COTA Vic Live Website : Seniors Issues

Representation and Policy Development

COTA Victoria’s Policy Council sets the strategic policy directions for our organisation that aim to change government policies, community attitudes and the services available for older people.Over recent months we have undertaken and completed the following initiatives:

– Detailed Budget submission to the State Government on expenditure priorities. Click here

– Through our national federation, COTA over 50s we meet regularly with ministers,write submissions and participate in many government committees.

Ageing in Victoria – The Need for Age Friendly Environments and Communities State Budget Submission 2010-11

COTA has identified a number of policy initiatives and service delivery responses that could make a real difference to the quality of life and well being of senior Victorians. We call on the State Government to prioritise these areas in its 2010/11 State Budget funding allocations, and demonstrate its commitment to the creation of age friendly environments and communities.
Victorian seniors urgently need an integrated and comprehensive strategic approach which will provide leadership to realise a fairer and socially inclusive Victoria, and that will meet the challenges and opportunities of our ageing population. Further details here.

Leadership and Older People

Over nearly two years, older people who are members and friends of the Council on the Ageing Victoria (COTA Vic) have discussed leadership in older age, what it means and how is it different from other times of life. This also includes the wide variety of effective strategies they use in their social activism to bring about change. They have attended two SeniorsConferences (in 2008 and 2009) and numerous meetings to discuss and develop their understanding of leadership as they practise it now. More

A full report of the strategies will be published, including stories from older people about their actions to bring about social change. Those available to date are:

Starting from Scratch
My “retirement” came early. In 2002, 6 months off my 65th birthday, I was invited into my employer’s office at 5.10 one afternoon, thanked, and presented with a redundancy cheque. More

Setting up a men’s discussion groups (OM:NI) within the City of Casey
Our aim was to set up an Men’s Discussion Group, incorporating aspects of COTA’s very successful Challenging Ageing programme, and at the same time, adhering to the OM:NI model and its guidelines. More

There are votes in this! Persuading Politicians
We set up a small support and lobby group, Lifestyle in Supported Accommodation Inc. (LISA) to overcome some of the barriers faced by those born with an intellectual or multiple disability and their families. More

Maria Garzo's Story
My husband passed away in June 2003 after a long illness. I had just turned 70. Wehad got by on a pension for 20 years and never complained. We did the best we could.We cannot expect luxuries if we are unfortunately on a pension. More

Older Mens' Health

COTA Victoria believes that the health and wellbeing of older men in our community is a matter requiring urgent attention and action.

We believe that a greater focus on the needs of older men is long overdue, and a policy framework will enable the different sectors that are interested in this issue to influence the outcomes for older men’s health.

We are pleased to present COTA Victoria’s position on the issue of older men’s health - our proposal for a Strategic Policy Framework and an Action Plan to guide government and community response to the growing concerns on this issue.

A Strategic Policy Framework for Older Men’s Health. Click here

Law Reform
Powers of Attorney - Seniors' Forum

More information here

Submission To Senate Inquiry Into Suicide In Australia

On 10 September 2009 the Senate referred the following matter to the Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report:
The impact of suicide on the Australian community including high risk groups such as Indigenous youth and rural communities.
COTA is preparing a submission to this Inquiry to ensure that the issues facing older people, particularly older men who have the second highest rate of suicide, are considered by the Committee. We are interested in hearing from anybody who has a view on the matters.
More information on the Senate Inquiry is available here

MOVING TO CENTRE STAGE: COMMUNITY CARE FOR THE AGED OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS

The final report launched on 17 October 2006, of a project undertaken by the Victorian Community Care Coalition, a coalition of community care providers and consumer representatives, including COTA Victoria.

The Project has examined the capacity of community care services in Victoria to meet growing demand and changing consumer expectations over the next decade. The Final Report makes an important contribution to the debate on how to improve the availability, quality and delivery of services to older Victorians.

The report was funded by the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and prepared by The Nous Group.
More Details and Report Download...

HOUSING

COTA Victoria have joined forces with a number of other stakeholders to form the Victorian Universal Housing Alliance to advocate for universal housing standards to be implemented.
For further details

Reverse Mortgages and Older People’s Credit Options

Reverse Mortgages Report - Full Report - Executive Summary

COTA Media Release - Reverse Mortgages. Here

Please contact Debra Parnell by email to policy@cotavic.org.au or phone on 9655 2106 if you would like more information.

COTA was funded through the Consumer Credit fund to undertake a project looking at credit options and information targeting older people, with a specific focus on the uptake and attitude towards reverse mortgages.

The Project objectives were

To examine people’s level of understanding of home equity release products.
To identify the factors that influence people’s decision to take enter into a particular home equity release option.
To examine the reasons why older people are taking up, or considering home equity release products.
To produce a report on the findings of this research project and to disseminate the findings through COTA News to older Victorians and to industry players in the credit industry.
To generate some media publicity about the findings of the research project in the popular media.

BETTER WORK AND FAMILY BALANCE PROJECT

This Project was coordinated by the Council on the Ageing and undertook to assist ten small organisations to become family - friendly, by raising awareness of better work and family inititives in the workplace, conducting needs assessments with employees, and developing work and family balance policies with each participating organisation.

The Project was funded by a Better Work and Family Balance Grant provided by Industrial Relations Victoria, the Department of Innovation, Industry and Redgional Development. More Details...

HAVE YOUR SAY

In 2009, COTA Victoria will be continuing our program of regional and metropolitan ‘Have Your Say’ seniors’ gatherings, forums, and focus groups. More Details..



	Seniors Issues
Welcome to COTA Victoria What's New at COTA Victoria? Employment Opportunities Become a Member Renew Membership COTA News Healthy & Active Ageing Need to Know? Information Series Speakers Education Programmes/HACC Training Seniors Information Victoria Seniors Information Victoria - Online Directory Seniors Rights Victoria Seniors Issues Have Your Say Links Contact Us Human Rights Council on the Ageing (Victoria) cotavic@cotavic.org.au Copyright 2006 Council on the Ageing All rights reserved. Change Text Size	Representation and Policy Development COTA Victoria’s Policy Council sets the strategic policy directions for our organisation that aim to change government policies, community attitudes and the services available for older people.Over recent months we have undertaken and completed the following initiatives: – Detailed Budget submission to the State Government on expenditure priorities. Click here – Through our national federation, COTA over 50s we meet regularly with ministers,write submissions and participate in many government committees. Ageing in Victoria – The Need for Age Friendly Environments and Communities State Budget Submission 2010-11 COTA has identified a number of policy initiatives and service delivery responses that could make a real difference to the quality of life and well being of senior Victorians. We call on the State Government to prioritise these areas in its 2010/11 State Budget funding allocations, and demonstrate its commitment to the creation of age friendly environments and communities. Victorian seniors urgently need an integrated and comprehensive strategic approach which will provide leadership to realise a fairer and socially inclusive Victoria, and that will meet the challenges and opportunities of our ageing population. Further details here. Leadership and Older People Over nearly two years, older people who are members and friends of the Council on the Ageing Victoria (COTA Vic) have discussed leadership in older age, what it means and how is it different from other times of life. This also includes the wide variety of effective strategies they use in their social activism to bring about change. They have attended two SeniorsConferences (in 2008 and 2009) and numerous meetings to discuss and develop their understanding of leadership as they practise it now. More A full report of the strategies will be published, including stories from older people about their actions to bring about social change. Those available to date are: Starting from Scratch My “retirement” came early. In 2002, 6 months off my 65th birthday, I was invited into my employer’s office at 5.10 one afternoon, thanked, and presented with a redundancy cheque. More Setting up a men’s discussion groups (OM:NI) within the City of Casey Our aim was to set up an Men’s Discussion Group, incorporating aspects of COTA’s very successful Challenging Ageing programme, and at the same time, adhering to the OM:NI model and its guidelines. More There are votes in this! Persuading Politicians We set up a small support and lobby group, Lifestyle in Supported Accommodation Inc. (LISA) to overcome some of the barriers faced by those born with an intellectual or multiple disability and their families. More Maria Garzo's Story My husband passed away in June 2003 after a long illness. I had just turned 70. Wehad got by on a pension for 20 years and never complained. We did the best we could.We cannot expect luxuries if we are unfortunately on a pension. More Older Mens' Health COTA Victoria believes that the health and wellbeing of older men in our community is a matter requiring urgent attention and action. We believe that a greater focus on the needs of older men is long overdue, and a policy framework will enable the different sectors that are interested in this issue to influence the outcomes for older men’s health. We are pleased to present COTA Victoria’s position on the issue of older men’s health - our proposal for a Strategic Policy Framework and an Action Plan to guide government and community response to the growing concerns on this issue. A Strategic Policy Framework for Older Men’s Health. Click here Law Reform Powers of Attorney - Seniors' Forum More information here Submission To Senate Inquiry Into Suicide In Australia On 10 September 2009 the Senate referred the following matter to the Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report: The impact of suicide on the Australian community including high risk groups such as Indigenous youth and rural communities. COTA is preparing a submission to this Inquiry to ensure that the issues facing older people, particularly older men who have the second highest rate of suicide, are considered by the Committee. We are interested in hearing from anybody who has a view on the matters. More information on the Senate Inquiry is available here MOVING TO CENTRE STAGE: COMMUNITY CARE FOR THE AGED OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS The final report launched on 17 October 2006, of a project undertaken by the Victorian Community Care Coalition, a coalition of community care providers and consumer representatives, including COTA Victoria. The Project has examined the capacity of community care services in Victoria to meet growing demand and changing consumer expectations over the next decade. The Final Report makes an important contribution to the debate on how to improve the availability, quality and delivery of services to older Victorians. The report was funded by the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and prepared by The Nous Group. More Details and Report Download... HOUSING COTA Victoria have joined forces with a number of other stakeholders to form the Victorian Universal Housing Alliance to advocate for universal housing standards to be implemented. For further details Reverse Mortgages and Older People’s Credit Options Reverse Mortgages Report - Full Report - Executive Summary COTA Media Release - Reverse Mortgages. Here Please contact Debra Parnell by email to policy@cotavic.org.au or phone on 9655 2106 if you would like more information. COTA was funded through the Consumer Credit fund to undertake a project looking at credit options and information targeting older people, with a specific focus on the uptake and attitude towards reverse mortgages. The Project objectives were To examine people’s level of understanding of home equity release products. To identify the factors that influence people’s decision to take enter into a particular home equity release option. To examine the reasons why older people are taking up, or considering home equity release products. To produce a report on the findings of this research project and to disseminate the findings through COTA News to older Victorians and to industry players in the credit industry. To generate some media publicity about the findings of the research project in the popular media. BETTER WORK AND FAMILY BALANCE PROJECT This Project was coordinated by the Council on the Ageing and undertook to assist ten small organisations to become family - friendly, by raising awareness of better work and family inititives in the workplace, conducting needs assessments with employees, and developing work and family balance policies with each participating organisation. The Project was funded by a Better Work and Family Balance Grant provided by Industrial Relations Victoria, the Department of Innovation, Industry and Redgional Development. More Details... HAVE YOUR SAY In 2009, COTA Victoria will be continuing our program of regional and metropolitan ‘Have Your Say’ seniors’ gatherings, forums, and focus groups. More Details..