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11 June 2026
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The current system is complex and inequitable, and those most affected by aged care anomalies are often least able to understand the consequences.
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 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.
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.
Changes to Home Care Packages effective 27 February 2017 allow care recipients to choose their own care providers and offer better portability when relocating.
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.
New CGT rules could tip the scales in the super vs non-super debate. For those facing the Division 296 tax, the case for withdrawing has gotten more complex. A "comparison rate" tool may help assess decisions.
Proposed Budget changes to taxation are casting new uncertainty over testamentary trusts, prompting closer scrutiny of estate planning structures and the real implications of reforms still taking shape.
Examining how five "tax cuts" stack up against bracket creep. Why offsets and incremental changes may do little to ease rising average tax burdens, compared to structural reform through indexation over time.
Quality strategies shine globally, but Australia's concentrated market tells a different story. Limited diversification and sector dominance can constrain the defensive outcomes investors have seen in broader markets.
As private markets expand, investors face a growing mix of structures, a stabilising private equity cycle and uneven AI disruption. Fresh questions are being raised about where the real opportunities now sit.
As EOFY approaches, structured giving offers a tax-effective way to support charities, while allowing donations to grow over time and play a longer-term role in family wealth and legacy planning outcomes.
Stock picking often gets the spotlight, but research shows asset allocation explains the vast majority of long‑term returns. Understanding your mix of growth and defensive assets is the real key to investment success.