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Rachel Lane

Budget 2018 puts aged care at a tipping point

Aged care measures announced in the Budget go only part of the way to improving the system. With a waiting list for Home Care packages exceeding 100,000, we need more effective change.

Home care: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Home Care Packages have undergone significant reforms recently, and the waiting list for such packages is growing. Advisers and their clients need to keep abreast of what those changes mean for them.

Are the criticisms of retirement villages justified?

Moving to a retirement village is a major event in an elderly person's life. The contract should not be treated casually as the retirement village will impose conditions which the retiree and family should understand.

Home is where the care is

Changes to Home Care Packages effective 27 February 2017 allow care recipients to choose their own care providers and offer better portability when relocating.

Pension winners and losers from 1 January

With the new pension rules, the magic number is 7.8%. If a pensioner sells an asset to fund an improvement in the family home, the pension may increase $7,800 pa for every $100,000 over the assets test.

Prepare to pay more for aged care

Residential aged care costs are difficult to understand at any time, but many aged care facilities are introducing new fees which make comparisons even more difficult as cost rise.

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Weekly Editorial

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 639

Thank you for the hundreds of responses to our Reader Survey and to maximise the sample size, we’re leaving it open until this Sunday. Here is an overview of the results so far.

  • 27 November 2025
  • 1
Investment strategies

Where to hide in the ‘everything bubble’

It might not be quite an ‘everything bubble’ but there’s froth in many assets, not just US stocks, right now. It might be time to stress test your portfolio and consider assets that could offer you shelter if trouble is coming.

Investment strategies

The ultimate investing hack: dividend growth stocks

Investors often fall prey to ‘amygdala hijacks,’ letting emotion trump reason. By focusing on dividend-growth with stocks instead of volatile prices, you can steady your mindset and let compounding do the work. 

Investment strategies

CBA or global banks?

CBA’s recent pullback highlights single-stock risk. Global banks trade at lower P/Es with rising earnings and dividends, offering investors both income potential and long-term value beyond the local market.

Investment strategies

Global dividends rising, but Australia lags

Global dividend growth surged in the third quarter, with median growth of almost 6%. Australia was a notable exception as dividends fell, thanks to flagging mining company payouts.

Economy

I called inflation's rise and fall and here's what's next

In 2020, I warned that surging US money supply growth would spark inflation. By early 2023, I said US money supply was dropping dramatically and that meant inflation would decline. Here's what happens next.

Superannuation

Are excessive super funds giving Australia “Dutch Disease”?

The irony is profound: a system designed to secure Australians’ futures may be systematically dismantling the economic diversity necessary for long-term prosperity.

Investment strategies

Could your children pass the inheritance ‘stress test’?

You devote years of your life working, saving and investing, striving to build a legacy that will outlive you. Before any wealth moves to the next generation, here are six questions every parent should ask themselves.

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