There has been little new in pre-election promises for Australia’s aged-care workers, providers or the 1.3 million people who use aged care.

In March, Labor announced A$2.6 billion for another pay rise for aged-care nurses in addition to previous pay increases.

There’s been nothing substantial on aged care from Labor or the Opposition since.

Major changes are scheduled for the sector later this year, four years after the damning Royal Commission report into aged care. Yet no additional funding has been announced.

Estimates suggest funding is short around $5 billion to address losses by residential care providers or the shortfall in Home Care Packages.

What can we expect this year?

A new Aged Care Act will come into force on July 1 with a much greater emphasis on the rights of older people to get the care that suits their needs. This will mean:

• a new system to regulate aged care

• a new independent complaints commissioner

• a new Support at Home program for older people who want to live at home, and in the community

• changes to fees for residential aged care.

But a number of problems remain and it is not clear the reforms being introduced this year will fix them.

Access is still an issue

Access to aged care continues to be a problem, particularly in rural and remote areas. The system is difficult to navigate for often vulnerable and confused consumers and their families.

The government relies heavily on the My Aged Care website to inform older people and their families about aged care options. But this provides only basic information and it is difficult to get individualised support.

There is also a “digital divide” for a significant group who are unfamiliar with, and lack confidence in, using online services.

So we need a much greater emphasis on providing local “one stop shops” for personalised support and advice, particularly when people first enter the aged-care system. These services could be provided through Centrelink or new regional aged-care offices.

About one-third of older people say they need help to live at home. But to get assistance you need an aged-care assessment and that process too needs improving.

Waiting times for assessment have blown out, with reported delays of up to five months.

Older people prefer to stay at home

There are some concerns the number of new aged-care beds is not increasing fast enough. For instance, there are shortages of residential aged care in particular areas such as Canberra.

But admission times to residential aged care generally have not increased and occupancy rates are declining. This suggests older people would prefer home to residential care.

Yet increased demand for home-care packages is not being met.

For those who need more intensive services at home, waiting times remain stubbornly and unacceptably long because there aren’t enough home care packages.

Despite years of complaints, there are still more than 80,000 people on the waiting list for care at home.

The new Support at Home program will introduce an eight-level system of support. The highest level of home-care funding will increase to $78,000 to bridge the gap between funding for home and residential care. But many more intensive care packages for home care will be needed to reduce waiting times.

The Support at Home program also introduces significantly higher out-of-pocket costs for older people. Such costs for everyday services – such as meals, cleaning and gardening – currently funded through the Commonwealth Home Support Program will increase significantly.

Most controversially, there will also be greater out-of-pocket costs for “independence” services including personal care, social support, respite care and therapy.

Staff shortages still a concern

For aged-care providers, chronic workforce shortages are still the biggest problem. Recent increases in wages for aged-care workers, including nurses, are a step in the right direction. But wages are still low.

It remains hard to attract staff, staff turnover is high and staff are under-trained, risking the quality of care. Shortages are particularly acute in rural areas.

The aged-care industry is calling for streamlined migration, better training and incentives for regional workers to make up the shortfall. But so far no new election announcements have been made.

No real reform

Despite changes we’ll see from July, the organisation and financing of aged care remains fundamentally unchanged.

Overall, Australia’s aged-care system is still heavily privatised and fragmented. In 2022-23 there were 923 home-care providers, 764 residential-care providers and 1,334 home-support providers, nearly all in the private and not-for-profit sectors.

The Commonwealth continues to manage the sector through a cumbersome combination of highly centralised regulation and prescriptive funding contracts.

It has not put into place an effective, regional management structure to plan, organise and govern the sector to drive quality, innovation, equity, responsiveness and efficiency.

Nor has the Commonwealth been willing to adequately finance the system either through a levy, a social insurance scheme or via increased taxation. Instead, it’s upping the reliance on user fees to meet the cost of providing services.

Hal Swerissen, Emeritus Professor of Public Health, La Trobe University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Many of us turn to Sudoku, Wordle or brain-training apps to sharpen our minds. But research is increasingly showing one of the best ways to boost memory, focus and brain health is exercise.

Our new research reviewed data from more than 250,000 participants across 2,700 studies. We found exercise helps boost brain function – whether it’s walking, cycling, yoga, dancing, or even playing active video games such as Pokémon GO.

Moving your body improves how we think, make decisions, remember things and stay focused – no matter your age.

What the science says

Our review adds to a growing body of research that shows regular physical activity improves three key areas of brain function:

• cognition, which is your overall ability to think clearly, learn and make decisions

• memory, especially short-term memory and the ability to remember personal experiences

• executive function, which includes focus, planning, problem-solving and managing emotions.

We conducted an umbrella review, which means we looked at the results of more than 130 high-quality research reviews that had already combined findings from many exercise studies. These studies usually involved people starting a new, structured exercise program, not just tracking the exercise they were already doing.

To assess the effects on cognition, memory and executive function, the original studies used a range of brain function tests. These included things like remembering word lists, solving puzzles, or quickly switching between tasks – simple activities designed to reliably measure how well the brain is working.

The improvements were small to moderate. On average, exercise led to a noticeable boost in cognition, with slightly smaller but still meaningful gains in memory and executive function.

The benefits showed up across all age groups, though children and teens saw major gains in memory.

People with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) showed greater improvements in executive function after physical activity than other population groups.

The brain started responding fairly quickly – many people experienced improvements after just 12 weeks of starting regular exercise.

Generally, the greatest benefits were seen in those doing at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week, aiming for a total of about 150 minutes per week.

What’s happening in the brain?

Activities such as walking or cycling can increase the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning.

In one study, older adults who did aerobic exercise for a year grew their hippocampus by 2%, effectively reversing one to two years of age-related brain shrinkage.

More intense workouts, such as running or high-intensity interval training, can further boost neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to adapt and rewire itself. This helps you learn more quickly, think more clearly and stay mentally sharp with age.

Another reason to get moving

The world’s population is ageing. By 2030, one in six of people will be aged over 60. With that comes a rising risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline.

At the same time, many adults aren’t moving enough. One in three adults aren’t meeting the recommended levels of physical activity.

Adults should aim for at least 150 of moderate exercise – such as brisk walking – each week, or at least 75 minutes of more vigorous activity, like running.

It’s also important to incorporate muscle-strengthening exercises, such as lifting weights, into workouts at least twice a week.

Everyday movement counts

You don’t need to run marathons or lift heavy weights to benefit. Our study showed lower-intensity activities such as yoga, tai chi and “exergames” (active video games) can be just as effective – sometimes even more so.

These activities engage both the brain and body. Tai chi, for instance, requires focus, coordination and memorising sequences.

Exergames often include real-time decision-making and rapid response to cues. This trains attention and memory.

Importantly, these forms of movement are inclusive. They can be done at home, outdoors, or with friends, making them a great option for people of all fitness levels or those with limited mobility.

Although you may already be doing a lot through daily life – like walking instead of driving or carrying shopping bags home – it’s still important to find time for structured exercise, such as lifting weights at the gym or doing a regular yoga class, to get the full benefits for your brain and body.

Real-life applications

If you’re a grandparent, consider playing Wii Sports virtual tennis or bowling with your grandchild. If you’re a teenager with signs of ADHD, try a dance class, and see if it impacts your concentration in class. If you’re a busy parent, you might be more clear-headed if you can squeeze a 20-minute yoga video session between meetings.

In each of these cases, you’re not just being active, you’re giving your brain a valuable tune-up. And unlike most brain-training apps or supplements, exercise delivers far reaching benefits, including improved sleep and mental health.

Workplaces and schools are starting to take note. Short movement breaks are being introduced during the workday to improve employee focus.

Schools that incorporate physical activity into the classroom are seeing improvements in students’ attention and academic performance.

Exercise is one of the most powerful and accessible tools we have for supporting brain health. Best of all, it’s free, widely available and it’s never too late to start.

Ben Singh, Research Fellow, Allied Health & Human Performance, University of South Australia and Ashleigh E. Smith, Associate Professor, Healthy Ageing, University of South Australia

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

There is a moment in the film Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears when the camera pans around the ballroom to discover Phryne Fisher’s creator Kerry Greenwood and her partner David Greagg seated at a dinner table, beaming and elegant in their finest 1920s evening wear.

Also appearing in this scene are many of the Phryne Fisher fans who helped bring the movie to the screen when producers Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox asked for help. The initial crowdfunding target of A$250,000 was reached within 48 hours. A day later the total had risen to $400,000, making this the most successful crowdfunding campaign for an Australian film at the time.

Watching Miss Fisher on film at the Sun Theatre in Yarraville in 2022, at an event organised by Sisters in Crime Australia, seated next to Kerry and surrounded by her fans, was an experience to remember. When we got to the ballroom scene, everyone cheered. Kerry was clearly thrilled.

A great legacy

Kerry died last week after suffering ill health for a number of years. The tributes are beginning to flow in from across the world from her many fans and followers. She has left us a great legacy in the form of her many books and our memories of the author herself. She was as witty, colourful and charming as her heroine, Miss Phryne Fisher.

Phryne was not Kerry’s only fictional creation, although she was her first significant success and will probably continue to be her most revered and influential character. She also wrote the Corinna Chapman series about a Melbourne-based baker, as well as many stand-alone novels in a variety of genres. She was astonishingly prolific.

In 1989, I had the pleasure of meeting with Kerry shortly after the publication of Cocaine Blues, the first in what would come to be the Phryne Fisher series. I well remember suggesting that it would make a great period crime drama.

That would not come about until 2012, after Eagger and Cox acquired the rights and produced three seasons for the ABC. The show was later acquired by the streamers, found a new international audience, and spawned a Chinese adaptation, Miss S.

Kerry and I first met in Mietta’s restaurant, just off Collins Street in Melbourne, where we sat at a small table in an elegant art deco bar, drinking gin and smoking up a storm. She recounted, in her inimitable way, how she had been trying to write a novel about highwaymen, but had been persuaded by her then publishers, Hilary McPhee and Diana Gribble, to write something different.

She had at some point written a thesis about the strikes on the Melbourne wharfs in 1928 and 1929, and had read every newspaper she could find, so she already had the perfect historical backdrop for a crime novel set in the period. The idea for Miss Fisher came to her on the tram going home.

When it was later suggested that her charming female action hero might bear some similarity to the Saint or James Bond, Kerry trenchantly responded with the comment that Phryne “had fewer product endorsements and a better class of lovers”. This was indeed true.

Kerry was always a stylish writer and Cocaine Blues opens with brief first paragraph that does not waste time in getting the story moving:

The glass in the French window shattered. The guests screamed. Over the general exclamation could be heard the shrill shriek of Madame St Clair, wife of the ambassador ‘Ciel! Mes Bijoux!’

It was with great glee that Kerry informed me that Madame St Clair’s exclamation was a direct steal from The Adventures of Tintin, as created by the Belgian comic artist Hergé. When I admitted to also loving Tintin, at our next meeting Kerry presented me with her French edition of Les Bijoux de La Castafiore (The Castafiore Emerald), in which the line does indeed appear. I treasure it still.

The anecdote reveals not only the eclectic range of Kerry’s sources (and the fact that she read French and was something of a polymath), but also her generosity.

A wealth of entertainment

Phryne might well be Kerry’s alter ego, in her care for the waifs and strays that she encounters, her concern for the poor and downtrodden, and in her passionate pursuit of justice, not forgetting that Kerry was a barrister who worked full-time as a criminal defence lawyer for Legal Aid.

When Phryne Fisher first appeared in 1989, there were relatively few Australian crime writers being published, and even fewer women. The crime writing scene now is very different. Carmel Shute from the Australian chapter of Sisters in Crime informed me that over 150 crime fiction and true crime books by women will be published in Australia in 2025. This has to be a record. It is testimony to the increasing popularity of a literary form which women have embraced as a way to tell the stories that matter to them.

Quite a few of those books sit within what has often been characterised as the “cosy” genre: a subgenre of crime fiction to which Kerry’s crime fiction certainly belongs. Until recently, cosy crime has tended to be underrated, compared to the kind of “gritty” crime fiction that wins accolades.

This has obscured the achievement of crime fiction such as Kerry’s, in which historical and contemporary social issues are reflected back to us in ways that give us pause, even as they are presented in a form designed to entertain.

This is Kerry’s legacy: a wealth of entertainment with a heart. Her novels are provocations to care about social justice. She was a true original, a great friend, and a valued mentor. She will be much missed, even as her creativity will continue to inspire.

Sue Turnbull, Senior Professor of Communication and Media Studies, University of Wollongong

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

As part of their federal election campaign, the Coalition announced plans to limit the number of international students able to commence study each year to 240,000, “focused on driving […] housing availability and affordability”.

This announcement was criticised as a “fact free zone” by the Property Council.

The Coalition proposal falsely equates high immigration with housing shortages. Studies indicate limiting international students will have minimal impact on housing supply. Most international students stay in student housing or share house accommodation, not suitable or desirable for many Australians to live in.

History shows us Australia has previously gone through periods of high migration and economic uncertainty. But history also shows us, if we are willing to adapt and innovate, high immigration and housing affordability can co-exist.

Lessons from Australia’s gold rush

The discovery of gold in Victoria caused Melbourne’s population to explode.

In 1851, Melbourne’s population was 77,000. Within a decade, that figure had more than quadrupled to 540,000.

As a young colony, the Victorian government actively recruited British and Irish migrants, subsidising fully or partially the cost of the sea voyage to Australia.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing: competition across migrant groups developed, and new Chinese immigrants in particular were singled out. Europeans staged violent anti-Chinese riots, which included the murder of three Chinese migrants.

To accommodate new migrants, the Victorian colonial government expanded housing supply in two ways.

First, in 1852 Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe permitted the establishment of Canvas Town, essentially a tent city on the southern bank of the Yarra River.

There were problems in Canvas Town: disease was common, sanitation nonexistent, and crime rife. But Canvas Town provided newcomers protection from the elements. Canvas Town was officially disbanded in 1854, although people continued to live in tents across Melbourne as they awaited the construction of more permanent housing.

Second, prefabricated iron houses were imported to Melbourne from Britain to overcome supply shortages. These British-built “kit homes” were dismantled, every component labelled and then shipped to Australia for assembly.

Rapidly-built homes appeared in Port Melbourne, North Melbourne, Fitzroy, Collingwood and Richmond. Three such examples still exist today in South Melbourne.

Gold Rush Victoria reminds us of the importance of nimble government intervention in the housing market to offset housing pressures and mitigate anti-foreigner sentiments.

Responding to migrants after World War II

One hundred years later, Australia was again facing an immigration and population boom. Australia faced housing shortages in the post-World War II years, as the population grew from 7.6 million to 10.5 million people between 1947 and 1961.

In the era of post-war shortages and rationing, Australians worried about the impacts of the new arrivals on employment and social issues such as crime.

The arrival of displaced persons and assisted migrants from Europe strained existing housing stock. Some new and existing Australians resorted to squatting and other forms of temporary housing.

Commonwealth and state governments took leading roles in housing construction.

Between 1947 and 1961, Australia’s housing stock increased by 50% compared with a 41% increase in population. Australian governments directly contributed to 24% of this increase in stock, or 221,700 homes.

As the minister for immigration, Harold Holt said in 1950, “migrant labour was helping to solve Australia’s housing problems, not aggravating it” by working in essential industries that produce housing materials.

Once again, prefabricated homes were part of the solution.

But on-site construction also had a role to play and could capitalise on the skills of new migrants, particularly in the new migrant town of Elizabeth, South Australia.

Migrants also pooled their resources and constructed homes for their community.

In Wexcombe, Western Australia, 12 British families formed a building group. Within three years, they had built new homes for each family.

Eras of innovation

In the 1850s and 1950s, increased immigration triggered bigotry and xenophobia. However, governments at this time were focused on nation building.

Even if this was largely focused on supporting new white migrants, many politicians resisted the temptation to fan social divisions for political gain.

Instead, during the Gold Rush and post-World War II eras, Australian governments assisted individuals to adapt and innovate to new circumstances and create novel forms of housing.

Australian history gives us episodes where we see our society under strain and yet capable of addressing social issues with innovation and adaptability, while welcoming migrants.

Rachel Stevens, Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.