Ang Kalatas Volume V September 2015 Issue | Page 6

THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 5 Number 12 | SEPTEMBER 2015

06

An artist impression of the final bridge

First section of Sydney Metro Skytrain completed

I

headed out
to Rouse
Hill this
week to
the site of the
new skytrain being constructed
as part of the new
Sydney Metro.
Two massive horizontal
cranes are now in place at the
site that can build up to 70 metres of skytrain each week. I
visited the site to inspect the
first section of the skytrain,
which has just been completed. The skytrain will eventually stretch four kilometres between Bella Vista and Rouse
Hill and will include a new
landmark bridge over Windsor
Road that will look a lot like
the Anzac Bridge.
The skytrain is part of the
36 kilometre Sydney Metro
Northwest that is in the process
of being delivered on time and
on budget. It has led to a jobs

boom in Sydney’s north west
with about 400 workers on site,
and about 900 others working
on the country’s longest railway tunnels as part of the $8.3
billion project. Once the skytrain is complete, work will begin on elevated metro stations
at Kellyville and Rouse Hill
that will become two of eight
new stops on the line.
The Sydney Metro Northwest is part of a bigger metro
vision for Sydney. In April, we
announced Stage 2 will extend
the line from Chatswood, under Sydney Harbour, through
new underground stations in
the CBD and south west to
Bankstown.
To other issues, we’re taking a couple of extra measures
to ensure public safety follow-

ing the release of the review
into the Martin Place siege.
In February, the NSW
Government accepted all 17
recommendations of the Martin Place Siege Review and
committed to a number of additional actions in relation to
bail and illegal firearms. This
week, we announced additional protections for bail applications and further restrictions
on illegal guns in response to
the events that led to the events
that led to the tragic events of
last December.
Under the changes, bail will
be refused to anyone who has a
terrorism control order against
them, anyone already on bail for
a terrorism offence, and anyone
who has ever been charged or
convicted of being a member of

a terrorist organization. Bail will
only be granted under exceptional circumstances.
Along with our changes to bail, we will change our
gun laws to create much tougher penalties for illegal gun possession to target criminals using illegal firearms to commit
violent crimes.
It’s hoped these measures will help prevent a tragedy like the siege ever happening again. Public safety is the
number one priority for this
government and we are sending a very clear message that
incitement of fear and violence
will not be tolerated.
On another matter, South
East Asia’s largest bank, Singapore’s DBS Bank, has chosen to open its first Australian

WELCOME

FROM THE PREMIER’S DESK
SK

MIKE BAIRD
NSW Premier | @ @MikeBairdMP

branch in Sydney.
The decision reflects the
confidence foreign companies have in doing business in
NSW and also cements Sydney’s place as a key financial centre in the Asia Pacific region. Singapore is a priority market for the Government and having a DBS
Bank branch in Sydney will
also better support Australian companies as they expand
into Asia.
Finally, there is only one

week to go to enter this year’s
inaugural Premier’s Prizes
for Science and Engineering
celebrating the great work of
our scientists and engineers.
These awards celebrate
the great culture of innovation in this state and I would
encourage everyone to consider nominating someone
before entries close on 11
September. For more information please visit: http://
www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.
au/premiersprizes

to a regular
column with Department
of Human Services
General Manager, Hank
Jongen. Here you can find
out important information
about the Australian
Department of Human Services
Government Department
General Manager
of Human Services, which
includes Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support.

TALKING HUMAN SERVICES
ERVICESS

HANK JONGEN

Changes to Age Pension
Today I’d like to talk about some pending
changes to the Age Pension, so you are aware
of how these might affect your payment.
From the 1 January 2017 the assets test
free area and the assets taper rate will increase.
This means you will be able to have more assets before your pension is reduced, however,
the rate at which it is reduced once they exceed
this area will increase.
The majority of pensioners will experience
no change in payment, and approximately
170,000 pensioners will experience an increase
in payment.
However, a small portion of pensioners
may now exceed the assets test free area and
receive a reduced rate. Others may exceed the
upper limit, meaning they will no longer be eligible for the pension.
The first point to make is that in most cases the family home does not count towards the
assets test and these changes do not have any
impact on this aspect of your finances.
When it comes to the assets test there are
two parts— the threshold and the taper rate.
Together these determine the limit.
The threshold is the point up to which
your assets do not affect your payment; while
the limit is the maximum value of assets that
you can have and still be eligible for a partpension.
The thresholds differ depending on whether or not you’re part of a couple and whether or
not you‘re a homeowner. The limits differ depending on your maximum entitlement and
threshold.
The taper rate is the rate at which a customer’s payment is reduced for every $1000
of assets they have in excess of the assets test
threshold.

As part of these changes the taper rate is increasing from $1.50 to $3.00 for every $1000 in
assets above the threshold.
For example, currently if a homeowner
couple has $325,000 in assets (not including
their home) this would be above the threshold of $291,500 and less than the limit of
$1,156,500 so they would receive a slightly reduced rate of payment.
However, after 1 January 2017 the threshold for a homeowner couple will increase to
$375,000, which is more than the value of their
assets so unless they are affected by the income test they will receive the full rate of payment.
In another situation, if a single homeowner has $610,000 in assets (not including
their home) this is more than the current single homeowner threshold of $205,500 but less
than the limit of $779,000, so they would receive a reduced rate of payment.
When the 1 January 2017 changes come
into effect the upper limit for single homeowners will be reduced to $547,000, meaning they
would no longer be eligible for the pension
while their assets exceed this point.
All of the above limits and thresholds are
approximate and subject to indexation before
changes come into effect on 1 January 2017, as
such they should be used as a guide only.
As you can see the changes don’t lead to a
single outcome for all, and for most pensioners they won’t have any effect. However, it’s important that you’re across these changes when
forward planning over the coming years.
Full details about the different thresholds and limits are available online at humanservices.gov.au/assets. To speak to someone
about these changes in Tagalog call 131 202.