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7 February 2026
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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.
From 1 January 2016, the aged care means test changed to include the value of any rental income received on the former family home. This and other proposed changes will affect aged care users differently.
When choosing where to live in retirement, understanding the features and financial arrangements of each option is the best way to avoid those common regrets. But sort it out before making the move.
Under the current pension reforms, changes to the asset test taper, which are designed to reduce the entitlement of part-pensioners, will also hit ‘downsizers’ and people moving into aged care hard.
The primary objective of the aged care reforms starting on 1 July 2014 was to create a better system giving older people more choice, more control and easier access to aged care services. There are unintended consequences.
The final of our series on aged care in Australia covers aged care facilities. More than a third of men and half of women who reach 65 are expected at some point to live in aged care. Understanding the recent reforms is key.
Our cost-of-living pressures go beyond the RBA: surging house prices, excessive migration, and expanding government programs, including the NDIS, are fuelling inflation, demanding bold, structural solutions.
The latest draft legislation may be an improvement but it still has the whiff of a wealth tax about it. The question remains whether a golden opportunity for simpler and fairer super tax reform has been missed.
Your super isn’t a bank account you own; it’s a trust you merely benefit from. So why would the Division 296 tax you personally on assets, income and gains you legally don’t own?
Inflation consistently undermines wealth, even in low-inflation environments. Whether or not it returns to target, investors must protect portfolios from its compounding impact on future living standards.
Global equity markets have experienced stellar returns in 2024 and 2025 led, in large part, by the boom in AI. Which sector could be the next star in global markets? This names three future winners.
The case for listed infrastructure is built on stable earnings and cash flows, which have sustained 4% dividend yields across cycles and supported consistent, inflation-linked long-term returns.
The US stock market sits in prolonged bubble territory, driven by AI enthusiasm. History suggests eventual mean reversion, reminding investors to weigh potential risks against current market optimism.