On 29 November 2017, the Canberra Times published an article by their correspondent Ross Gittins about the cost-of-living pinch on wage earners. In a letter to the editor, published in The Canberra Times today, the National President of ACPSRO, Richard Griffiths, explained that wage earners are now experiencing the same cost-of-living pinch that retirees and many … Read more
A 7 November 2017 article in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) about changes being made to the CPI, which will have the effect of further reducing the CPI, was responded to by an ACPSRO letter to the AFR’s Editor on 9 November 2017. That, in turn, appeared to trigger an article in the Canberra Times written by their Economics … Read more
As part of its push to demonstrate the inadequacy of the CPI to reflect real costs of living for all sectors of the community, ACPSRO wrote to the Minister for Finance on 12 September 2017, as the minister responsible for the Australian Bureau of Statistics, recommending that while capturing statistics that measure the CPI, ie … Read more
SCOA Australia has lodged submissions to a number of inquiries by the Senate Economics Legislation Committee into recently introduced superannuation legislation. SCOA has also commented on an inquiry by the Senate Finance and Public Administration Reference Committee’s inquiry into digital delivery of government services. Click here to read SCOA’s submissions. Click here to for more … Read more
SCOA Australia will hold its first Annual General Meeting (AGM) as one national organisation. The AGM will be held in Canberra on Tuesday 26 September 2017 at 10.30 am at the Ainslie Football Club. Click here to read the relevant documentation and see who has nominated for election to the new National Committee that will … Read more
We have received the following helpful hints for claiming your SCOA Australia membership fees if you use MyGov/My Tax online platform to lodge your tax return. The solution is to go to Section 3 (Personalised return) and tick the box for “other deductions” and then go to Section 4, “locate other deductions”, and enter SCOA … Read more
On 10 August 2017, the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs released its report into the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Ending Carbon Tax Compensation) Bill 2017 (Provisions). The Senate Committee decided to recommend that this Bill be passed, even though most of the submissions to the inquiry (including SCOA’s) had recommended otherwise. Click here to … Read more
Centrelink has published a Guide to Australian Government Payments valid from 1 July to 19 September 2017. You can access the publication by clicking on this link. The publication, as well as more details about any of the benefits avilable through Centrelink, go to www.humanservices.gov.au . SCOA Australia Canberra 2 August 2017
Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter, has published the 2017 Age Pension Guide. The Guide covers topics including: A comprehensive introduction to the age pension; Information regarding how overseas travel affects age pension payments; eligibility and how assets, investments and income testing may affect age pension payment Information regarding the pension age; and Benefits for … Read more
The June edition of the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation’s Third Act, Freedom In Retirement, Newsletter is now available. Click here to read the newsletter Canberra, 10 July 2017.