Your Rights at Retirement A guide to making decisions and navigating your entitlements in later life • Revised edition • 2019 © Australian Human Rights Commission 2019. The Australian Human Rights Commission encourages the dissemination and exchange of information presented in this publication and endorses the use of the Australian Governments Open Access and Licensing Framework (AusGOAL). All material presented in this publication is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence, with the exception of: • photographs and images; • the Commission’s logo, any branding or trademarks; • content or material provided by third parties; and • where otherwise indicated. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/legalcode. In essence, you are free to copy, communicate and adapt the publication, as long as you attribute the Australian Human Rights Commission and abide by the other licence terms. Please give attribution to: © Australian Human Rights Commission 2019. Your Rights at Retirements: A guide to making decisions and navigating your entitlements in later life • Revised edition • 2019 ISBN 978-1-925917-05-5 Report Preparation This publication was drafted by Mala Wadhera with assistance from Fabienne Baldan, Adriana Siddle and Jacqueline Au. The revised edition was updated by Catherine Earl, Kathryn Proft and Rachel McDonald. Acknowledgements The Australian Human Rights Commission thanks the many government departments, statutory authorities, NGOs and individuals who assisted with the development of this publication. This publication can be found in electronic format on the Australian Human Rights Commission’s website at: www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/ your-rights-retirement. For further information about the Australian Human Rights Commission or copyright in this publication, please contact: Australian Human Rights Commission GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001 Telephone: (02) 9284 9600 Email: [email protected] Design and layout Dancingirl Designs Cover image iStock Cartoons Fiona Katauskas 2 Your Rights at Retirement • 2019 • 3 Your Rights at Retirement A guide to making decisions and navigating your entitlements in later life Revised edition • 2019 Australian Human Rights Commission 2019 2 Your Rights at Retirement • 2019 • 3 Contents Foreword 5 1 Introduction 7 2 Your right to be free from discrimination 9 3 Your right to social connection and communication 17 4 Your right to access government services 27 5 Your right to government income support 43 6 Your right to support in making financial decisions 61 7 Your right to plan your will and other end of life decisions 93 8 Your right to be free from financial abuse 125 9 Your right to work 143 10 Your right to health care 149 11 Your right to housing 171 12 Your right to aged care 197 13 Your right to safety and security 213 14 Your right to transport 231 15 Your right to access specialist services 249 4 Your Rights at Retirement • 2019 • 5 The Hon Kay Patterson AO Age Discrimination Commissioner Australian Human Rights Commission Foreword The idea for this publication came about in 2012 when my predecessor, the first Age Discrimination Commissioner the Hon Susan Ryan AO, realised how complex it is to navigate the services, supports and the decisions that are part of retirement. Since then, there have been many changes to the ways we can access government services and much new information and support available. Retirement is definitely a time for careful planning and for being well informed about what is available. For many people it is hard to know where to start and what to plan. There is income support, health and aged care, senior’s cards, financial planning, superannuation, housing and rent assistance, to name a few. And to find out about each different topic you may have to contact a different government department or other service. Your Rights at Retirement gives you plenty of information in one resource. It aims to guide you and prompt you to think about the decisions you should be making or planning for the future. It encourages you to plan your retirement finances so there are no unwanted surprises. It gives you information about forms of elder abuse and tips about how to avoid scams. I hope this publication becomes a one-stop-shop reference guide, where you can find useful information about and the contact details for the many and various services out there. It is not an authority on any one topic. Rather it is a beginning point. I encourage you to browse the contents and even read it from cover to cover. I guarantee you will learn about new services, processes and procedures. 4 Your Rights at Retirement • 2019 • 5 Foreword Australia is lucky to have so many services and supports for older people. These help us to realise our human right to respect and dignity as we age. I hope Your Rights at Retirement assists you to find the services that meet your needs so that you can enjoy retirement and make the most of this phase of life. The Hon Kay Patterson AO Age Discrimination Commissioner April 2019 6 Your Rights at Retirement • 2019 • 7 1 Introduction Retirement may come upon you suddenly or it can be a gradual process that is carefully planned and anticipated over the years. The choices and experiences of retirement are different for every individual. Whatever your situation, it is important to know the options that are available to you and the services that can assist you. It is also important that you think about the decisions you may need to make in retirement. This resource helps you to navigate the different phases of ageing. It can be used as a reference guide when you need to check a topic, or it can be read chapter by chapter to get a snapshot of the services and supports on offer. Research and planning will assist you to make the most of the entitlements and responsibilities that come with retirement. Each topic in this resource gives you a brief description of an issue and guides you to more information or to complaint processes. This new edition, you will find information about important topics such as elder abuse, powers of attorney, getting help in an emergency, demystifying superannuation, changes to government income support, and avoiding new types of financial and identity scams. We have updated the information about programs and services available to older Australians and also updated listings for specialist services. Contact details are provided so you can find more information and assistance when you need it. We have included new online services in line with the Australian Government’s commitment to a ‘single digital identity’. Even though the internet has become the first point of contact for many government services, we understand this does not mean you prefer to use the internet. So, we have also included other forms of contact as well. We have updated phone numbers and included new national helpline numbers and Freecall numbers. Be aware that some phone numbers may have long wait times. Where available, we have also included postal addresses for people who prefer to write a letter and street addresses for people who prefer to contact a service in person. Note that when we provide contact details to ‘visit’ a government department, it is usually to visit their website not their actual office. All contact details were current at the time of publication. As services and guides are updated regularly, you should check the information remains current. Please let us know if you notice some information has gone out-of-date or is no longer accurate. To give feedback, contact the Australian Human Rights Commission policy section on 1300 369 711 or visit www.humanrights.gov.au to access a web form. You can also write to us at: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001. 6 Your Rights at Retirement • 2019 • 7 8 Your Rights at Retirement • 2019 • 9 2 Your right to be free from discrimination As you get older, people may try to treat you differently because of your age. You have a right to be to be treated equally and without discrimination, regardless of your age. This chapter describes age discrimination as well as other forms of unlawful discrimination. It also provides guidance for seeking information, advice and remedies. 2.1 Age discrimination Age discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of their age. Age discrimination also occurs when there is a rule or policy that is the same for everyone but has an unfair effect on people of a particular age. Examples of age discrimination include: • An older applicant is not considered for a job because it is assumed that they are not as up-to-date with technology as a younger person. • An older employee is not offered training opportunities at work because it is assumed they will retire soon. • An employer requires an older person to meet a physical fitness test for a job where their physical fitness has nothing to do with their ability to perform the essential duties of the job. • A bank has a policy of denying all loan applications from people aged 65 and older. In most cases it is against the law to treat a person unfairly because of their age. In some circumstances, treating someone differently because of their age will not be against the law. These circumstances include: • Things done in compliance with Commonwealth, state and territory laws • Things done as part of some health programs • ‘Positive discrimination’, where a genuine benefit is provided to people of a particular age group, or something is done that helps to meet an identified need of people of a certain age group • In the case of insurance and superannuation, if the discrimination is reasonably based on statistical data or other relevant factors 8 Your Rights at Retirement • 2019 • 9 2 Your right to be free from discrimination 2.2 Disability discrimination Disability discrimination happens when people with disability are treated less fairly than people without disability.