Adoni Media

A Victorian charity that provides unique support to young people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, has announced major expansion plans as it marks 30 years. Lighthouse Foundation provides therapeutic homes and tailored care programs to transform the lives of young people in Melbourne. The charity is different because its proven Model of Care also focuses on caring for carers. A team of clinicians is trained to help carers make sense of what they’re experiencing so they can support young people in a sensitive and purposeful way. The charity’s foster care program also sees tangible support provided – trained Lighthouse therapeutic carers offer regular respite, sleepovers, access to clinical support, and advice to the entire foster family. Having transformed the lives of more than 1,000 young people, Lighthouse Foundation has plans to build more homes, fund more programs, and help hundreds more of Victoria’s most vulnerable youth. CEO Eamonn McCarthy said: “Unfortunately, we are seeing the impact of COVID on homelessness numbers and we fear more young people will need help’’. Lighthouse has just launched its Christmas appeal with funds helping to support both young people and carers. • $35 can provide a warm family meal to be shared in a Lighthouse home • $120 can support a young person to return to school in 2023 with basic school supplies and practical help from carers • $300 can provide a Reflective Practice group session run by a trained clinician to support a team of dedicated carers. Therapeutic Carer Ricky is one of dozens of Lighthouse’s carers who rely on the charity’s support to continue giving the best care. “I had heard a lot of stories about people getting burnt out or just not getting the support they needed, and as the saying goes: ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’,” Ricky said. “Everything I heard about Lighthouse assured me they did things differently and that they supported their staff as much as the young people in their programs. “The most rewarding part is knowing what you’re doing is making a tangible difference, especially when you see the progress being made. Through Lighthouse, these young people are going to find themselves and their situation improving.” The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria estimates there are around 6,000 homeless adolescent Victorians. “In the perfect world, this organisation shouldn’t exist,” Ricky said. “I shouldn’t have to do this job. But the reality is, it is needed.” Donations can be made via https://www.lighthousefoundation.org.au/xmas/ Media enquiries: Clare Christensen, Adoni Media clare@adonimedia.com.au

Homeowners with mortgages should start planning for interest rate rises from June. The four big banks have this week announced they will look at increasing rates which have been at a record low. Economic experts have warned a one per cent interest rate hike could see more than half (58 per cent) of Australians with a home loan in mortgage stress. Analyst reports suggest an estimated 1.5 million households with a mortgage are already spending more than they earn. The Great Australian Rip Off consumer campaign is urging homeowners who have a mortgage to research their refinancing options now and consider a fixed rate. “It would be the first interest rate rise in almost 11 years and with homeowners already struggling with soaring cost of living expenses it is going to put millions of hardworking Australians under pressure,” campaign spokesperson and consumer advocate, Trond Smith said. The Great Australian Rip Off campaign is uniting consumers to try to bring down the cost of living. The campaign, launched ahead of the Federal election, exposes ‘secret’ commissions of up to 60 per cent that are paid to brokers, commercial comparison websites, and third parties which are pushing up the price of insurance premiums. “The commercial comparison sites claim to save you time and money, but secret and very high commissions have been found to be a big driver in pushing up the general cost of premiums and insurers have admitted at multiple inquiries,” Mr Smith said. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recommended an industry code to expose the ‘secret’ commissions and for penalties to protect consumers, but the recommendations have so far been ignored by government. “There needs to be a mandatory code to expose commissions, expose commercial relationships between brokers, commercial comparison websites and third-parties with suppliers, and impose penalties for breaches of the code,” Mr Smith said. “The advice for people who are worried about household budgets is to do their research both in regard to their mortgage options as well as shopping around when it comes to insurance and other services such as electricity.”

Heart of Australia has received a major funding commitment of $17.2 million from the Federal Government to guarantee its mobile medical clinics will continue to service regional and rural Queenslanders for the next four years. Founder and cardiologist, Dr Rolf Gomes, said he is thrilled Heart of Australia’s five mobile clinics will continue to provide improved access to specialist medical services for Queenslanders living in remote and regional areas of the state. “I would especially like to thank the Minister for Regional Health, Dr David Gillespie, for his unwavering commitment and advocacy to ensure funding for Heart of Australia to continue delivering services for regional Queenslanders was included in the 2022-2023 Federal Budget,” Dr Gomes said. “Having the continued support from the Federal Government can give Queenslanders living in rural and remote areas the confidence we will continue to be there for them, no matter what,” he said. Heart of Australia’s fleet of five mobile medical clinics visit 33 Queensland communities from Goondiwindi in the south to Weipa in the far north and Winton in the west. The clinics provide improved accessibility to a range of specialist medical services including cardiology, endocrinology, sleep medicine, geriatric medicine, immunology, neurology, psychiatry, gastroenterology, gynaecology, and general medicine, as well as CT and X-ray imaging for mine dust lung diseases, such as black lung and silicosis. Since Heart of Australia began operations in 2014, medical specialists have seen more than 12,000 patients and saved more than 500 lives. The fleet has travelled more than 500,000 kilometres throughout Queensland. Dr Gomes said the Federal Government’s support represents a significant boost to Heart of Australia to continue to provide high-quality specialist healthcare to some of Queensland’s most isolated communities over the next four years. “This is a major step forward to ensure Queenslanders living in rural and remote areas have the same access to medical specialists as those living in the cities. It will make an enormous difference in improving lives and supporting the work of local GPs,” Dr Gomes said. “Bringing medical services to regional and remote communities breaks down the barriers of distance, meaning more Queenslanders can get the health care they need. “A special thank you also to all of Heart of Australia’s partners and supporters, whose ongoing contribution has been instrumental in helping us achieve this major milestone.”

Expect more unwelcome news on cost-of-living tomorrow (Friday, April 1) with most health funds set to announce an average 2.7 per cent price hike in premiums. More than half of the Australian population (14 million Australians) has some form of private health insurance and consumer group CHOICE has cautioned premiums are growing faster than wages or inflation. Premiums have increased 54 per cent in the past decade, while the consumer price index (a measure of inflation) grew only 20 per cent. Dean Price of CHOICE said: "The Federal Government needs to take real action to address issues that industry is unwilling or unable to fix themselves – we need a full review of the private health system". Consumer campaign against the high cost of living, The Great Australian Rip Off, is urging consumers to do their research and shop around. The campaign, launched ahead of the Federal election, exposes ‘secret’ commissions paid to brokers, commercial comparison websites and third parties, that contribute to rising premiums. Evidence to multiple inquiries has revealed commissions and incentives are as high as 60 per cent. Campaign spokesperson and consumer advocate, Trond Smith warned consumers to “beware of commercial comparison websites in their hunt for a good deal”. “The sites claim to save you time and money, but secret and very high commissions have been found to be a big driver in pushing up the general cost of premiums,” he said. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recommended an industry code to expose the ‘secret’ commissions and The Great Australian Rip Off campaign is calling for more accountability and penalties to protect consumers. “There needs to be a mandatory code to expose commissions, expose commercial relationships between brokers, commercial comparison websites and third-parties with suppliers, and impose penalties for breaches of the code,” Mr Smith said. He said the only good news was that some health insurers had announced they would delay price increases until later this year. “The advice would be to do your research with potential savings of up to $1,500 on like-for-like policies. “The Great Australian Rip Off’ is uniting consumers, who are fed up with the high cost of living, to create pressure to help bring down household bills,” Mr Smith said. https://thegreataustralianripoff.com.au/ https://www.adonimedia.com.au/

A new campaign aimed at helping cut the high cost of household bills and insurance premiums has been launched today (Thursday, 24 March 2022) to unite consumers ahead of the Federal Election. In a first, ‘The Great Australian Rip Off’ campaign is exposing the secret payments and incentives many Australians don’t realise are driving up their cost of living for services including electricity and the internet. Insurers have admitted secret commissions paid to commercial comparison websites – some as high as 40 to 60 per cent – end up being passed on to most Australians through higher premiums. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recommended regulatory change to end the secrecy and introduce penalties – but nothing has been done. A Royal Commission, a Senate Economics Committee inquiry, and consumer group Choice, have all highlighted the dangers of hidden commissions – but mandatory disclosure is still not law. Fed up with watching prices soar, Australian businessman and consumer advocate, Trond Smith has launched ‘The Great Australian Rip Off’ campaign to give voters a voice. The campaign is demanding election promises that greater consumer protection laws will be introduced to help bring down the high cost of living. Mr Smith has spent eight years investigating commercial comparison websites and before creating the campaign tried fighting back by building a consumer-based, block-buying group called Kyco that uses people power to negotiate directly with providers for cheaper deals and discloses a three per cent commission. “Petrol is around $2.00 a litre, we know this election is being fought on cost-of-living issues and now is the time to pressure MPs and future politicians to commit to introducing the recommended changes to stop the ‘rip off’,” Mr Smith said. “Right now, it is a broken system that is shrouded in secrecy.” He said as part of a CHOICE review, health fund BUPA admitted commissions as high as 40 per cent were claimed for informing people of their choice. The fees, BUPA said, must be absorbed somewhere and that leads to higher premiums for everyone. Insurance giant Allianz told a Senate Economics Committee that fees charged for their service “impose an unnecessary additional distribution cost that would need to be passed on to customers in the form of higher premiums”. “We need the Government to do everything it can to bring down the cost of living. People are outraged when they learn they are having to ‘absorb’ the cost of commissions they are not told about,” Mr Smith said. Each sign-up to www.thegreataustralianripoff.com.au triggers emails to the person’s local Federal MP, the Treasurer, and Opposition Treasurer calling for a written response and a public election commitment to: 1) Support a mandatory code of conduct for the industry and penalties for any breaches 2) Support the full disclosure of commissions to improve transparency 3) Ensure their party includes this campaign in their cost-of-living election promises

High school graduates who have missed out on final university offers for 2022 are being reminded not to stress because other options are available. Co-Founder of skills and jobs organisation The Careers Department , Samantha Devlin, said many school leavers apply for university because they think it is expected of them. “Our research shows more than a third of students (38%) graduate high school not knowing what they want to do as a career,” Ms Devlin said. “Many students choose university preferences based on what they feel they should do, or conversations they’ve had with their parents.” She said figures showed one in five students dropped out of their first year of university. “What this tells us, is there needs to be a stronger focus on educating teenagers about what job opportunities exist and what career paths, scholarships, and work programs are available.” The Careers Department partners with more than 600 schools across Australia providing students with insights into industries from education to economics, agriculture to advertising, food to fashion. “We provide more than 800 pieces of content including video interviews, podcasts, job finders, scholarship applications, and resume builders, and last year, 76,000 students participated in our virtual work experience programs.” More than 40,000 students have taken part in The Careers Department’s face-to-face workshops, and this year a national tour of more than 100 locations across every state and territory would reach another 40,000. “We want to ensure location, network, and social demographic aren’t limiting students when they’re choosing their career,” Ms Devlin said. Her advice to those who missed out today and do have their hearts set on a university degree is to find alternative ways to gain entry, including internships, graduate programs, diplomas, bridging courses, and vocational studies. “Take the opportunity to research your chosen career path, contact different universities for advice, and look at work experience options. With borders now open again, it might even be the perfect opportunity to take a gap year and go travelling.”

High school graduates who have missed out on final university offers for 2022 are being reminded not to stress because other options are available. Co-Founder of skills and jobs organisation The Careers Department, Samantha Devlin, said many school leavers apply for university because they think it is expected of them. “Our research shows more than a third of students (38%) graduate high school not knowing what they want to do as a career,” Ms Devlin said. “Many students choose university preferences based on what they feel they should do, or conversations they’ve had with their parents.” She said figures showed one in five students dropped out of their first year of university. “What this tells us, is there needs to be a stronger focus on educating teenagers about what job opportunities exist and what career paths, scholarships, and work programs are available.” The Careers Department partners with more than 600 schools across Australia providing students with insights into industries from education to economics, agriculture to advertising, food to fashion. “We provide more than 800 pieces of content including video interviews, podcasts, job finders, scholarship applications, and resume builders, and last year, 76,000 students participated in our virtual work experience programs.” More than 40,000 students have taken part in The Careers Department’s face-to-face workshops, and this year a national tour of more than 100 locations across every state and territory would reach another 40,000. “We want to ensure location, network, and social demographic aren’t limiting students when they’re choosing their career,” Ms Devlin said. Her advice to those who missed out today and do have their hearts set on a university degree is to find alternative ways to gain entry, including internships, graduate programs, diplomas, bridging courses, and vocational studies. “Take the opportunity to research your chosen career path, contact different universities for advice, and look at work experience options. With borders now open again, it might even be the perfect opportunity to take a gap year and go travelling.”