SCOA Australia’s President, Dr Annette Barbetti, today commented on the recent federal Budget, welcoming the reinstatement of the Pensioner Concession Card and the one-off Energy Assistance Payment of $75 to single Age Pensioners and $125 for couples, adding that “this payment will no doubt prove to be only a small fraction of the increase in … Read more
On 16 February 2017, SCOA wrote to the Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter, regarding the “ten percent issue”. We received a response from the Department of Social Services which said that the government has no intention of changing or repealing the relevant legislation. Federal Council Federal President, Annette Barbetti, has again written to the … Read more
SCOA has written to Minister for Human Services, Alan Tudge, regarding the difficulty in calling the Department of Human Services, in particular Centrelink. Which number is the right one? Click here to read Annette Barbetti’s letter to the Minister. Canberra 14 March 2017
An Answer to a Question on Notice from ACT Senator Katy Gallagher in November 2016, regarding the ten percent cap on the amount of a defined benefit pension that can be excluded from the age pension income test, has been provided by the Department of Social Services. SCOA believes the Answer leaves a lot to … Read more
The Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation has updated the information regarding certain measures in the 2016 budget, relevant to CSS and PSS pensioners. The material is available on the CSC’s website. Relevant links are: PSS – https://pss.gov.au/2016-17-federal-budget/ CSS – https://css.gov.au/2016-17-federal-budget/ Canberra 14 February 2017
We have received the answer to a Question on Notice asked in the Senate on 25 November 2016 by Senator Katy Gallagher. Click here to read the answer. Click here to read more about this issue, or go to ACPSRO’s page for more information and material. SCOA Federal Office 8 February 2017
SCOA Federal Council, on 6 January 2017, lodged its 2017/18 pre-Budget submission to Treasury for consideration. CSC 2016 Federal Budget Update Click here to see other recent submissions from SCOA Federal Council. Canberra 12 January 2017
SCOA Australia’s 2016 Annual General Meeting was held in Melbourne on 29 November 2016. Go to the SCOA Australia page where you can read a brief report of the AGM and see the details of the new committee members elected at the AGM. The AGM also approved some amendments to the SCOA Australia Rules. These … Read more
On 30 December 2016, the Australian Council of Public Sector Retiree Organisations Inc. (ACPSRO) lodged a submission to the Senate Economics Legislative Committee inquiry into the Superannuation (Objective) Bill 2016 (Provisions). Click here to read the submission or go to the ACPSRO page to read other submissions. Canberra 12 January 2017
SCOA has received the following information from the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation: The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released the new tax rates for the 2016/17 income year which will apply from 1 October 2016. The ATO has advised that the tables do not include any catch-up component for the portion of the year which has … Read more