COTA NT NEWS

Central News COTA NT – CENTRAL AUSTRALIA NEWS Issue 1: January 2019 NT CONCESSION and SENIORS RECOGNITION SCHEMES You must confirm your details with Territory Families NT Concession Unit for the NT Concession and Seniors Recognition Schemes. Members of the previous NTPCCS were asked to confirm their membership by 31 December 2018 to continue their eligibility. All members of the previous scheme were transitioned across to the NTCS and those who were eligible for the SRS needed to confirm their membership and advise how they would like to spend their $500.

Background The old NT Pensioner and Carer Concession Scheme (NTPCCS) was replaced on 1 July 2018 with two schemes – the NT Concessions Scheme (NTCS) which is a means-tested scheme supporting eligible Territorians with the cost of living, and the Seniors Recognition Scheme (SRS) which all senior Territorians over the age of 65 can access.

Info • Members who have not confirmed their details will have their membership suspended on 31 January 2019. • People who have not confirmed their details will have their membership cancelled on 28 February 2019. • For further details about the schemes, visit the website https://ntconcessions.nt.gov.au/?q=contact.

Action People affected will be advised in writing of the suspension and encouraged to contact the NT Concession and Recognition unit on 1800 777 704 immediately for assistance to confirm their details and reinstate their membership. • Phone 1800 777 704 • Email [email protected] • Visit one of Territory Family shop fronts https://ntconcessions.nt.gov.au/?q=contacts (locations advised here).

COTA NT Inc 65 Smith Street P: (08) 8941 1004 GPO Box 852 Darwin NT 0800 E: [email protected] Darwin NT 0801 ABN 86 316 991 800 www.cotant.org.au

COTA NT NEWS

WEEKLY SENIORS PAGE IN CENTRALIAN ADVOCATE The Centralian Advocate has recently started a “Seniors Page” in the Tuesday edition of the paper, devoted to seniors’ activities in and . This weekly page relies on contributions from seniors and senior organisations to continue, so if you have something of interest to this age group – activities, information, leisure, news etc. - please email Steve Menzies on [email protected] or call him on 8950 9777 to arrange your article or story.

NT SENIORS CARD The NT Seniors Card recognises the contribution of seniors to the life of the and is available to all NT residents, 60 and over who reside in the Territory, irrespective of whether they are currently employed, a pensioner, retired or any other category.

The Seniors Card entitles you to various discounts at participating stores in the NT, free bus travel in Alice Springs and Darwin and a $55 discount on your annual vehicle registration. Similar schemes are available to other residents of Australia in their home states.

More info and the online application form for the NT Seniors Card is available at [email protected] or by calling 0438 635 354. This program is managed by COTA NT.

LAUNCH OF 2019 SENIORS CARD DIRECTORY The updated 2019 Seniors Card Discount Directory of participating Territory- wide businesses will be launched by the Hon. Dale Wakefield MLA, Minister for Territory Families on Friday 12 April at Megafauna Central in Todd Mall.

This year the NT Seniors Card celebrates its 20th Year in the Northern Territory and we are delighted that the Minister will join us in Alice Springs for the anniversary celebration and launch event. All seniors are invited to the launch and morning tea, so keep your eye out for more details on this event.

The 2018 Directory is still available from the town library, visitors information centre, the Territory Families shopfront and electoral offices or by contacting myself on [email protected] or at the contact details below. The online version, which is continuously updated is available at www.ntseniorscard.org.au.

COTA NT Inc 65 Smith Street P: (08) 8941 1004 GPO Box 852 Darwin NT 0800 E: [email protected] Darwin NT 0801 ABN 86 316 991 800 www.cotant.org.au

COTA NT NEWS

INFORMATION ABOUT SENIOR TERRITORIANS FROM THE 2018 COTA SURVEY COTA NT released the major findings of its recent survey at the end of last year and some of the results are not surprising, especially in relation to assisted dying/euthanasia. Over 78% of respondents were in agreeance with this stance. Over 68% of Territorians advised they will be staying in their community in the next five years, which is a good result for retaining seniors in the Territory. The major findings of the survey are available on COTA NT’s website for those who are interested in seeing the Seniors’ Survey 2018 Snapshot.

Available on the COTA NT website, https://www.cotant.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/COTANT2018SeniorsSurveySnapshot.pdf https://www.cotant.org.au/about-us/who-is-cota/cota-advocacy/council-on-the-ageing-nt-2018- survey/

CONTACT DETAILS I work on Tuesday and Thursday mornings (from 8.30am to 1.30 pm) in the 50+ Centre, 11 Wills Terrace – opposite the Todd Tavern. The car park is on the northern Anzac Oval side, so you need to drive through the council car park to get to it.

I am also available at my email address [email protected] and on my mobile 0438 635 354 at other times as well. I am often out and about, so it’s wise to give me a call to arrange a time to call in.

Regards Fran Kilgariff – Coordinator COTA NT – Central Australia

COTA NT Inc 65 Smith Street P: (08) 8941 1004 GPO Box 852 Darwin NT 0800 E: [email protected] Darwin NT 0801 ABN 86 316 991 800 www.cotant.org.au