COLUMNIST ARTICLES

Business Interruption – AICOW (Additional Increased Cost of Working)

GENERAL INSURANCE

By Craig Anderson

Additional increases in cost of working which arise during a period of interruption to a business, can be covered under a business pack policy. The cost of removal and relocation of stock and equipment after a shop is storm damaged for example, is additional to normal operating costs. As it is a necessary expense incurred as a result of an insured occurrence, costs may be covered if the AICOW option is selected. An appropriate sum insured, and time period also need to be selected. Hire costs for emergency shuttering or hoardings, generator hire, or even temporary security patrol costs, to name a few items which may be covered.

Many business owners are well versed in the main Business Interruption section of their policy, and realise they are reliant on their location for passing trade. Even a temporary relocation due to a fire or storm may cause a plunge in revenue, and so they are keen to cover their gross profit or gross revenue depending on which option is best. Due to the tendency to often overlook the AICOW costs which may be incurred as a result of a total or partial loss, the client could suffer financially. The default level of cover offered in your average business pack is usually only $25k for a year, and can be increased to meet your needs.

If your business premises could take 2 years to rebuild after a total loss, and it is necessary to relocate until the replacement building is completed, you will need to allow an adequate sum to refit other premises to meet your needs. Remember that there will be time spent on planning applications, building permits, possible problems with re-zoning, and construction delays with bad weather or supply of materials or trades.

We all imagine that if the premises we rely on for our living are destroyed, that they will be back in a year; however this is very rarely ever the case. In fact, 2 years can be too short a period depending on size, type, location, and complexity of the building.

The simple solution is to sit down with your broker and examine your position carefully; it may just save you a load of money and heartache.

For a health check of your business insurance, contact Small Business Insurance Brokers via email: sales@ smallbusinessinsurancebrokers.com.au

Any advice in this article has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of that, before acting on the above advice, you should consider its appropriateness (having regard to your objectives, needs and financial situation).

Craig Anderson

GENERAL INSURANCE Small Business Insurance Brokers www. heightsafetyinsurancebrokers.com.au 0418 300 096

Stolen generations payments in Vic: ATO factsheet

By Warren Strybosch

The ATO has published a fact sheet on the tax treatment of lump sums paid by the Victorian Government under the Stolen Generations Reparations Package and Stolen Generations Funeral Fund. The ATO says such payments by the Victorian Government to a Stolen Generations member are not taxable. Accordingly, these payments do not need to be shown in the tax return for a Stolen Generations member because they are not taxable.

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Deeming Rates to be frozen for two years

By Warren Strybosch

Labor and the Coalition have announced that they will freeze the social security deeming rates for the next two years. The Prime Minister said about 450,000 Age Pensioners and 440,000 other social security recipients would benefit from this measure. The lower deeming rate will be frozen at 0.25% for financial investments up to $53,600 for single pensioners and $89,000 for pensioner couples. The upper deeming rate will remain at 2.25% on investment assets over the amount of $53,600 (or $89,000 for couples). The Opposition Leader said Labor would also freeze the deeming rates for two years.

Call to Protect Aussies from Crypto Scams

Marion Rae (Australian Associated Press)

Consumer advocates are urging the incoming Labor government to rein in the unregulated cryptocurrency industry as a reform priority.

“Choice is hearing from many Australians about financial loss and other harm caused by purchasing crypto assets that were not what they appeared to be,” the consumer group’s spokesman Patrick Veyret said on Tuesday.

“We’ve seen a number of recent collapses of exchanges where people have lost all of their savings with no ability to get their money back.”

A national survey released by Choice shows more than one in nine Australians (12 per cent) have bought cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum in the past 12 months, setting them up for steep losses if they fled the market during the recent crash.

Another 11 per cent of Australians are interested in purchasing digital currencies, the survey found.

A majority of those surveyed agreed that cryptocurrency trading should have consumer protections similar to trading on the stock market.

Aggressive marketing and promotion campaigns by the crypto industry, often involving celebrities and influencers, are luring Australians into purchases.

Choice has also seen a surge in scams on crypto exchanges. In 2021, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission received more than 10,000 reports of crypto scams from consumers with losses totalling about $129 million.

Last December, Australian exchange MyCryptoWallet collapsed leaving more than 20,000 consumers out of pocket as $21 million evaporated.

In January 2019, Australian exchange ACX.io suddenly collapsed and wiped out $10 million.

In both these collapses, consumers have no recourse for compensation, Choice said.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission has limited powers to take action under current laws.

Market manipulation of the pricing of digital currencies is also a concern.

Research by the University of Technology, Sydney Business School found more than 350 “pump and dump” events on two exchanges over a seven-month period, with extreme price distortions and abnormally high trading volumes in the millions of dollars.

Manipulators encourage thousands of followers on social media or encrypted message apps to buy the coin, and then sell the overvalued cryptocurrency. The price falls and everyday investors lose out.

Choice has made a submission to the new federal government calling for urgent reforms. “Australians expect the same level of consumer protection and regulatory oversight for crypto assets as they do with other financial products,” Mr Veyret said.

CRYPTO REFORM WISHLIST

1. Exchanges that sell or are in control of cryptocurrencies need to be subject to strong legal obligations, including market integrity rules, reporting requirements, and a ban on market manipulation.

2. People should have strong consumer protections when purchasing crypto assets, including the prohibition of misleading and deceptive conduct and unfair contract terms.

3. A “no loopholes” regulatory regime should capture all crypto asset providers and digital assets, including currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFT).

Flu Prompts Urgent Appeal For Blood Donors

Phoebe Loomes (Australian Associated Press)

Australians are being urged to roll up their sleeves and donate blood as a burgeoning flu season causes supplies to plummet.

Some 17,500 people are urgently needed to donate blood within the next week or stocks could fall to just two days worth by midweek, according to Australian Red Cross Lifeblood.

The fall in stocks of A, O and B stocks has been caused by cancellations and no shows amid the cold, flu and COVID-19 season, Executive Director of Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Cath Stone said.

“We know people are sick with cold and flu. We know people’s children are unwell and keeping donors at home,” Ms Stone said.

“And we know many people are still having to isolate due to COVID.

“We are pleading with anyone who is well and healthy to book a donation today and encourage your friends and family to do the same. “We have 15,500 blood donations booked in for the next week, but based on current cancellations and no-shows, we know a large number of these won’t result in a donation.”

Even without cancellations, there remain thousands of appointments still to be filled, Ms Stone said.

“There are patients in hospital right now who are relying on blood for cancer treatment, surgery, accidents and complicated births,” she said. People wanting to donate blood can book an appointment at lifeblood. com.au, on the DonateBlood app or by calling 13 14 95.

Number of appointments needed across Australia:

• NSW – 4500 • VIC – 4500 • QL – 4000 • WA – 1900 • SA – 1400 • ACT – 800 • TAS – 600 • NT – 200 • NA – 17,500

Phoenixing – Directors Banned

By Warren Strybosch

ASIC has successful banned a Tasmanian director who engaged in illegal phoenixing for several years.

Between 2014 and 2018, Mr Robert John Walker was a director of Tazzy Tyres Wholesale, Tazzy Tyres Accessories, Tazzy Tyres Retail and Tazzy Tyres Pty Ltd. The companies provided retail sales of, and services related to tyres.

Mr Walker engaged in illegal phoenix activities, whereby he transferred the assets of indebted companies to other companies for no consideration, namely Tazzy Tyres Accessories and Tazzy Tyres. He also failed to maintain proper financial records for all four companies. ASIC disqualified Mr Robert John Walker of Rosetta, Tasmania, from managing companies for five years and as a resultof breaching his director’s duties for his involvement in four failed companies, has been disqualified from managing corporations for five years after engaging in illegal phoenix activity.

“At the time of ASIC’s decision, the four companies owed unsecured creditors $1,944,418 including $855,121 owed to the ATO,” ASIC said. “In disqualifying Mr Walker, ASIC relied on supplementary reports lodged by the liquidator of the four companies, Barry Hamilton of Barry Hamilton and Associates.”

Mr Walker is disqualified from managing corporations until 2 May 2027.

Mr Walker has the right to seek a review of ASIC’s decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

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ASIC takes Online influencer to court

By Warren Strybosch

In our April edition we wrote about the new laws surrounding influencers; notably, that ASIC has warned social media influencers that they may face substantial risks and penalties if they promote financial products and services online.

Recently, ASIC has taken an influencer to court and they have been convicted of charges under s1041D of the Corporations Act, in relation to their online posts on HotCopper.

In a statement issued by the corporate regulator, it confirmed that on 6 June 2022, Gabriel Govinda, known online as Fibonarchery, pleaded guilty to 23 charges of manipulation of listed stocks on the Australian Securities Exchange and 19 charges of illegal dissemination of information relating to the manipulation.

ASIC found that between September 2014 to July 2015, Mr Govinda used 13 different share trading accounts, held in the names of friends and relatives, to manipulate the share price of 20 different listed stocks.

ASIC has previously warned about social media led ‘pump and dump’ campaigns.

“ASIC continues to act against this form of market manipulation that threatens the integrity of markets. Posting on social media to coordinate ‘pump and dump’ activity in listed stocks is an offence under the Corporations Act,” the corporate regulator stressed.

It also noted a concerning trend of social media posts being used to coordinate ‘pump and dump’ activity in listed stocks, which may amount to market manipulation in breach of the Corporations Act.

Mr Govinda faces a maximum penalty for each charge of 10 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to $765,000, or both.

In March 2019, the maximum penalty for these offences was increased to 15 years.

ASIC is serious about stopping influencers posting ‘general advice’ via social media in relation to financial products and services. Stating you are providing the advice under the guise of ‘general advice’ or that you are doing so as a ‘financial counsellor’ will also not suffice. If you do not hold the appropriate financial planning qualifications and/ or have an Australian Financial Services Licence, then you should not be providing this type of advice. Not only does this apply to influencers but also to mortgage brokers selling personal insurances and accountants providing superannuation advice.

ASIC has provided enough warnings to all of these groups and now are pursuing them in court.

Don’t Double Dip Your Deductions This Tax Time

ACCOUNTANT

By Warren Strybosch

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is reminding people not to make the mistake of double dipping their deductions in their tax return this year.

Assistant Commissioner Tim Loh explained “Around 8.4 million Australians claimed nearly $19.8 billion in workrelated expenses in 2021. That’s a lot of deductions so we want to make sure you get it right the first time. It’s important you claim what you’re entitled to – no more, no less.”

When people prepare their tax return, it’s important to remember the rules for claiming different types of workrelated expenses. What can be claimed depends on the type of job, individual circumstances, and whether there are the required records to support the claim.

“While some people make genuine mistakes, we do see people trying to gain an unfair advantage by claiming incorrect or false expenses. A mistake that we often see in tax returns is people claiming expenses twice.”

“You wouldn’t double dip your chip, so don’t double dip your deductions” Mr Loh said.

“Remember, we use sophisticated data analytics to monitor for incorrect information and you risk being audited or penalised for deliberately providing incorrect information.”

Below are some ‘double dipping’ mistakes the ATO sees when people lodge their tax returns each year.

Working from home expenses and the shortcut method

“One in three Aussies claimed working from home expenses in their tax return last year and we expect this trend to continue” Mr Loh said. A common mistake we see is people using the working from home shortcut method to claim their working from home expenses and then double dipping, claiming additional amounts in their return for expenses such as their mobile phone and internet bills, as well as the decline in value of equipment and furniture.

When the working from home shortcut method is used to claim working from home expenses, it is all-inclusive.

There are three methods available to claim a deduction for working from home expenses depending on individual circumstances, the shortcut, fixed rate and actual cost methods. The method that gives people the best outcome can be used, as long as the eligibility and record-keeping requirements for their chosen method are observed.

Taxpayers can use the home office expenses calculator to help them work out which method will give them the best outcome.

“While the traditional methods require receipts, paperwork and other record keeping, the shortcut method only requires a record of hours worked – diary entries or timesheets will suffice,” Mr Loh said.

When claiming working from home expenses using the shortcut method, the amount needs to be included at the Other work-related expenses question in tax returns with ‘COVID-hourly rate’ in the description field.

If a method other than the shortcut method is used in later years and you want to claim depreciation for an expensive purchase such as a laptop, the correct records for that item must be kept.

“Getting your tax return right is simple if you have the right records. Make sure you have your records before you lodge your tax return and keep your records after you’ve lodged, in case we have any questions. The easiest way to keep track of your records is with the ATO app” Mr Loh said.

“Even if you choose to lodge your tax return with a registered tax agent, it is still your responsibility to make sure the agent has all the correct records” explains Mr Loh.

Car expenses

Nearly 3 million people claimed workrelated car expenses in 2021 and one of the most common mistakes was people using the cents per kilometre method to make their claim, and then double dipping by claiming expenses separately such as fuel, car insurance, and registration.

The cents per kilometre rate is allinclusive and covers decline in value, registration, insurance, maintenance, repairs, and fuel costs. These expenses can’t be added on top of the rate when calculating deductions.

The ATO will also be taking a closer look at claims calculated using the logbook method, to ensure they reflect people’s circumstances coming out of the pandemic.

“You must choose your preferred method when calculating car expenses, the cents per kilometre or the logbook method. Just because there is a dip in the road, doesn’t mean you can double dip your car expenses” Mr Loh said.

Reimbursed expenses

Finally, the ATO is making sure taxpayers aren’t claiming expenses where they have already been reimbursed by their employer.

“If your boss has reimbursed your drycleaning costs for your uniform, but you then claim laundry deductions on your tax return, well you’re picking your neighbours’ pockets” Mr Loh said.

For more information visit ato.gov.au/ deductions

[Source: ato.gov.au]

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Warren Strybosch

Work begins on rebooting digital economy

Marion Rae (Australian Associated Press)

Australia’s peak body for innovation technology has called for a digital economy minister to be appointed within the Labor cabinet to urgently fix the crippling skills shortage.

“Our sector could easily employ 1.5 million Australians in the next few years if the government addresses our skills shortage and supports the sector,” Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) CEO Ron Gauci said.

The proposed role would oversee policy and regulation of the tech sector, promote new training and education, and make Australia a leading digital government so the nation can achieve top 10 digital economy status by 2030.

Australia has dropped on the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s Global Innovation Index during the Morrison government, having fallen five places to 25 over the past three years. The sector fights for staff in a global talent pool, and risks the loss of groundbreaking ideas to rival economies without internationally competitive research, tax and investment policy settings. Commercialisation of Australian intellectual property needs greater support to continue to deliver growth and jobs in Australia, ensuring our IP is not sold overseas, Mr Gauci said.

Australian Computer Society president Nick Tate said Labor’s plans to build an advanced manufacturing sector will require a strong national investment in digital skills as well as incentives for business to invest in emerging technologies. Under the Future Made in Australia policy, Labor pledged to provide up to $15 billion of capital through loans, equity and guarantees to projects in resources, agriculture, transport, medical science, defence technology, and renewable energy and low emissions technologies. Australian businesses who could be providing goods and services have been missing out on billions of dollars of government contracts, according to Labor. A Made in Australia Office is expected to be established within the prime minister’s own department to support local firms.

Labor has also promised to fix the reach and quality of the NBN and keep it in public ownership, with 90 per cent of Australians to have access to world-class gigabit speeds by 2025.

Civica executive Ben Cowling says the ambitious reform agenda for the social housing, health and care sectors depends on accelerating the pace of digital transformation across public services.

The Insurance Council has urged Labor to reset policy to bolster the resilience of Australia’s digital environment, including a sustainable cyber insurance market.

The AIIA is calling for a separate research and development software tax incentive and an expansion of the limited scope of a “patent box” proposed by the previous government.

The planned patent box would have taxed business income from Australian medical and biotechnology patents at a concessional rate of 17 per cent, effective July 1. But ex-Treasurer Josh Frydenberg failed to pass the 2021/22 budget measure into law before the end of the last parliament.

SUPER GUARANTEE CHANGES TO TAKE AFFECT 1ST JULY 2022

Employers are reminded that from 1 July 2022, that all employees can be eligible for super guarantee (SG), regardless of how much they earn.

The $450 per month eligibility threshold related to SG has been removed and so every dollar earned will now attract SG.

However, employers need only to pay super for workers under 18 when they work more than 30 hours in a week.

The ATO also reminded employers that the SG rate will also increase from 10% to 10.5% on 1 July 2022. As a result, employers will need to use the new rate to calculate super on payments made to employees on or after 1 July, even if some or all of the pay period is for work done before 1 July.

Company Tax Rates are changing but not everyone is eligible.

Did you know that reduced tax rates may be available to eligible entities? These include companies, corporate unit trusts and public trading trusts.

If your company is a 'base rate entity', your company tax rate is 25% from the 2021–22 income year onwards. For your company to be a 'base rate entity', it needs to meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Your aggregated turnover for the income year is less than the aggregated turnover threshold (which is $50 million from the 2018–19 income year onwards, or $25 million for the 2017–18 income year). • If your company earns passive income, it cannot exceed 80% of the company's assessable income in that income year. Passive income can include: • corporate distributions and their franking credits; royalties and rent; most income from interest; gains on qualifying securities; and a net capital gain.

The full company tax rate of 30% applies to all companies that are not eligible for this lower company tax rate. The rates are different for previous years and different rules apply.

Go to https://www.ato.gov.au/rates/changes-to-company-tax-rates/ to learn more.

energy price hikes after 'perfect storm'

Dominic Giannini (Australian Associated Press)

A spike in gas prices, liquid fuels and electricity have created a perfect storm within Australia’s energy market.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the failure of the Liberal government to land an energy policy and put in place infrastructure for renewables has made the domestic market less resilient.

“This is the chickens coming home to roost when it comes to almost a decade now of climate change and energy policy failure from our predecessors,” he told reporters in Canberra.

“Our first responsibility in times like this is to implement our Powering Australia plan, so we can boost renewables and storage but most of all boost certainty so we can get that investment flowing … to make our energy markets more predictable.”

Dr Chalmers says the spike in gas prices has multiple causes and no easy solutions as he plans discussions with regulators and other ministers to manage increasing costs. “There is no simple mechanism that would immediately take this pressure off the gas price,” he said.

“These challenges will not be addressed overnight but it’s important we work hard together to address them.” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says the cost of living and rising energy prices remain key concerns for the government, with some families struggling to afford turning on the heaters.

“We are very well aware of that,” he told the Nine Network. “It is not something we can solve overnight but we will be working very hard with the policies we’ve put forward to get the energy policy settled. “Renewables are going to take a long time. No one is saying it’s not important but that’s going to take some time.”

As Labor looks to address the issue, more than 80,000 customers could face energy price hikes of more than double, the CEO of smaller power retailer ReAmped says.

Luke Blincoe says he is being upfront with customers by telling them the retailer cannot offer them the best deals, with wholesale electricity costs higher than retail prices. “We thought we would be upfront and tell our customers (that) to get the best deal they would have to leave us. It is gutting for us but it’s the right thing to do,” he told Nine Network.

Mr Blincoe said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the exposure of Australia’s domestic gas market to global gas prices resulted in rocketing rises. “The wholesale energy price is effectively set by the gas price and the Australian gas price has now effectively doubled with the global commodity price for gas,” he said.

“We’ve seen a really, really steep incline. As late as the last seven days, it has really rocketed away. That’s the driver of the energy prices.” The Australian Energy Regulator has a dedicated price comparison website, Energy Made Easy, which shows offers allowing residential customers to save about $443, or 24 per cent, off their bills. Small businesses can save about $1308, or 29 per cent, by switching.

Personal Insurances: What is it and are you wasting your money on it?

FINANCIAL PLANNING

By Warren Strybosch

Last year I met with a couple who were in the early fifties. They wanted to review their financial situation to make sure they were on the right track leading into retirement. As part of their pre-retirement planning, we had to review their personal insurances. Whilst this was not an area, they had considered needing reviewing, it is an important part of their planning to get right. Why? Simply put, insurances cost money. It is either being paid for out of cash flow or it is being paid for from superannuation. At the end of the day, your personal insurances premiums will have an impact on how much you will have in retirement. On the flip side, if you don’t have enough insurances in place and you suffer an illness and/or injury, you might have to sell some of your assets to help cover future costs or the loss of income because of sustaining a said injury or illness. The loss of assets prior to retirement can have a devasting impact on one’s future retirement aspirations.

My analysis of the couple’s situation was that, whilst they had enough assets e.g., two investment properties and plenty of superannuation, they still should consider holding on to their Income Protection at the very least. They had discussed cancelling all of their insurances as they did not feel the need to hold on to it anymore; after all, they had two investment properties.

During my review, I referred the clients on to a mortgage broker to refinance their investment loans. Whilst they were refinancing their loans, even the mortgage broker encouraged them to hold on to their income protection and life insurance until they either had paid off their loans or had reach retirement age.

The outcome, the couple believed they could self-insure and made the decision to cancel all their insurances. Selfinsure, as it states, is where you decide to use your own assets or have a plan in place to cover any future insurable costs without the need to rely on any insurance – basically, they were going alone on this. diagnosed with terminal cancer. The couple had to sell both investment properties to help cover medical bills and the associated costs of trying to battle the horrible disease. They ended up losing all their assets they had built up during their working life. It was horrible to watch her struggle with the cancer and it was made worse that they were now worried about their future livelihoods.

A few years back, a different client, that I had inherited from another financial advisor, rang me up and wanted to cancel all his insurance cover immediately. The male client, in his sixties, was very irate and accused me of not helping him last year when he had suffered a mild heart attack. Given the insurer told him recently he was not entitled to a payout, he told me what he thought of me and what I could do with the insurances. I acknowledged he was upset, apologized for my lack of service that I provided to him last year (even though I could not recall speaking to him) and proceeded to ask him a few questions. I learned he had undergone surgery and had a stent put in one of his arteries. Whilst I was talking to him I looked up his policy and discovered he had income protection in place and trauma plus cover.

I asked the client if I could enquire with the insurer on his behalf because I felt that he might be able to put a claim in. The client was incredulous that I believe he might be entitled to something. He was angry and reiterate the claim had already been denied. I explained that I felt he might be entitled to a part payment and that his income protection might also come into play. He admitted he had not enquired about the income protection but was very dubious about the part trauma payment. Even though he was not impressed with me he allowed me to make some enquires on his behalf. We agreed I would call him back as soon as I heard something.

I rang the insurer and enquired about his heart attack and whether a full claim was payable. The insurer had his information on file and as they had explained to the client, he was not entitled to a trauma payment. I then proceeded to ask about a partial payment because of the ‘trauma plus’ part of the policy. Ironically, the insurer did not pick up that he had ‘trauma plus’ and agreed that under ‘trauma plus’ the client might be entitled to a part claim. I then enquired about his Income Protection as well, and sure enough, the client had never made a claim under his Income Protection even though he had many months off work due to his heart attack.

I rung the client back up and explained what I had found and that not only did I believe he would be entitled to a partial payment, but I also felt he might be entitled to an Income Protection claim. The client was still annoyed and thought I might be making all of this up but was willing to go along with the process – he did not want to take the chance of missing out in case I might be right.

To shorten this story, the end result was that the client was not entitled to one partial trauma payment but in fact two

partial trauma payments as he had two stents put in at over a period of 12 months. Also, he was entitled to many months of Income Protection payments. The result was that he received well over $200,000 in payments. A year later, he had another heart attacked and received the full trauma payout resulting in another $250,000 in payments.

To my surprise, after several conversations with him, the client admitted that he had never spoken to me in the past and had only dealt directly with the insurer. I was relieved because I make it my point to try and look after clients who are going through a trauma event. I am now invited to pop in anytime to visit him and his family. I could bring up many more stories related to personal insurances. My intention here is to highlight the importance of having personal insurances or at least the right amount of cover in place. Also, having a financial advisor, who has had experience in this space can not only save you money but may be able to help you at claim time get what your entitled too.

Over the proceeding months I will go through the four main personal insurances: Income Protection, Trauma Cover, Life cover and Total and Permanent Disability. I will talk about the pros and cons of having each type of cover and hopefully help you to, at the very least, give some thought as to whether you need to make any timely changes to your own personal insurance. After all, you might be wasting your money, or you might be risking your money in the future. You won’t know until you take a look.

This information is current as at June 2022. This article is intended to provide general information only and has been prepared without taking into account any particular person’s objectives, financial situation or needs (‘circumstances’). Before acting on such information, you should consider its appropriateness, taking into account your circumstances and obtain your own independent financial, legal or tax advice. You should read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before making any decision about a product. While all care has been taken to ensure the information is accurate and reliable, to the maximum extent the law permits, Alliance Wealth and its related bodies corporate, or each of their directors, officers, employees, contractors or agents, will not assume liability to any person for any error or omission in this material however caused, nor be responsible for any loss or damage suffered, sustained or incurred by any person who either does, or omits to do, anything in reliance on the information contained herein.

You can call them on 1300 88 38 30 or email info@findinsurance.com.au www.findinsurance.com.au

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Commonwealth Seniors Health Card: increase in income threshold

Both Labor and the Coalition have announced that they will increase the income test threshold for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) from 1 July 2022. The Prime Minister said the CSHC income test threshold for singles will be increased from $57,761 to around $90,000 (and from $92,416 to $144,000 for couples). The Opposition Leader said Labor would also widen eligibility for the CSHC in line with the Government’s announcement.