The 2023-4 Federal Budget has officially been handed down, and while it holds the line on fiscal discipline, there are some exciting announcements that impact Australian seniors.

‘There are many direct benefits that older Australians will receive in their wallets out of this year’s budget,’ confirmed Council on the Ageing Australia CEO Patricia Sparrow.

Without further ado, here’s a breakdown of the 2023 federal budget and how it will impact you.

Everything you need to know about the 2023-4 Federal Budget. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Cost of living

Energy bill relief

The highly anticipated $14.6bn cost-of-living package will relieve some pressure on Australians.

‘People are under the pump,’ said Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Households receiving income support payments, including pensioners, veterans, concession card holders, and recipients of carer’s allowance, will receive hundreds of dollars in energy bill relief.

From July 2023, eligible residents in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania will receive $500, including $250 each from the federal and state governments;

Meanwhile, Victorians will receive $250 from the federal government after already receiving state government assistance in March.

Those living in the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia and the Northern Territory will receive a slightly different amount – ‘about $350 from the federal government and $175 from their own governments’. This variation has been put down to the decreased energy pricing volatility.

JobSeeker increase

There is a base increase of $40 a fortnight to all JobSeeker payments.

But the news doesn’t stop there. Australians aged 55-59 will now receive the higher JobSeeker rate previously reserved for those over 60. They will receive an additional $92.10 a fortnight (singles).

Estimates expect some 52,000 Australians will receive this boost. Are you interested in reading more? We wrote about this ‘modest JobSeeker increase’ here.

Rent assistance

The Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) maximum rate is increasing by 15% (up to $31 extra a fortnight) to combat rising rental prices.

The $2.7bn measure is expected to benefit 1.1m households.

New rates will begin from 20 September 2023, pending legislation passing parliament.

Aged Care and Home Care Packages

$11.5bn is being spent on increasing pay for aged care workers by 15%. The focus on recruiting more workers to the field is expected to raise standards of care. This is the largest ever increase for this sector.

For those wishing to remain at home, the Government is committing $166.8m to provide an additional 9,500 home care packages.

The Government will also provide $487m to the Disability Support for Older Australians Program.

Medical

The budget also has some excellent healthcare news, including Medicare rebates for consults longer than 60 minutes, new urgent care clinics with no out-of-pocket fee, accelerated bulk-billing incentives for GPs and increased telehealth services. This $5b Medicare boost came as a welcome surprise on Tuesday night. The move is expected to create millions more bulk-billed GP appointments.

‘This $4.9 billion investment will see more GPs bulk-billing pensioners and healthcare card holders without charging a co-payment,’ said Council on the Ageing Australia CEO Ms Sparrow.

‘So many of my patients will be relieved at the change as for months they have been chasing a bulk billing clinic they can afford, where they can get consistent care from a doctor they have known for years.’ said Dr Tim Woodruff, President, Doctors Reform Society.

There will also be fewer trips to the pharmacy with double the medication dispensed each visit (two months’ supply instead of one) for the same price. You can read our article about this here. It will apply to some 300 medicines currently on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and is expected to save concession card holders up to $43.80 per year per eligible medicine.

We wrote about this back in April amid concerns from pharmacists that the double prescription change would result in shortages of essential medicine. You can read more here.

Now let’s break this up further and look at the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ of the 2023-4 federal budget.

Winners:

Low-Income Renters

If you live in rental accommodation, you might be happy to hear that the maximum rate of the Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) payment will be increasing by 15% from September 20. This could mean a payment boost of up to $23.60 per fortnight (an increase from $157.20 a fortnight to $180.80) for single people with no dependants who are receiving the maximum CRA and do not share their rental home with anyone else.

Veterans

The Federal Budget is also improving services and support for veterans. There will be extra resources to tackle the backlog of support claims, plus increased demand for complex casework, rehabilitation, health approvals and pharmacy services. There will also be an additional $2m spent over two years to continue the Mental Health Literacy and Suicide Intervention Training program to help ex-service personnel.

Welfare Recipients (Some, not all)

For those receiving Centrelink benefits, the base rates of some payments will be rising by $40 per fortnight from September 20. This includes Youth Allowance, JobSeeker, Partnership Parental Payment and Austudy.

Welfare recipients are also eligible for a $500 payment off their energy bills under the Electricity Relief Grant Scheme, including pensioners and seniors health card holders. The government claims more than 5 million households will have up to $500 deducted from their power bills next financial year.

Now, the budget does also contain ‘bad news’ for some Australians. Read on to find out who was left behind in the 2023-4 federal budget.

Losers:

Travellers

Travellers taking off overseas will be hit with a $10 increase in the passenger movement charge, rising from $60 to $70 per passenger from July 1, 2024.

Smokers

The Government is increasing the tobacco excise by 5% a year for the next three years to help curb smoking in Australia.

What are they using this extra money for? The higher-taxed tobacco will pay for anti-vaping campaigns over the next four years.

It’s expected that $63.4m will be allocated to advertising campaigns, while $29.5m will be set aside for support services supporting Australians to quit smoking and vaping.

So there could be less second-hand smoke floating around your local city/shopping centre soon.

Middle-Income Renters

Middle-income renters may be disappointed that there is no immediate relief for them in the budget. The Government's incentives for build-to-rent schemes won't be creating new dwellings in the rental market for a few years.

Scammers

Technically this one is a positive for Australians – but it’s certainly a bad time to be a scammer. The Government will be setting up a $58m National Anti-Scam Centre to tackle the rising number of online scams in Australia. They'll also be introducing a $10.9m SMS Sender ID Registry to combat phoney text messages and allocate $17.6m in funds to identify and take down investment scams.

Overall, this is a $86.5m investment over four years.

Key Takeaways

• The 2023 federal budget focuses on cost-of-living relief, housing, healthcare, and clean energy measures, benefiting specific sectors of society.
• Low-income renters and welfare recipients will receive increased financial support.
• Healthcare funding will expand, increasing bulk-billing incentives for doctors, aged care worker salaries, and improving services for veterans.
• The budget aims to crack down on tobacco and online scammers but offers limited immediate relief for middle-income renters.

Inflation concerns?

The most vocal concerns going into the budget came from economists predicting that the cost of living packages would be inflationary.

So, what’s the verdict?

According to Greg Jericho, The Guardian columnist and policy director at the Centre for Future Work, ‘This is in no way an expansionary budget.’

The bottom line

We’ll see an increase in rent assistance for low-income renters, energy bill relief, an increase in JobSeeker and more bulk-billed GP appointments.

There has already been some opposition to the budget, with Greens leader Adam Bandt stating the budget is ‘a betrayal of renters, jobseekers and people doing it tough’.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will give his budget reply speech tonight.

This marks Labor’s first budget surplus in 15 years.

Did you tune into the budget, members? Did the government meet your expectations? Do you feel like the budget is addressing YOUR needs? Or do you feel left behind? Please let us know all of your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!

 

[Rose-Marie]

The 2023-4 Federal Budget has officially been handed down, and while it holds the line on fiscal discipline, there are some exciting announcements that impact Australian seniors.

‘There are many direct benefits that older Australians will receive in their wallets out of this year’s budget,’ confirmed Council on the Ageing Australia CEO Patricia Sparrow.

Without further ado, here’s a breakdown of the 2023 federal budget and how it will impact you.

View attachment 19453

Everything you need to know about the 2023-4 Federal Budget. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Cost of living

Energy bill relief

The highly anticipated $14.6bn cost-of-living package will relieve some pressure on Australians.

‘People are under the pump,’ said Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Households receiving income support payments, including pensioners, veterans, concession card holders, and recipients of carer’s allowance, will receive hundreds of dollars in energy bill relief.

From July 2023, eligible residents in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania will receive $500, including $250 each from the federal and state governments;

Meanwhile, Victorians will receive $250 from the federal government after already receiving state government assistance in March.

Those living in the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia and the Northern Territory will receive a slightly different amount – ‘about $350 from the federal government and $175 from their own governments’. This variation has been put down to the decreased energy pricing volatility.

JobSeeker increase

There is a base increase of $40 a fortnight to all JobSeeker payments.

But the news doesn’t stop there. Australians aged 55-59 will now receive the higher JobSeeker rate previously reserved for those over 60. They will receive an additional $92.10 a fortnight (singles).

Estimates expect some 52,000 Australians will receive this boost. Are you interested in reading more? We wrote about this ‘modest JobSeeker increase’ here.

Rent assistance

The Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) maximum rate is increasing by 15% (up to $31 extra a fortnight) to combat rising rental prices.

The $2.7bn measure is expected to benefit 1.1m households.

New rates will begin from 20 September 2023, pending legislation passing parliament.

Aged Care and Home Care Packages

$11.5bn is being spent on increasing pay for aged care workers by 15%. The focus on recruiting more workers to the field is expected to raise standards of care. This is the largest ever increase for this sector.

For those wishing to remain at home, the Government is committing $166.8m to provide an additional 9,500 home care packages.

The Government will also provide $487m to the Disability Support for Older Australians Program.

Medical

The budget also has some excellent healthcare news, including Medicare rebates for consults longer than 60 minutes, new urgent care clinics with no out-of-pocket fee, accelerated bulk-billing incentives for GPs and increased telehealth services. This $5b Medicare boost came as a welcome surprise on Tuesday night. The move is expected to create millions more bulk-billed GP appointments.

‘This $4.9 billion investment will see more GPs bulk-billing pensioners and healthcare card holders without charging a co-payment,’ said Council on the Ageing Australia CEO Ms Sparrow.

‘So many of my patients will be relieved at the change as for months they have been chasing a bulk billing clinic they can afford, where they can get consistent care from a doctor they have known for years.’ said Dr Tim Woodruff, President, Doctors Reform Society.

There will also be fewer trips to the pharmacy with double the medication dispensed each visit (two months’ supply instead of one) for the same price. You can read our article about this here. It will apply to some 300 medicines currently on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and is expected to save concession card holders up to $43.80 per year per eligible medicine.

We wrote about this back in April amid concerns from pharmacists that the double prescription change would result in shortages of essential medicine. You can read more here.

Now let’s break this up further and look at the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ of the 2023-4 federal budget.

Winners:

Low-Income Renters

If you live in rental accommodation, you might be happy to hear that the maximum rate of the Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) payment will be increasing by 15% from September 20. This could mean a payment boost of up to $23.60 per fortnight (an increase from $157.20 a fortnight to $180.80) for single people with no dependants who are receiving the maximum CRA and do not share their rental home with anyone else.

Veterans

The Federal Budget is also improving services and support for veterans. There will be extra resources to tackle the backlog of support claims, plus increased demand for complex casework, rehabilitation, health approvals and pharmacy services. There will also be an additional $2m spent over two years to continue the Mental Health Literacy and Suicide Intervention Training program to help ex-service personnel.

Welfare Recipients (Some, not all)

For those receiving Centrelink benefits, the base rates of some payments will be rising by $40 per fortnight from September 20. This includes Youth Allowance, JobSeeker, Partnership Parental Payment and Austudy.

Welfare recipients are also eligible for a $500 payment off their energy bills under the Electricity Relief Grant Scheme, including pensioners and seniors health card holders. The government claims more than 5 million households will have up to $500 deducted from their power bills next financial year.

Now, the budget does also contain ‘bad news’ for some Australians. Read on to find out who was left behind in the 2023-4 federal budget.

Losers:

Travellers

Travellers taking off overseas will be hit with a $10 increase in the passenger movement charge, rising from $60 to $70 per passenger from July 1, 2024.

Smokers

The Government is increasing the tobacco excise by 5% a year for the next three years to help curb smoking in Australia.

What are they using this extra money for? The higher-taxed tobacco will pay for anti-vaping campaigns over the next four years.

It’s expected that $63.4m will be allocated to advertising campaigns, while $29.5m will be set aside for support services supporting Australians to quit smoking and vaping.

So there could be less second-hand smoke floating around your local city/shopping centre soon.

Middle-Income Renters

Middle-income renters may be disappointed that there is no immediate relief for them in the budget. The Government's incentives for build-to-rent schemes won't be creating new dwellings in the rental market for a few years.

Scammers

Technically this one is a positive for Australians – but it’s certainly a bad time to be a scammer. The Government will be setting up a $58m National Anti-Scam Centre to tackle the rising number of online scams in Australia. They'll also be introducing a $10.9m SMS Sender ID Registry to combat phoney text messages and allocate $17.6m in funds to identify and take down investment scams.

Overall, this is a $86.5m investment over four years.

Key Takeaways

• The 2023 federal budget focuses on cost-of-living relief, housing, healthcare, and clean energy measures, benefiting specific sectors of society.
• Low-income renters and welfare recipients will receive increased financial support.
• Healthcare funding will expand, increasing bulk-billing incentives for doctors, aged care worker salaries, and improving services for veterans.
• The budget aims to crack down on tobacco and online scammers but offers limited immediate relief for middle-income renters.

Inflation concerns?

The most vocal concerns going into the budget came from economists predicting that the cost of living packages would be inflationary.

So, what’s the verdict?

According to Greg Jericho, The Guardian columnist and policy director at the Centre for Future Work, ‘This is in no way an expansionary budget.’

The bottom line

We’ll see an increase in rent assistance for low-income renters, energy bill relief, an increase in JobSeeker and more bulk-billed GP appointments.

There has already been some opposition to the budget, with Greens leader Adam Bandt stating the budget is ‘a betrayal of renters, jobseekers and people doing it tough’.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will give his budget reply speech tonight.

This marks Labor’s first budget surplus in 15 years.

Did you tune into the budget, members? Did the government meet your expectations? Do you feel like the budget is addressing YOUR needs? Or do you feel left behind? Please let us know all of your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!

A miss for us.

 

[Rose-Marie]

A miss for us. I am no longer on Jobseeker, we may get help with electricity, the only other thing is medications?

 

[Douglas1934]

The 2023-4 Federal Budget has officially been handed down, and while it holds the line on fiscal discipline, there are some exciting announcements that impact Australian seniors.

‘There are many direct benefits that older Australians will receive in their wallets out of this year’s budget,’ confirmed Council on the Ageing Australia CEO Patricia Sparrow.

Without further ado, here’s a breakdown of the 2023 federal budget and how it will impact you.

View attachment 19453

Everything you need to know about the 2023-4 Federal Budget. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Cost of living

Energy bill relief

The highly anticipated $14.6bn cost-of-living package will relieve some pressure on Australians.

‘People are under the pump,’ said Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Households receiving income support payments, including pensioners, veterans, concession card holders, and recipients of carer’s allowance, will receive hundreds of dollars in energy bill relief.

From July 2023, eligible residents in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania will receive $500, including $250 each from the federal and state governments;

Meanwhile, Victorians will receive $250 from the federal government after already receiving state government assistance in March.

Those living in the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia and the Northern Territory will receive a slightly different amount – ‘about $350 from the federal government and $175 from their own governments’. This variation has been put down to the decreased energy pricing volatility.

JobSeeker increase

There is a base increase of $40 a fortnight to all JobSeeker payments.

But the news doesn’t stop there. Australians aged 55-59 will now receive the higher JobSeeker rate previously reserved for those over 60. They will receive an additional $92.10 a fortnight (singles).

Estimates expect some 52,000 Australians will receive this boost. Are you interested in reading more? We wrote about this ‘modest JobSeeker increase’ here.

Rent assistance

The Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) maximum rate is increasing by 15% (up to $31 extra a fortnight) to combat rising rental prices.

The $2.7bn measure is expected to benefit 1.1m households.

New rates will begin from 20 September 2023, pending legislation passing parliament.

Aged Care and Home Care Packages

$11.5bn is being spent on increasing pay for aged care workers by 15%. The focus on recruiting more workers to the field is expected to raise standards of care. This is the largest ever increase for this sector.

For those wishing to remain at home, the Government is committing $166.8m to provide an additional 9,500 home care packages.

The Government will also provide $487m to the Disability Support for Older Australians Program.

Medical

The budget also has some excellent healthcare news, including Medicare rebates for consults longer than 60 minutes, new urgent care clinics with no out-of-pocket fee, accelerated bulk-billing incentives for GPs and increased telehealth services. This $5b Medicare boost came as a welcome surprise on Tuesday night. The move is expected to create millions more bulk-billed GP appointments.

‘This $4.9 billion investment will see more GPs bulk-billing pensioners and healthcare card holders without charging a co-payment,’ said Council on the Ageing Australia CEO Ms Sparrow.

‘So many of my patients will be relieved at the change as for months they have been chasing a bulk billing clinic they can afford, where they can get consistent care from a doctor they have known for years.’ said Dr Tim Woodruff, President, Doctors Reform Society.

There will also be fewer trips to the pharmacy with double the medication dispensed each visit (two months’ supply instead of one) for the same price. You can read our article about this here. It will apply to some 300 medicines currently on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and is expected to save concession card holders up to $43.80 per year per eligible medicine.

We wrote about this back in April amid concerns from pharmacists that the double prescription change would result in shortages of essential medicine. You can read more here.

Now let’s break this up further and look at the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ of the 2023-4 federal budget.

Winners:

Low-Income Renters

If you live in rental accommodation, you might be happy to hear that the maximum rate of the Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) payment will be increasing by 15% from September 20. This could mean a payment boost of up to $23.60 per fortnight (an increase from $157.20 a fortnight to $180.80) for single people with no dependants who are receiving the maximum CRA and do not share their rental home with anyone else.

Veterans

The Federal Budget is also improving services and support for veterans. There will be extra resources to tackle the backlog of support claims, plus increased demand for complex casework, rehabilitation, health approvals and pharmacy services. There will also be an additional $2m spent over two years to continue the Mental Health Literacy and Suicide Intervention Training program to help ex-service personnel.

Welfare Recipients (Some, not all)

For those receiving Centrelink benefits, the base rates of some payments will be rising by $40 per fortnight from September 20. This includes Youth Allowance, JobSeeker, Partnership Parental Payment and Austudy.

Welfare recipients are also eligible for a $500 payment off their energy bills under the Electricity Relief Grant Scheme, including pensioners and seniors health card holders. The government claims more than 5 million households will have up to $500 deducted from their power bills next financial year.

Now, the budget does also contain ‘bad news’ for some Australians. Read on to find out who was left behind in the 2023-4 federal budget.

Losers:

Travellers

Travellers taking off overseas will be hit with a $10 increase in the passenger movement charge, rising from $60 to $70 per passenger from July 1, 2024.

Smokers

The Government is increasing the tobacco excise by 5% a year for the next three years to help curb smoking in Australia.

What are they using this extra money for? The higher-taxed tobacco will pay for anti-vaping campaigns over the next four years.

It’s expected that $63.4m will be allocated to advertising campaigns, while $29.5m will be set aside for support services supporting Australians to quit smoking and vaping.

So there could be less second-hand smoke floating around your local city/shopping centre soon.

Middle-Income Renters

Middle-income renters may be disappointed that there is no immediate relief for them in the budget. The Government's incentives for build-to-rent schemes won't be creating new dwellings in the rental market for a few years.

Scammers

Technically this one is a positive for Australians – but it’s certainly a bad time to be a scammer. The Government will be setting up a $58m National Anti-Scam Centre to tackle the rising number of online scams in Australia. They'll also be introducing a $10.9m SMS Sender ID Registry to combat phoney text messages and allocate $17.6m in funds to identify and take down investment scams.

Overall, this is a $86.5m investment over four years.

Key Takeaways

• The 2023 federal budget focuses on cost-of-living relief, housing, healthcare, and clean energy measures, benefiting specific sectors of society.
• Low-income renters and welfare recipients will receive increased financial support.
• Healthcare funding will expand, increasing bulk-billing incentives for doctors, aged care worker salaries, and improving services for veterans.
• The budget aims to crack down on tobacco and online scammers but offers limited immediate relief for middle-income renters.

Inflation concerns?

The most vocal concerns going into the budget came from economists predicting that the cost of living packages would be inflationary.

So, what’s the verdict?

According to Greg Jericho, The Guardian columnist and policy director at the Centre for Future Work, ‘This is in no way an expansionary budget.’

The bottom line

We’ll see an increase in rent assistance for low-income renters, energy bill relief, an increase in JobSeeker and more bulk-billed GP appointments.

There has already been some opposition to the budget, with Greens leader Adam Bandt stating the budget is ‘a betrayal of renters, jobseekers and people doing it tough’.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will give his budget reply speech tonight.

This marks Labor’s first budget surplus in 15 years.

Did you tune into the budget, members? Did the government meet your expectations? Do you feel like the budget is addressing YOUR needs? Or do you feel left behind? Please let us know all of your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!

Nothing for pensioners except for a $250 payment for elec gas costs. This amounts to $5 per week.
Just another blow for pensioners. If you had not noticed the elec gas costs went up just prior to the budget.

 

[Macarj]

You can't please all of the people all of the time

 

[wjs1957]

This was NOT a budget in surplus. Surplus means that you have no debt. Australia will not have a surplus until the Government has NO DEBT!! Can't see this happening in my lifetime. Last time we had a REAL surplus was under Howard and Costello!!

Until Governments treat debt like people with common dog F&^K, this country will go to dogs IMHO!!

 

[Mr Chips]

I understand your frustration with rising rent, but bear in mind that a lot of investment properties have loans against them…. When there is a rise in interest rates, the owners of these properties need to also increase the rent to cover costs of the loan, body Corp increases and insurances… and let’s not forget groceries, fuel, etc etc that the owners pay for their day to day living…rental properties are not a gift… without investors… there are no rental properties….

These cost increases are no fault of the renter. The owners will be able to claim tax benefits from any increase in costs if their accountant is switched on so why should they be able to increase rentals?

 

[MindyMac]

How can they say we are in The Black when we are actually in The Red. False and misleading information.

Tell all Australia how much is $owed and the Interest rate as well per day.

Stop selling our assets. They're ours and instead invest in them ourselves and sell what the world needs. Employee Australians and use the profits to pay off the $debt.

 

[BRIAN KK]

There is NO excuse ... none whatsoever ... for property managers to pressure landlords to increase rents because there has been a rise in rent assistance. A friend of mine has a rental property and her property manager tried to force her to increase her rent a little while ago. She didn't want to as she has great tenants but the property managers told her they would charge her the increased fees even if she left it the same.
I am sorry but investment properties are a risk like every other investment and if you cannot afford some losses along the way then you have the wrong sort of investment for you. Share prices fluctuate if you invest in the stock market and interest rates vary if you invest in property. In the case of the property I have rented for the past 23 years, there is no mortgage ... it is owned by a deceased estate trust based in China.

Call their bluff, tell them they will get no fees and you'll get another agency to handle their property if they increase charges.

 

[BRIAN KK]

Surplus, I don't think so. Pensioners already get an energy rebate, is this $500 on top of that?

 

[Ezzy]

These cost increases are no fault of the renter. The owners will be able to claim tax benefits from any increase in costs if their accountant is switched on so why should they be able to increase rentals?

Well stated Mr Chips. Thankyou.

 

[Ezzy]

Even then this is just a sweetener until the first budget when we lose it all.

They always seem to forget the grey army until they want your vote.

 

[Ezzy]

I think the budget was reasonably fair for us older lot but I think that maybe a rental freeze on privately financed rental properties would have made us aged pensioners a lot more comfortable. I live in a small but comfortable granny flat with my dog and am very happy there. I have been on the housing list as a priority rating for the last 3 years but there are no premises available so I had to find my own. My landlord is a bit on the shifty side and at the end of my last lease, he forced me into a position where my rent increased from $295.00 per week including electricity up to $340.00 per week plus power. That was way above CPI but it was legal but unconscionable. I am pretty scared of what he will do at Christmas this year.

A win, win everytime for scrupulous Landlords out to make $'s from the needy at any cost. I believe the saying is, "Help the greedy, f..k the needy". They raise rents knowing a tenant will, in all likelihood pay the increase because they are settled. Perhaps landlords should/could raise rent minimally if that is necessary, but in 95% or more cases l am sure any increase is just money grabbing at a time when economic situations & an influx of immigrants mean more people are needing rentals.

We are starting to see a trend where elderly people in particular, are being forced out of accommodation & on to the street, living in their cars because they cannot afford the unrealistic rents being set by landlords.

ARE LANDLORDS LOWERING THEMSELVES TO THE STANDARDS OF THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES??? They certainly don't have an scruples, l think!!!

I hope for your sake your landlord does not decide to increase your rent again at Christmas time. The timing would be in bad taste then & would appear to take advantage of any small increase which may come from a CPI increase we get.

 

[LynneM]

I cannot get the electricity subsidy because we moved last september and the owner wanted to keep his solar electricity account in his name, so not in my name anymore. Gas is still in my name but only have heard about electricity prices that this is for? Thought solar would be cheap but our summer bill just in is for $385, is this good as it seems high to me. First time I have had solar, are their tricks to getting best out of it? I know not to use much!!! At least with my electricity bill I was paying it fortnightly on a plan, like my gas still is.

 

[Ezzy]

I cannot get the electricity subsidy because we moved last september and the owner wanted to keep his solar electricity account in his name, so not in my name anymore. Gas is still in my name but only have heard about electricity prices that this is for? Thought solar would be cheap but our summer bill just in is for $385, is this good as it seems high to me. First time I have had solar, are their tricks to getting best out of it? I know not to use much!!! At least with my electricity bill I was paying it fortnightly on a plan, like my gas still is.

Very unreasonable owner. Did you see the actual account from the Electricity Supplier which showed the charge was $385. Could the owner be adding on an extra 10% or whatever before you receive the account.

The recommendation for using solar power is to use appliances such as washing machine, dishwasher & the like between the hours of 9.00am & 3.00pm when demand is low (people at work). A/C usage outside these hours on hot days is of course unavoidable. (Hope this helps to some degree).

 

[Mr Chips]

A win, win everytime for scrupulous Landlords out to make $'s from the needy at any cost. I believe the saying is, "Help the greedy, f..k the needy". They raise rents knowing a tenant will, in all likelihood pay the increase because they are settled. Perhaps landlords should/could raise rent minimally if that is necessary, but in 95% or more cases l am sure any increase is just money grabbing at a time when economic situations & an influx of immigrants mean more people are needing rentals.

We are starting to see a trend where elderly people in particular, are being forced out of accommodation & on to the street, living in their cars because they cannot afford the unrealistic rents being set by landlords.

ARE LANDLORDS LOWERING THEMSELVES TO THE STANDARDS OF THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES??? They certainly don't have an scruples, l think!!!

I hope for your sake your landlord does not decide to increase your rent again at Christmas time. The timing would be in bad taste then & would appear to take advantage of any small increase which may come from a CPI increase we get.

Thank you Ezzy, I hope there is only a minimal increase because living in my car is not possible as I don't have one. Merry Christmas.