here. Several of the policies have been endorsed or advocated by other organisations, not just by us. When the election is called, we will use the policy recommendations in our Budget Submission to fight for better outcomes for older people in Australia. 

It is a surprising and pleasing feature of our political climate that there is broad agreement on the need for key reforms across crucial service areas. 

NSA Chief Executive Officer, Chris Grice, says our submission, which includes estimates of the cost of each recommendation, have been carefully calibrated to benefit older people from different walks of life, whether they are pensioners, part-pensioners, self-funded retirees, or pre-retirees. 

“Our well-researched and innovative policies seek to improve current cost of living and more long-term issues such as pensioner concessions, employment income testing, Medicare rebates, dental care, renting and housing, and tax and financial services,” Mr Grice said. 

It is pleasing that support for one of the most economically vulnerable group of seniors – renters – is growing. While retirees who own their own home are more secure in retirement, older renters continue to struggle in the current rental market. 

Even if housing can be found, renters are paying increasingly higher rents. This means they have less income to spend on health, care, food, and social connection. 

A recent Grattan Institute report furthers the argument for more assistance for renters, calling for a 50% increase in government rent assistance for singles and 40% for couples, which they say should be indexed appropriately.  

This aligns with long time NSA advocacy for older renters. In our submission we’re calling for a further increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance payments on top of the increases in 2023 (15%) and 2024 (10%). Crucially, given the volatility of the rental market, we call for payments to be indexed to actual rental cost inflation, rather than overall CPI, which is not the same. 

Housing for seniors can also be boosted by: 

• Creating a targeted incentive to encourage retail investment in affordable housing for older people in Australia 

• Removing disincentives for older people to rent out rooms in their home, including negative impacts on pension entitlements and liabilities for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) 

• Exempting excess sale proceeds from the Age Pension assets test for Home Care Package (HCP) recipients to support downsizing into smaller, age-friendly homes. 

Out-of-pocket costs are increasing at your local GP. It’s a cost-of-living double whammy for seniors. Doctors say this is because government subsidies provided to GPs via the Medicare Rebate are way behind the true cost of doing business.  

We agree they have a point. So, we are supporting the call from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) to increase the Medicare Rebate by 40% for GP consultations longer than 20 minutes. 

Doctors are also telling Treasury the Budget must invest more in Medicare to lower fees and increase bulk billing, and we need to train more GPs.  

The RACGP budget submission can be read here. 

The private health system is also a major concern to seniors, and we believe it needs reforming. National Seniors recommends the Productivity Commission conduct a full review of the private health system to ensure it is providing value for money for policy holders. 

Also, we want the value of the Private Health Insurance Rebate increased for people on low incomes, and a targeted Seniors Dental Benefits Scheme to help seniors access essential dental care. 

Dentists agree and are also calling for government to establish a dental benefits scheme for low-income seniors through the Australian Dental Association.