Financial information for carers and people with disability

Hello everybody, and welcome to today's event where we'll be providing you with some financial information for carers and people living with a disability. My name is Samuel, and my colleague Vladimir and I will be presenting this webinar on behalf of the Financial Information Service here at Services Australia.

Before we get started, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands that we all live on today and extend Services Australia's respects to all Elders past and present of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations.

Now, for those of you attending one of our webinars for the first time, we have a question and answer feature that you can use to ask us questions while the webinar is happening. You can access this by clicking on the icon that looks like a speech bubble with a question mark in it up in the top right-hand corner of the screen. In the interest of protecting your privacy, please use your first name only or tick the box that sends your question to us anonymously. We've got a team of moderators on hand that'll either reply to your questions directly or by sharing the answer with everybody here today if we think that the information might be helpful to them as well.

Our webinars are recorded, and the recording will be made available on YouTube, where you'll be able to find all of the links that we share with you during today's event in the summary section underneath the video. We'll cover a range of different topics today, from the government payments and concession cards out there to support disabled people and their carers, to other support options and services such as special disability trusts. There's a bit to cover, so I encourage you all to take notes and make good use of that question and answer function over to the right, and remember, you will be able to watch this back later if you feel the need.

As I mentioned a moment ago, we've got members of the Financial Information Service here to answer your questions today, but we are also available all across the country to help you build your financial literacy, make informed financial decisions, and help you plan to meet your financial goals. We're an information service only, meaning that we don't provide financial advice, counseling, or planning. We don't tell people what to do with their money, and we don't tell them how and when they should do it. But what we can do is provide you with free, confidential information to help you understand your financial options and give you resources so that you can take charge of your finances and feel confident in making your own decisions.

And finally, before we kick off, I do need to quickly point out that the information discussed in this webinar is correct as at today's date, uh, being the 17th of October 2024. So it is always best to refer to our website for more information, as our payment rates and thresholds will change in the future. And for those of you watching the webinar at a later date, make sure you visit the website to make sure that you're up to date.

Now, the aim for today's webinar is to provide you with some more information about the payments and services that are available to people with a disability and those who provide them with their care. Displayed on the screen now is a list of the payments available from Services Australia, and we're going to take a look at each of them in a little more detail.

Now, first on the list is the Disability Support Pension, as sometimes called the DSP. If you're considering claiming the DSP, you need to meet both medical and non-medical rules. Rules. The non-medical rules cover things like your age, your residence, your income, and assets, while the medical rules look at your ability to work, your medical condition, and the long-term effects of this condition. To qualify for Disability Support Pension, you need to be aged between 16 and age pension age, currently 67. You must meet residency requirements, have income and assets below certain limits, and your medical condition or disability needs to be fully diagnosed, treated, and stabilized. It needs to impact on your ability to undertake your current work and any other type of work, and needs to last for at least two or more years. You will be asked to supply medical evidence supporting your claim, and this will then be assessed by a health professional. You may also be required to attend an interview with one of our health professionals, but we would let you know if that's needed.

If you're in receipt of the Disability Support Pension when you reach age pension age, you'll be given the choice to either transfer to the Age Pension or to remain on your current payment. And if you're not sure which payment is best for you, we have more information on our website, or you can give us a call and have a chat.

Carers who provide full-time care may be eligible for the fortnightly Carer Payment. Now, for this one, you need to meet income and asset limits, be an Australian resident, and be caring for one or more people who are also an Australian resident and who will meet the necessary care requirements for an adult or child for at least the next six months. In some circumstances, the carer payment may be payable to two carers, for example, two parents caring for the same disabled child. You must be providing constant care in the home, and if you're a carer who's working, studying, or training, you must not be absent from your care receiver for more than 25 hours per week, including your travel time.

Now, having said all that, some of these rules are set to change on the 20th of March 2025, such as a 25-hour per week rule adjusting to a total of 100 hours over a four-week period, removing travel time, education, and volunteering activities from the participation limit, and the carer payment being suspended for up to six months if you exceed these limits rather than being cancelled. This allows us to restore your payment if your circumstances change without the need for you to lodge an entirely new claim.

As I said before, the best place to find correct, up-to-date information on all of our payments and services is our website, so please make sure that you head there as your first port of call because we'll update it every time something changes. The carer payment is paid at the same pension rate as a Disability Support Pension and is subject to the same pension income and assets test. If the person being cared for is over 16 years of age but doesn't receive their own payment, we will also need to assess their income and assets under a care receiver's income and asset test. Like the Disability Support Pension, a person of age pension age can choose to either transfer to the Age Pension or remain on the carer payment, and as we discussed before, you can refer to our website to determine what's best for you and your own circumstances.

Now, the carer allowance is a standalone payment that you can receive either in addition to your pension or on its own if you're not getting any other government payments. It is also possible to receive multiple payments of the carer allowance if you're caring for more than one person, provided that both the carer and all the care receivers meet the qualification rules. The carer allowance is currently paid fortnightly, and it's not a taxable payment. There's no asset test for the payment. However, the carer and their partner's combined adjusted taxable income needs to be below $250,000 per year.

Now, depending on their circumstances, carers may also receive a carer supplement, a child disability assistance payment, or the carer adjustment payment. The carer supplement is a yearly payment of up to $600. Now, you can receive this amount on top of your regular payment, up to a maximum of three supplements. So, for example, you could be paid a supplement for receiving the carer payment, and then another supplement for each person that you get the carer allowance for. There's no requirement to claim this payment. If you're eligible, we'll simply deposit the supplement directly into your nominated bank account in July each year.

Similarly, the child disability assistance payment is an automatic payment of up to $1,000 paid to carer allowance recipients who are looking after a child with a disability or a serious illness. You must be in receipt of the carer allowance on the 1st of July to qualify for the payment for that year, and if you share the care of your child with another person, you may be paid a part payment.

The final payment I want to speak about is a special payment called the carer adjustment payment. Now, I truly hope that nobody here ever has to apply for this payment. However, in the event that you do, it's a one-off payment to assist families following a catastrophic event where a child younger than seven years old is diagnosed with a severe disability or a severe medical condition.

Displayed on the screen now are the asset test thresholds and cut-out points for our pensions. A threshold is where your payment will start to reduce, and a cut-out point is where you're no longer eligible for the pension at all. The asset test category that applies to you is dependent on if you're single or a member of a couple, including de facto and same-sex relationships, and if you're a homeowner or a non-homeowner. If your assets exceed the threshold amount, a single pensioner will have their payment reduced by $3 for every $1,000 above the threshold. Each member of a couple will have their pensions reduced by $1.50 each for every $1,000 over that threshold until you reach the cut-out point. For example, if you're single receiving the carer payment and you own your own home, but a sudden change in your circumstances, such as coming into a windfall, receiving an inheritance, or picking the lucky numbers in a lottery, if that sees your assets exceed that cut-out point, then you'll no longer be eligible to receive a payment.

I know that's a lot of information to take in, it's a lot of numbers, but remember, you can watch this webinar again by either visiting our website or heading to YouTube, and you can view the current payment rates, thresholds, and cut-out points on our website at any time.

For a single pensioner, the first $212 of income per fortnight does not affect your pension. This means that you'd receive the maximum rate of payment under the income test. Your pension then reduces by 50 cents for every dollar above that threshold until your income reaches the cut-out point of $2,500.180 per fortnight. Once you reach that that cut-out point, you'll no longer be paid. It is important to note, though, that DSP recipients under 21 have a slightly different income test, and again, these rates can be viewed on our website or your online services.

The income test that applies to members of a couple is different again. If your combined income is under $360 per fortnight, you'll receive the maximum rate of payment under the income test. Each member of the couple will lose 25 cents in the dollar off their pension for each dollar of income assessed above $360 per fortnight until it cuts out completely. Once the combined income exceeds $3,824. The maximum rate is currently $1,144.40 for single customers or $862.60 for each member of a couple, and those rates are on the screen now. Pension rates are generally changed every March and September, with the current rates being set on the 20th of September just passed.

Our payments are paid fortnightly into your into your nominated bank account. As some people might find it helpful to have deductions from their Centrelink payment for things such as rent or utilities set up using our Centrepay service. But which test is the one that applies to you? To determine your rate of payment, we assess your rate using both the asset test and the income test. We compare the two, and then we pay you the lower of the two rates. But as your financial circumstances change, it may result in the assessment changing from the asset test to the income test or vice versa. So, for example, if your pension is most likely to be asset tested, and your asset-tested rate is significantly lower than the income-tested rate, you may have some wiggle room to increase your assessed income from part-time work or from an income stream without it affecting your rate of payment.

Now, once you know what payments or services you may be eligible for, you can make your claim online. Now, you'll need to complete your claim in full before you can get a payment or a concession card, and you'll need to submit all supporting documents before we can start to process your claim. So, if you can't get a document for a reason outside of your control, make sure that you contact us and discuss your options. If your claim is granted, you'll receive your payment or concession card from the date that you completed and submitted the claim. So the sooner you can get it into us, the sooner we can start paying you.

To get started, head to your myGov account and link up your Centrelink account if you haven't already done so. If you don't have a myGov account just yet, it is easy to create one, but if you need a hand at any point, you can speak to our online services support hotline on 13237.

Carers are an integral part of Australia's health system, and they are the foundation of our aged, disability, and community care systems. All carers and their care receivers, regardless of their individual circumstances or backgrounds, should have the same rights, choices, and opportunities as any other Australian. They should be able to enjoy optimum health, social, and economic wellbeing, and participate in community life, employment, and education. Sometimes that's going to require a break from caring. Now, you can be absent from your care receiver for 63 days per calendar year for both hospital visits and for respite. Absence may be for respite or hospitalization. Part days for attending things like day respite or school do not count towards this number. It's also important to note that if the care receiver is in hospital for longer than those 63 hospitalization days, you can access your remaining respite days to retain your payment, while your 63 hospitalization days can only be used for those hospital visits. As with all changes in circumstances, absences from care must be reported to Services Australia to ensure that we're getting your rate of payment correct.

On the screen now, you'll see some of the residency requirements for the payments that I mentioned earlier. Those of you who have lived or worked in other countries may wish to contact our International Services Branch for further information regarding these requirements. You could also speak to them to learn more about special arrangements that may be in place for a country that you have lived or worked in, such as New Zealand or the United Kingdom, for example. And following on from that, you must tell Centrelink before going overseas, and you can do this online. The impact that overseas travel has on your payment is dependent on the reasons for your travel and the type of payment that you're receiving, and this is why we ask that you let us know your plans ahead of time. For example, the Disability Support Pension can generally be paid for four weeks in a rolling 12-month period, whereas payments like the carer payment or the Age Pension are payable for six weeks before some changes will start to kick in. There can often be a little bit to go through when heading overseas, so again, super important that you let us know of your travel plans ahead of time so that you're not out of the loop.

Caring can be a tough gig. It isn't always necessarily one that we would choose, but we do it all the same. We understand that caring can come with additional financial costs, so let's have a look at some of the options that can support you. As discussed, you may be able to receive a means-tested pension such as the Disability Support Pension or a carer payment. You could access superannuation to help you pay for medical alterations to your home or your car. This type of access is called compassionate grounds, and it's usually paid to you in a lump sum. You may also be able to access your super if you're permanently incapacitated. This type of withdrawal is sometimes called a disability super benefit or a total and permanent disability payment. You can receive this super either as a lump sum, or sometimes you can receive it as a regular payment, commonly known as an income stream. Taking out super can often have impacts on your payments, particularly if you're not age pension age yet. So remember, the Financial Information Service is here to help you understand your options, and we do also have webinars on understanding superannuation available right now on our YouTube channel.

You may also need to think about your future needs, such as accommodation. You may might, uh, you may choose to live with relatives or move closer to your family to access support and other services. You may receive an inheritance and need information on how to manage and protect that. And something that we often find difficult to talk about is estate planning. This can be particularly complex and sensitive, so again, please make sure that you seek professional advice to ensure that your wishes are followed after you pass away. And lastly, there are trust structures which you can create to support a person with a medical condition or disability over a long period, and that's something that Vlad will talk about shortly.

On the screen now, you can find some of the contact numbers and websites for these services, and remember, you can watch this webinar back at a later date to see these details again. If you need some help around the house or you think it might be time to explore aged care homes, My Aged Care is here to help. Their website is a treasure trove of information, from learning about different types of care and how to get assessed for aged care services to finding a provider in your area that suits your needs and can help you manage your services.

The NDIS is Australia's first national scheme for people with a disability, providing funding directly to you according to your individualized plan. Your plan is a written agreement worked out with you, and so everybody's plan is different from the next. NDIS will ask questions about how you're going in different areas of your life, what goals you'd like to pursue, and what kind of help and support you'll need to reach those goals, and this will help both you and them develop a plan that provides the right targeted support for your needs.

And Carer Gateway is an Australian government program providing free services and support for carers. If you care for a family member or a friend with a disability, medical condition, mental illness, or a person who is frail due to age, then Carer Gateway can help you. They work with service providers to deliver services to carers, no matter where they live across Australia. Some of the services they provide to support carers are support groups, both online and in person, tailored support packages, counseling, online skills courses, and access to respite care in an emergency.

Now, you may also find that it's sometimes easier to have somebody else speak to us on your behalf. You can ask someone to act for you with Medicare, Centrelink, Aged Care, or Child Support, and you can authorize them to speak to us, update your details, receive payments for you, or all of the above if you choose to do this. You can still conduct your business with us as you normally would; it just means that your nominee can help you out if you need them to. If you find yourself needing to change your authorized representative and you're worried about your safety at any point, we may be able to support you there as well. You can speak with one of our social workers if you're in, have left, or are preparing to leave a family and domestic violence or elder abuse situation. You can visit one of our service centres as well to access social workers, or you can call us on 13285.

I'm going to hand over to Vlad now for a bit of a change of pace, as he takes a closer look at special disability trusts. Vlad, the spotlight is all yours.

Thanks, Sam. Let's have a look at special disability trusts. Now, what are they? What's their purpose? What, what's their use? What are the benefits? What are the key considerations? What are some tax considerations? Special disability trusts can provide an option for families to plan for the long-term care and accommodation needs of someone with severe disability. That's what they're used for mainly. It's recommended that families seek payment, uh, independent financial and legal advice if considering setting up one, as these instruments can, uh, they're not suitable for everyone, they may not be appropriate for everyone. So let's have a look at some of the criteria.

Now, a special disability trust can only have one beneficiary, and a beneficiary can only have one special disability trust. A person does not need to be in receipt of a payment. They don't have to be in receipt of an income support payment, uh, for a special disability trust to be established for their care. And, uh, needs. However, before a special disability trust can be created, the person needs to establish that they meet the definition of severe disability. Now, that definition for special disability trust purposes is, uh, the person will who, uh, the definition of a beneficiary would be a person who has reached 16 years of age, whose level of impairment would qualify the person for Disability Support Pension, or who's already received, leaving a Department of Veterans Affairs invalidity service pension or DVA invalidity, uh, income support supplement, and who has a disability that would, if the person had a sole carer, qualify the carer for carer payment or carer allowance, or who's living in an institution, hostel, or group home in which care is provided for people with disabilities and for which funding is already provided under an agreement between the Commonwealth, States, and Territories, and who has also disability as a result of which they're not working and with no likelihood of working for more than seven hours per week in the open labor market or working in the supported wage system.

Uh, special disability trust, uh, can also be set up for, can have as beneficiary, a person under 16 years of age. However, the criteria is slightly different. So, what can the funds be used for? The special disability trust cannot pay for things that a person without a disability would ordinarily buy or for ordinary day-to-day expenses. The person's income support payments or other assets or income should pay for these things. The social security guide provides a long list of general provisions and examples that explain in considerable detail the purpose and use of the funds. But more generally, the trustee of a special disability trust may use the trust funds to pay for the beneficiary's, uh, dental, uh, and medical expenses, including any membership costs for private health funds, as well as personal care expenses. The trustee may, uh, use the funds also to pay for the, uh, their accommodation, uh, beneficiary's accommodation, housing, and maintenance expenses.

There's a limited amount, uh, that's allowed under discretionary spending with the special disability trusts. Now, for the current financial year, being 24-25, um, the trustee may spend up to $14,500 on discretionary items that are not related to the care and accommodation needs of the beneficiary, although this expenditure must remain compliant with the legislative requirements of a disability trust.

Um, so the primary residence of a beneficiary will always be exempt under the assets test, whether it's included in, um, special disability trust or not. Um, income and distributions from the special disability trust are not assessable under the social security income. However, any unspent income is tacked as personal income for the beneficiary at the beneficiary's personal marginal tax rate. The main concessions then for the beneficiary, uh, of a special disability trust are up to $83,200. That's the current figure of assessable assets held by the special disability trust are asset test exempt by Centrelink. The income and distributions are income test exempt.

So the main concessions for the contributors, so the donors of the trust that are over age pension age are up to $500,000 in combined gifting concession is exempt. And also for tax purposes, there's no capital gains tax on assets transferred to a special disability trust. So, who can contribute to a special disability trust? The beneficiary, uh, or their partner cannot contribute to a special disability trust, except in the case of an inherited, um, superannuation death benefit received within three years prior. Compensation received by or for the beneficiary cannot be contributed to the special disability trust funds either.

Contributors to a special disability trust should carefully consider, therefore, the effect it may have on their current and future financial security, uh, any effect on their, uh, social security entitlements, uh, or intended applications, any aged care options, and estate planning. So, special disability trusts are quite widely used for aged care purposes and estate planning planning, but be sure to, to, to check these things and and get a proper financial advice before you do it. Uh, any gift to the trust must be unconditional and made without expectation of receiving any payment or benefit in return. However, each contributor can specify what happens to their, um, proportion of the special disability trust fund when the trust is finally wound up. The trustee, uh, also must specify who the residual beneficiaries from the trust will be when the special disability trust ceases to exist, and also in what proportions of the trust, um, the trust assets will be distributed.

It is recommended before going into this that the beneficiary or their nominee, uh, lodges medical documentation with Services Australia for a principal beneficiary assessment first of all. Once that is done, the special disability trust can be established, and the documentation is then lodged with Services Australia. The trustee, uh, the instrument must contain certain compulsory clauses. You can have a professional trustee, or you can have an individual trustee or multiple trustees, if you like. Now, the trustee or the trustees must comply with the investment, uh, restrictions and also with their reporting requirements.

Winding up the trust, uh, special disability trust can cease to exist for several reasons. Generally, when the trust has no more available funds, it stops. If it no longer meets the criteria to be assessed as a special disability trust, or otherwise becomes non-compliant, that's another time. Um, non-complying special disability trusts are then assessed under the normal private, um, trust and private company rules by Centrelink, which is not as favorable, usually. And of course, upon the passing of the beneficiary, the trust will cease to, um, uh, be a special disability trust.

So, finding a balance. What do you do before setting up a special disability trust? The beneficiary and contributors, the beneficiaries and contributors' needs, uh, really need to be, um, carefully explored. The needs that need, need to be carefully explored in case alternative strategies, uh, may be more appropriate in the longer term, and this is also because special disability trusts are quite restrictive and may be expensive to administer. Alternatives, uh, may, alternative to special disability trust may be, um, one option is, um, gifting family members to make regular gifts, for example, to the beneficiary. However, the donors or people making the gift need to be aware of Centrelink's gifting rules and annual caps and how excess gifts are assessed by Centrelink.

Um, also, standard protective trusts may be another alternative. These can hold other funds as well and allow distributions, so they're quite flexible. Centrelink's usual trusting company rules will apply within instruments and, uh, may affect, uh, the rate of pension under the regular means testing. Being a beneficiary of another person's trust is also quite common, as just the beneficiary, the beneficiary's rate of pension, disability support, or other pension is not affected, um, by the assets value of that trust, only by any distribution of income, and there are no restrictions on how the income distributions are spent. Um, so they're quite flexible, quite good. Um, and lastly, um, the beneficiary's superannuation may, may also be used to support their financial needs. Their accumulated super, if they're under age pension age, is exempt under Centrelink's assessment. Um, but if they, the beneficiary may also, they, they may be able to access it, uh, if they're severely disabled. However, the withdrawn funds, uh, from the superannuation environment, there are unspent, uh, are accessible by Centrelink and may or may not affect the pension depending on the overall financial position. Alternatively, the beneficiary may wish to roll over their super into a regular, like a superannuation account-based income stream account-based income streams, assessed, um, as financial assets by Centrelink, even if the beneficiary is under age pension age.

Now, the rules regarding early access to, uh, superannuation are quite strict, and, um, the super fund should really be contacted for more information about it. So, if you'd like to find out a bit more information regarding special disability trusts, there are free booklets available electronically for download from the Department of Social Services at dss.gov.com. This is Australia hotline on 132717, uh, to find out more. That's the Disability Support Pension hotline.

So, let's pause for a moment and to try and, this is quite, I can see this quite a few questions that have come through. Let's pause and try and address at least a couple of the questions that have come through. Um, one of them is, um, "Am I able to work whilst on this Disability Support Pension?" Great question, um, very common one, um, and thanks for bringing it up. If you're on Disability Support Pension, if you get it, uh, you can have paid work. You can have paid work for up to 29 hours per week, and you can do this without losing your Disability Support Pension payment, providing your, um, you're still within the income test. There's a lot more information, um, about the income test available on our website, or if you call us obviously on 1323, uh, low, and say Financial Information Service, we can talk to you about it. Um, if you're permanently blind and get Disability Support Pension, we don't use the income test usually, unless you also get rent assistance. So, for further information about this, uh, just call us on 132, uh, 717, and one of our staff can assist you with it.

Another question we have is, um, "I am about to turn 67. I'm on carer payment and carer allowance. Should I change over to Age Pension?" Very good question again, quite a common question. This is, uh, your choice, really, whether you want to stay on carer payment or move to the Age Pension. There are pros and cons with each of those. It's a very good question, I think, uh, um, it's an individual choice decision, so I'd suggest you probably best calling us on 1323 for this and saying Financial Information Service to discuss a bit further, and we can try and work out which is more appropriate for you. Um, so let's have a look at, um, what else we have. So, the information, um, if you do need to apply for a payment, um, from Centrelink, um, the, um, let's have a look at what, um, information you need to support that claim for a pension or an allowance. Um, so the usual documents that may be required, but they're not limited to, are relating to proof of age, proof of residency, um, your tax file number, uh, details of any income and assets. Um, if you're applying for Disability Support Pension or a carer payment, you will need supporting, uh, medical evidence, and further information obviously may be required with your claim depending on the complexity of the financial situation, especially if you've got a special disability trust set up already. So that, so there's documentation required for that as well.

If you are in receipt of a pension, being either disability, carer, or Age Pension, you will automatically get a Pensioner Concession Card. That's the one on your screen, that's the blue one, that's on your left. If you're not entitled to a pension, you will not be entitled to a Pensioner Concession Card. If this is the case, you may consider then testing your eligibility for a Low Income Healthcare Card. That's the one on the right on the screen now. To qualify for a Low Income Healthcare Card, um, your assessed average weekly income will need to be below a certain, um, amount. That is, if you're single, the figure is $783 per week in assessed income, and if you're a member of a couple, um, your income, assessed income needs to be below $1,339 per week on average, combined income. There is no assets test for these cards, only income test, and you will also need to apply for a Low Income Healthcare Card as a standalone application to check if you're eligible.

If you're over age pensionable age and not eligible for Age Pension because your assets or income may be over the limit, you may be eligible for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card in addition, uh, to a Low Income Healthcare Card. The eligibility for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is subject to an income test, but with somewhat, uh, more generous qualification limits than a Low Income Healthcare Card. So, in some cases, you may qualify for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, but not for a Low Income Healthcare Card, in some cases for both. To qualify for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, you need to have, obviously, reached the age pension age, that's the age of 67 at the moment, and have adjusted taxable income of less than $99,000.25,925 per annum for a single person, or $158,440 combined for a couple. For illness separated couples, these are partners who were, uh, at least one of them or both reside in residential aged care, your adjusted taxable income needs to be below $98,50.

Now, what is an adjusted taxable income? It's, uh, it's an income that includes your taxable income, your foreign income, total net investment losses, um, employee employer-provided benefits, and also reportable superannuation contributions. In addition to that, if you have an account-based income stream from superannuation, the deemed income on this account-based income stream is also added to the adjusted taxable income. The assessment for these cards is based on a financial year.

So, as Sam mentioned earlier, on one of our earlier slides, the Financial Information Service is a free service and not only there to inform and explain entitlements and qualifying criteria to various payments, concessions, or services provided by Services Australia, but also there to provide free and unbiased and independent, um, information on various topics to, to improve, um, the financial capability and raise the standard of self-sufficiency for all Australians. So you don't need to be in receipt of any payments, um, or concessions. The Financial Information Service can explain the role of superannuation as one of the pillars of the retirement income policy, and how it can be used to supplement other investment, um, decisions in planning for retirement. So we can inform and educate on, on decisions relating to accommodation options in retirement, as well, and how they may affect your lifestyle, rate of pension entitlement to rent assistance, and so forth. Um, so while this, while, while we don't provide financial advice, definitely we don't, but we can help you still assist you with, um, making financial, uh, informed financial decisions.

Well, I know how busy life can get, so keeping up my information up to date can be quite difficult, and being able to access self-service options online after hours when it suits me makes it all very easy. At Services Australia, we offer a range of self-service options like myGov. So you can do the same, um, and get on with more important things. We also, apart from myGov, we also have phone self-service with no wait time, but you need to register for phone self-service before you can get started. You can do this by phoning us on 136230. In addition to myGov and phone self-service, we also have Express Plus apps for people who prefer to use apps. You can download these apps from the App Store or Google Play Store.

If you need some help using myGov, why not try our digital assistant? The myGov digital assistant is designed to answer common questions in relation to myGov, so you can find this feature at the bottom of the myGov signing page at my.gov.au, and it's obviously available 24/7 from a desktop or a smart mobile device. Um, we also have a number of, uh, help guides, step-by-step guides on our YouTube channel if you need extra help navigating myGov, um, or your online service, your online Centrelink account, or any other, uh, service. And if you still, uh, feel that you need a bit more help, we do offer digital coaching appointments at our service centre at any of our service centres. So you can bring, um, your own device, for example, your smartphone, tablet, or a laptop, but as I said, these are appointments that that need to be booked, um, by either calling us or walking into an office or booking an appointment to come back later.

We, on your screen now, you can see some numbers. So we have various specialist services that Australians can access by phone, depending on your need and circumstances. The relevant access numbers are on the screen. Um, you can also find these numbers and more if you go directly on our website at servicesaustralia.gov.au/healthheroes. Um, we also have, uh, a variety of webinars on many topics, and all of our webinars are recorded, so you can watch them in your own time. So there's something to benefit, um, um, everyone. You can find our webinars on, um, our website by using the search function, um, or on our YouTube channel.

So spread the word. Financial Information Service is, um, a specialist service that's provided by Financial Information Service officers. It's independent, free, and confidential. It's provided by phone, by video chat appointments, by face-to-face appointments, through various community outreach activities, or by, um, webinars, such as live or recorded, such as this one.

On behalf of Sam and myself, I'd like to thank you for joining us today, and I hope that you now have a better understanding of how, um, disability and carer payments are assessed, various options, the purpose and use of special disability trusts, and so much more. Thanks again, and see you next time.