Submissions

Aged Care Program Redesign: Submission to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety

The Aged Care system should be respectful of rights, choice and dignity, but there should also be recognition that for many people who are experiencing homelessness, or living in unsuitable or unaffordable housing, there is no real “choice” in aged care, and the focus instead should be accessing the system.
HAAG strongly support any reforms that lead to a system which is easy to navigate and understand, supportive of the wishes of the older person, and well connected with other services.

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Response to the Regulatory Impact Statement for the proposed Residential Tenancies Regulations 2020

Older renters are a key demographic when it comes to rental reform. People over 55 make up the fastest growing segment of the private rental market, a major and growing proportion of social housing tenants, and a key cohort for caravan and residential parks. The government has recognised the needs of older renters as a key concern of the RTA review from the Laying the Groundwork paper onwards. Existing transitional provisions specify certain rental reforms – such as minimum standards – that will only apply to new fixed term or periodic agreements entered into after July 2020. We are concerned this will tend to disproportionately disadvantage older renters.

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Residential Tenancies Act - Regulations - Submission Dec 2019

Housing for the Aged Action Group submission in response to the Regulatory Impact Statement for the proposed Residential Tenancies Regulations 2020

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Response to the ‘Review of the Retirement Villages Act 1986’ Issues Paper

This joint submission with Consumer Action Law Center focuses on five key areas that have emerged as central to retirement village reform in our casework and in feedback from our members: resident rights, contractual complexity, unfair fees, management standards, and dispute resolution. The case study illustrates the ways these issues are connected and compound each other to the detriment of retirement village residents.

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Ageing on the Edge NSW Pre-Budget Submission 2020-21

The Ageing on the Edge NSW Forum is a coali on of organisations working together towards housing justice for older people on low incomes.

Based on widespread consulta on with older people and the community sector in NSW, the Forum has adopted and promotes policy recommendations that are critical to addressing the needs of older people facing housing stress and homelessness.

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Evidence to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality & Safety - Housing and Homelessness

Fiona York, Executive Officer of Housing the for the Aged Action Group, gives evidence to The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality & Safety about the obstacles facing older people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to accessing Aged Care.

Submission to the Senate Committee for Community Affairs Inquiry into the Adequacy of Newstart and Related Payments

Our submission to the Inquiry into the Adequacy of Newstart and Related Payments calls on the government to immediately raise the rate of Newstart, abolish punitive and unrealistic mutual obligation requirements for people aged 55 and over, and invest in affordable housing as a matter of priority to prevent further homelessness amongst older people.

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Submission to Electricity Distribution Code Review

This submission is based on the experiences of our members and clients living in retirement housing, who have embedded networks in their villages.

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Recommendations for the Terms of Reference of the Aged Care Royal Commission- From HAAG's National Project

"For many years older people at risk of homelessness in the rental market have been discriminated against and severely neglected by the aged care system. The main factor that has caused this problem is a policy framework and aged care service practices that are based on the broad assumption that older people own their own home and, as assets based financial contributors, are more valued than older renters."

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Submission: Retirement Living Council Retirement Living Code of Conduct

This written submission is provided by Consumer Action Law Centre (Consumer Action), Residents of Retirement Villages Victoria (RRVV), Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG) and COTA Victoria (COTA Vic). The need to address widespread problems in the retirement housing industry is long overdue. We welcome industry efforts to better protect and promote the rights and interests of older Australians who choose to live in retirement housing. We also generally support the
aim of the Draft Retirement Living Code of Conduct (the Code), which is to ‘improve accreditation standards and coverage, and to set and maintain high standards about the marketing, selling and operation of Retirement Communities’. However, we do not consider that the Code distributed by the Retirement Living Council (RLC) would achieve these aims or properly address resident concerns without significant amendments....

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