Fix Private Health Insurance for Older Australians – Add your voice and SIGN PETITION HERE
Parliament must ensure changes to the aged care assessment system give assessors a clear and timely way to correct decisions that don’t reflect an older person’s care needs, COTA Australia says.
Twenty-six organisations from the banking, superannuation, financial services, legal, community and government sectors have joined forces to strengthen Australia’s response to financial abuse of older people.
To understand what these age based private health insurance changes could mean in reality, we are asking people to complete a short 5 -minute survey with a few follow-up questions about the impact on your household budget and your private health cover.
COTA Australia broadly supports the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner and Other Measures) Bill 2026, including establishing a statutory Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner and making temporary aged care system modifications permanent.
COTA Australia’s submission argues that fee transparency, including informed financial consent, must be a legally enforceable consumer right, with older Australians facing acute risk from unexpected medical costs and split billing practices.
COTA Australia’s submission argues that violence against older women is a lifelong, gendered issue, not simply ‘elder abuse’, and calls for safe housing, financial support and trauma informed navigators to help older women reach safety.
Australia must focus on delivering the action needed to stop elder abuse or risk tens of thousands more older Australians being abused, COTA Australia says.
The call marks World Elder Abuse Awareness Day today, 15 June.
In the submission we raise some concern that the current media and policy debate on housing, risks intergenerational conflict rather than solidarity.
COTA Australia Chief Executive, Patricia Sparrow, said addressing the shockingly high number of older Australians experiencing abuse – often at the hands of someone they trust – must be a national priority.
Research by Swinburne University (Australia) and Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand) examined how older adults are represented in Australian local, state, and national newspapers. Dr Michael Butson, Swinburne University …
Tell us what you think – Equality, Age and Gender in Australia – Take the survey. Ageing affects all of us, but it does not affect all of us in the same way. Whatever your experience of ageing, we want to hear from you.
COTA Australia’s submission to the Senate Committee on the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 calls for targeted amendments to strengthen protections, transparency, and timely access to care for older Australians.