4-7 AUGUST 2009 - ACHSE 2009 National Congress - Building our Healthcare Systems around People and their Needs in partnership with the Centre for Health Assets Australasia (CHAA) will be held on the Gold Coast, Queensland. The focus of the scientific program for this Congress will fall into three sub themes:
*Building People
*Building Services/Systems
*Building Infrastructure.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS Anyone interested in submitting an Abstract should do so by FRIDAY 28 NOVEMBER, 2008. For further information, please visit: www.achse.org.au/frameset.html

Newsletter Issue No., 8 October 2008 for The Benevolent Society featured information on the Apartments for Life Project. Plans for this new form of housing for older people on their site between Ocean and Wellington Streets in Bondi, NSW Australia are available to view. Some of the key objectives if the Apartments for Life Project are: enable residents to stay in the same apartment for the rest of their lives, supported by visiting community care services when needed; apartments to be affordable by local older people in a range of financial circumstances who do not own a home; a focus on maintaining residents' connections with the local community, building informal sources of support for residents and overcoming social isolation. For more information about the project, including plans go to www.bensoc.org.au

The Physical Disability Council of NSW (PDCN) released results from their 2008 Survey on the Impact of Ageing on People with a Disability. In 2008 (PDCN) carried out a survey of people with disabilities across New South Wales. In total 551 surveys were commenced and 335 were completed. The broad goal of the survey was to investigate the impact of ageing on people with a disability in a number of key areas: Personal Assistance, Mobility/Transport, Housing, Social Networks, Health/Disability and Financial Security. Some key findings were that 43% of people receive personal assistance from spouse/partner or family members and concern was expressed about the availability of personal assistance. Approximately 1/3 of people live in the family home with 11% of people surveyed reporting a need for home modifications as personal mobility had decreased. For a copy of the report go to http://www.pdcnsw.org.au/archive/08/ageingsurvey.html

THe 27th Annual Fall conference f the Home Improvement reserachers Istitute (HIRI) topic of discussion was "understanding the future of Home Improvement. After describing the current economic downturn as a “short-term period of difficulty,” Smith pointed to data that showed consumers are planning to follow through on roughly the same number of
home improvement projects that were planned a year ago. Consumers today are planning 2.8 projects, the median figure, with the median spending on all projects
planned at about $1,320. That is down from 3.4 projects and spending of $1,535 a year ago. Those figures formed the basis for Smith’s optimism. “Despite the economy, consumers are still involved in this marketplace,” he said. “There is still an opportunity to do some business.” Competition for that spending, however, will increase among suppliers and retailers, he said.
On the Yankelovich list of future projects, gardening or landscaping was mentioned by the most respondents -- 50 percent. And median spending on the lawn and garden projects was expected to be $250. On the home renovation front, Smith said more people in 2008 said they plan to live in their current home
through retirement -- up from 56 percent in 2006 to 64 percent in 2008. Among boomers, the change is even greater -- up from 56 percent in 2006 to 69 percent in 2008.
“They’re not looking for a new home, they’re looking for home improvements,” Smith said. Louis Tenenbaum, an authority on the trend of aging in place, reported that 80 percent of people over 45 want to stay in the home of their choice, even when they need assistance. That points to the need for projects around the home -- particularly around the bathroom, kitchen and main entry areas. Tenenbaum described Universal Design, an inclusive way of designing homes, as the next “green.”

The Howard government has established a new interim ex-gratia financial assistance scheme in May 2007 to better support families with a child under six with a major disability (e.g. child under exceptional circumstances) following a catastrophic event. The Carer Adjustment Payment is intended to assist families to adjust following a catastrophic
event where a child aged 0-6 years old is diagnosed with a severe illness or medical condition or a major disability. The Carer Adjustment Payment is a one-off non-taxable payment available to families in exceptional circumstances. The maximum amount available to any family is $10 000 for each child in a single catastrophic event. Many families are using this small ex-gratia payment to purchase home modifications. For more information about CAPS eligibility call Centrelink on 13 2717, or go to Centrelink's website at www.centrelink.gov.au