Department for Health and Ageing, $3,184,564,000

Membership:

Dr McFetridge substituted for Mr Pisoni.

Ms Redmond substituted for Mr Duluk.

Mr Speirs substituted for Mr Tarzia.

Departmental Advisers:

Mr D. Swan, Chief Executive, SA Health, Department for Health and Ageing.

Ms S. Jacobi, Director, Intergovernment Relations and Ageing, SA Health, Department for Health and Ageing.

Ms J. Walters, Manager, Policy and Programs, Office for the Ageing, SA Health, Department for Health and Ageing.

The CHAIR: I welcome the minister back, this time in her role as Minister for Ageing, and call on her to make a statement if she wishes and to introduce her new advisers.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: To my left is David Swan, Chief Executive, SA Health. To my far left is Skye Jacobi, Director, Intergovernment Relations and Ageing and to my right is Jeanette Walters, Manager, Policy and Programs, Office for the Ageing.

Over 16 per cent of South Australia's total population of 1.6 million is aged over 65 years, and these older South Australians are a uniquely diverse group, with more than 125 countries of origin represented amongst our 65-plus community. In South Australia, baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—make up almost 70 per cent of the 50-plus population. In 2011, they were 38 per cent of the workforce. This is a vital group of consumers, customers, volunteers, workers and employers.

At the 2011 census, of the 37,408 people of Aboriginal background in South Australia, 1,383 were aged over 65 years. We know the proportion of people aged over 65 is expected to increase from 16 per cent to 25 per cent between now and 2036, while those over 80 will almost double from 5 per cent to 9 per cent.

In 2014-15, working with this background of scale and diversity, the state government, through the Office for the Ageing, continued to provide policies, plans, programs and projects that reflect the diversity of views, opinions, needs and priorities of older South Australians. We did this in accordance with the three priorities of our state ageing plan entitled Prosperity Through Longevity: South Australia's Ageing Plan 2014-2019. These priorities are health, wellbeing and security, social and economic productivity, and all-ages friendly communities.

Into the future, our older population will live, work and remain active for much longer than previous generations. It is vital, then, that the rights of older South Australians are supported and promoted. It was with pleasure that, in June this year, I launched the action plan to implement the Strategy to Safeguarding the Rights of Older South Australians. This strategy and plan will be a driver for acknowledgement, protection and enactment of the rights of older South Australians to safety, security and wellbeing.

Another highlight of the year was the Planning Ahead day in September 2014, promoting the Planning Ahead message and encouraging people to take control of their future by putting legal measures in place to ensure their healthcare, housing and legal choices are known.

This government has a strong commitment to jobs and enabling all sectors of the community to have access to work, including mature workers. To support this, we have worked in collaboration with partners like Business SA, COTA, Active Ageing Australia, the University of Adelaide and the office of the Commissioner for Equal Opportunities, on a range of projects. These were variously aimed at reducing age discrimination in the workplace, improving the health and wellbeing of older workers, promoting the considerable benefits arising from the recruitment and retention of mature workers and identifying economic opportunities for South Australia arising from our particular demographic profile.

I am a great believer in all-age friendly communities, where people can thrive over their life course. I am pleased to have seen the age-friendly communities network expand to 13 local governments over the year. I am also excited to see a pilot underway which enables two of these councils to focus on making key retail precincts and the businesses that sit within them age friendly.

Each year, the Office for the Ageing manages the allocation of a series of grants, such as the well-received Positive Ageing Grants and Grants for Seniors, and a new initiative in 2014-15, the Innovation in Ageing Challenge. The Innovation in Ageing Challenge was one of our 2014 election commitments, focused on driving greater community engagement and innovation in addressing ageing policy matters of importance for South Australia.

The ageing challenge used an open call to seek new and creative ideas to respond to two key policy challenges for government. I announced the three Innovation in Ageing Challenge winners in December 2014, and I congratulate Meals on Wheels, Community Centres SA and Seniorpreneurs for their commitment to creativity and innovation in ageing. I look forward to announcing a new innovation in ageing challenge for 2015-16. Through the Positive Ageing Grants and Grants for Seniors, we allocated nearly $300,000 in grants to numerous community organisations for projects and equipment to support the active social and physical participation of older South Australians.

The South Australian seniors card continues to provide a range of benefits to older South Australians, including public transport concessions, discounts on local businesses and access to information. With close to 350,000 registered seniors card members in South Australia, this represents 90 per cent of our older community who have chosen to be part of this program. In 2014-15, the seniors card unit produced 26 editions of Weekend Plus, a fortnightly digital magazine for seniors card members. Subscription has grown to 47,000, and it is now established as a key source of information specially designed for older South Australians.

The focus for 2015-16 will include expanding the readership of Weekend Plus, increasing the discounts and benefits for older South Australians through the seniors card discount directory, Weekend Plus and other marketing opportunities. All South Australian seniors card members are invited to participate in the seniors card member online survey, which was promoted in the 2015 discount directory and also Weekend Plus. More than 5,600 seniors card members completed the survey. Sixty per cent of respondents said they use their seniors card at least once a week. The results will assist with the development of new discounts and benefits for seniors.

Housing remains an important issue for older South Australians, and the Office for the Ageing administers the Retirement Villages Act 1987 and the Retirement Villages Regulations 2006. Currently, there are 526 registered retirement villages in South Australia, with approximately 25,330 residents, that is 126 more villages than in 2007, just after registration commenced, and indicative of the scale of growth of this industry.

Acknowledging the need for reform highlighted through the select committee review of the Retirement Villages Act in 2014-15, I launched a package of broad measures to ensure the ongoing confidence and growth of the retirement village industry. These included the better practice guidelines, retirement village advocacy service and the ongoing legislative reform.

The Retirement Villages Better Practice Guidelines were released in October 2014. They were developed in conjunction with industry and residents to provide a benchmark for good practice, to assist in the resolution of commonly occurring issues and to promote improved relationships between residents and operators. An advocacy service for residents of retirement villages provided by the Aged Rights Advocacy Service (ARAS) commenced in December 2014. This provides an important service to older South Australians, advocating for and providing information to retirement village residents about their rights.

The draft retirement villages bill 2015 was released for public consultation in February and closed in April 2015. There were 13 public information sessions held across the state, seven of which I presented personally. As a result, 2015-16 will see the introduction to parliament of a new retirement villages bill and supporting regulations.

While the commonwealth now has carriage of policy and funding for aged-care services, the state plays a significant role as a provider of a large number of these services. The South Australian government continues to be the contracted provider of comprehensive assessment in South Australia through the Aged Care Assessment Program. Throughout 2014-15, South Australia continued to build on the reform initiatives identified in the 2012 evaluation of the state's Aged Care Assessment Program and Aged Care Assessment Teams by completing the realignment of the Adelaide Aged Care Assessment Team across the three metropolitan Local Health Networks.

In addition, South Australia was involved in negotiations with the commonwealth and successfully signed an extension to the current program agreement taking SA Health's role as the auspice of the Aged Care Assessment Program in South Australia through to 30 June 2016. South Australia also completed the implementation of the ACAT system to all Aged Care Assessment Teams, allowing electronic submission of assessment information to the Department of Human Services (Medicare). From 1 July 2014 to 31 May 2015, 10,148 assessments were undertaken across South Australia. It is anticipated the actual assessment volume for 2014-15 will be 11,500. In 2015-16 it is anticipated that 12,600 assessments will be undertaken.

South Australia will continue working with the commonwealth throughout 2015-16 on implementation of the commonwealth's aged care reforms. The year 2014-15 was a busy and productive year in the ageing portfolio and I expect 2015-16 will be equally so. This is an area of emerging awareness and opportunity, and I look forward to many more positive outcomes over this next year.

The CHAIR: Member for Morphett, are you the lead speaker?

Dr McFETRIDGE: I am the lead speaker, but the member for Heysen and I will be playing tag on this, ably backed up by the member for Bright.

The CHAIR: Excellent. I look forward to it. Do you have an opening statement?

Dr McFETRIDGE: I will just hand straight across to the member for Heysen.

Ms REDMOND: If I can firstly ask a few questions on the lengthy statement just delivered by the minister. It was a very lengthy statement and I would like to ask a few questions on some of the things that you mentioned in it. Earlier on you mentioned the idea of Prosperity Through Longevity and I wondered if you could give some explanation of exactly what you meant by that because rationally one would think that the longer you live, the less prosperous you are going to be because you have a limited amount of funds, and we all know that the federal government is not going to be in a position to provide pensions. Could you provide some information on just what you mean by Prosperity Through Longevity?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Member for Heysen, you have obviously referenced my opening statement, but is there a budget line in reference to this?

Ms REDMOND: You made the opening statement, minister.

The CHAIR: You do need to refer to a budget line. There are rules.

Ms REDMOND: In that case, you do not want to answer questions on your opening statement, minister.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As I made clear in the opening statement, we have three priority areas in this area: health, wellbeing and security; social participation and economic productivity; and all-ages friendly communities.

Ms REDMOND: Yes, but I do not need to hear the statement again. What I want to know is what you meant by your statement that you would be looking to achieve with Prosperity Through Longevity.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Prosperity Through Longevity is obviously a recognition of the triumph of civilisation. We continue to live for 30 years longer—

The CHAIR: You asked for it, member for Heysen.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: —and one of the questions is—

Ms REDMOND: And you are a minister of the crown. Can we move on perhaps?

The CHAIR: Member for Heysen, let's keep it civilised.

Ms REDMOND: Could you explain then—

The CHAIR: Could you reference a budget line before you go into your question?

Ms REDMOND: I am referencing the minister's opening statement. She was left quietly uninterrupted while she made an opening statement.

The CHAIR: No. You have an opportunity to make an opening statement, if you wish.

Ms REDMOND: No, I do not want to make an opening statement. I just want some clarity about what the minister said in her opening statement.

The CHAIR: You are not here to question the opening statement: you are here to examine the budget and the appropriations.

Ms REDMOND: You can question the opening statement.

Mr PICTON: You need a reference.

Ms REDMOND: Yes, the opening statement is the reference.

The CHAIR: You can clarify it, but let's keep the argument to a minimum.

Ms REDMOND: Well that is what I am trying to do—is to clarify. Minister, you then said, 'This government has a strong commitment to jobs.' Now with this state having an 8.2 per cent average, and much higher with youth unemployment, 8.2 per cent unemployment being the highest in the nation, can you explain what the government's strong commitment to jobs, that you have referenced, is going to do to help senior unemployment?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As I have recognised through Prosperity Through Longevity, we recognise that people are living longer, and because of that, one of the things is that some of the traditions around people's life patterns are changing. So where one might think that they would retire at 65, or perhaps even earlier as in the case of my own parents who retired earlier, we will see that if you are living to 85 or longer, one of the areas we see post-50 is that sometimes people find it harder to get jobs.

So with mature workers, we are working with, I guess, those companies that we have seen that have been particularly outstanding in this, like Bunnings which is one of the groups that we have seen that hires older people. These might not always be full-time jobs but they are part-time jobs and if people are fully reliant on the aged care pension, any other additional income gives them choices in life about where they live and how they spend their time.

Ms REDMOND: But what is the government doing? When you say that you have a strong commitment to jobs, what are you doing for this age profile in particular, given 8.2 per cent unemployment in the state which leads the nation as, therefore, the highest unemployment?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: One of the key things that we have done is collaboration and partnerships with the Office for the Ageing focusing on older workers. The Business Benefit Forum in July 2014 delivered in conjunction with Business SA, highlighted benefits to business of older workers and positive approaches to their recruitment and retention. It was at that forum that Bunnings spoke and there was also a winery—Taylors Winery—which spoke about what they saw as the benefits of having a diverse workplace, particularly with mature age workers who are incredibly reliable and maintain great corporate knowledge, so some positives about continuing to support mature age workers.

One of the other areas that was highlighted me during that Business Benefit Forum is that often people still have older parents who they are responsible for, and just as when people are parents and have young children, we look for support in caring and time off and flexible work practices, that is one of the areas that was raised during that time.

There was the Boomers in the Workplace Forum in August 2014. This partnership with the Council on the Ageing engaged baby boomers in a dialogue about issues and opportunities impacting mature workers. In October 2014, a collaboration with Active Ageing Australia resulted in the #celebrateageprogram focusing on engaging older workers around the issues and opportunities of active ageing.

The Mature Economy Research Project has been established in conjunction with the University of Adelaide and the Stretton Centre to explore economic opportunities and directions associated with South Australia's ageing demographic profile. Throughout 2014, a partnership with the Office for the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity on The Greatest Asset Project has led to the development of workforce planning tools to support ageing workforces in small to medium businesses.

The Office for the Ageing supported the implementation of policy changes for older drivers enabling people to maintain mobility as they age, and we continue to support the all-ages friendly communities in conjunction with local governments to make sure that people have accessibility and continue to work.

Ms REDMOND: Thank you minister. Still on your opening statement, you mentioned, and again you mentioned it just then—

Mr ODENWALDER: Again, member for Heysen—

Ms REDMOND: It is in order, Mr Chair.

Mr ODENWALDER: Well, not according to the standing orders I have in front of me. You must refer to a budget line and it must be identified.

Ms REDMOND: Okay, I will refer to Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, page 16, and in particular the section, Program 1: Policy, Clinical Services, System Transformation and Administration. I first of all wanted to clarify that that is in fact where we find the details for the Office for the Ageing, because as at last year, there was actually an organisational health chart for SA Health which showed that the policy and commissioning section was where one found the programs relating to ageing.

If you went to the end of the plot of this organisational chart it showed under policy and commissioning, management and administration of state-funded grant program, including grants for seniors and positive ageing, administration of retirement villages, administration of the aged care assessment program, and so on.

What I want to find out first of all is: where does that appear in the new organisational chart that now appears on the website? I assume it is under the Deputy Chief Executive for Finance and Corporate Services and, in that case, am I correct in assuming that page 16 is where we find the information about the number of people employed and so on?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I will ask the CE of SA Health to answer those questions.

Mr SWAN: SA Health has undergone a restructure during 2015 and we have made a range of changes in the department to ensure that we move to a better response to our charter of responsibilities. The area you are talking about is the policy and governance section which is now in Finance and Corporate Services division, which is headed up by Mr Steve Archer as Deputy Chief Executive.

Ms REDMOND: Can I then again ask, regarding page 16 of Budget Paper 4, Volume 3: because at 1.2 on that page it says Finance and Corporate Services, is that where we then find the details of what previously used to be discretely mentioned in the budget papers?

Mr SWAN: I would have to take that on notice to check where those resources are. The restructure that you are talking about has only occurred over the last two to three months and I am unsure as to whether the changes in budget line went ahead as part of that process.

Ms REDMOND: Can the minister advise whether the Office for the Ageing rates a mention anywhere, other than that page—and it does not even get a mention there—in the budget?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I refer to Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, Sub-program 1.2, Finance and Corporate Services, page 22.

Ms REDMOND: So you are telling me that that is now where I will find the information on the Office for the Ageing—on page 22?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That is as I am advised.

Ms REDMOND: I assume that the Office for the Ageing is not accounting for all of the 1,074 people who are the full-time equivalents that appear on page 22, so can the minister provide information on the size of the Office for the Ageing and whether it is the same or smaller or larger than it was last year?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I am advised that it is the same as last year. The FTE is 21, plus an additional five people who work for ACAP, the commonwealth assessment program, which is commonwealth funded.

Ms REDMOND: So the 22 are full-time equivalents within the Office for the Ageing, and that is the same number as last year?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Yes; as advised in my previous response, there are 21 FTE.

Ms REDMOND: How does the Office for the Ageing's budget appear compared to last year's? Since we cannot tell from the budget papers, what part of what appears on page 16, or part of what appears on page 22 is discretely the Office for the Ageing?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: The Health budget is obviously $5.5 billion, as—

Ms REDMOND: I know how big the Health budget is. What I am trying to get to is that we have been allocated an hour on ageing and, given the money paid to the people who are sitting here with you and the money paid to the people who sit up the back, and the money paid to all the people who have spent weeks and weeks preparing for these budget estimates, I would have thought that when we got the hour allocated for ageing that it would be reasonable to know how much of the overall budget is actually spent on ageing.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I can advise you that $4,220,571 was the budget in 2014-15, and the allocation for 2015-16 is $4,837,793.

Dr McFETRIDGE: On the same budget reference, Finance and Corporate Services, I note there are descriptions for Objectives-aged care, but it really does not talk about the Office for the Ageing. Going on to aged care, minister, in your opening statement you made comment on the number of aged care assessments being undertaken. Can you give the committee some information about how many were undertaken and how many were outstanding at the end of the year 2014-15?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As I indicated in my opening statement, up to 31 May 2015, 10,148 assessments were undertaken, with an anticipated actual assessment total for 2014-15 of 11,500. My understanding is that your question is how many people are outstanding, or waiting times?

Dr McFETRIDGE: Yes, both.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: My understanding is that there are three categories given when an assessment is required—categories 1, 2 and 3—and we have key performance indicators in all of these areas. For category 1, all teams were 83 per cent (so that is seen within 48 hours): metro north, 96 per cent; metro south, 55.6 per cent; Riverland/Mallee/Coorong, 100 per cent; Barossa/Hills/Fleurieu, 100 per cent; and, Yorke and Northern, South-East, Eyre/Flinders and Far North, all 100 per cent.

Dr McFETRIDGE: What was metro south?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Metro south does seem to be rather lower than normal. It appears to be a data error. Due to data reporting errors in one team, some clients were incorrectly assigned to the priority 1 category, and as a result South Australia did not meet the benchmark by 2 per cent, which in real terms equates to two people not being seen within the requisite time frame of 48 hours. If they were correctly assigned to priority 2, which is to be seen within 14 days, the benchmark would have been met as clinical intervention occurred within 14 days.

So, running through the 14 days, it was 91.3 per cent for all teams: metro north, 94.3 per cent; metro south, 86.9 per cent; Riverland/Mallee/Coorong, 95.7 per cent; Barossa/Hills/Fleurieu, 92.9 per cent; Yorke and Northern, 97.4 per cent; South-East, 86.5 per cent; and, Eyre/Flinders and Far North, 93.8 per cent.

Priority category 3 is persons seen within 36 days, and was 80.2 per cent for all teams in that area: metro north 77.4; metro south, 74.8 per cent; Riverland/Mallee/Coorong, 94.4 per cent; Barossa/Hills/Fleurieu, 82.7 per cent; Yorke and Northern, 95 per cent; South-East, 91.5 per cent; and Eyre/Flinders/Far North, 95.3 per cent.

Dr McFETRIDGE: On page 39 under 'Activity indicators' it states:

The reduction in estimated assessments is due to significant Commonwealth and state reform initiatives undertaken.

Can you give the committee some idea of what those reform initiatives are?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I will get some details from Ms Walters, but I understand that the reductions are due to those changes. I am advised that this has resulted in a short-term decrease in productivity, but it is anticipated that the state will see longer term efficiencies and productivity gains through these reform initiatives. I will ask Ms Walters to give some details about those reform initiatives.

Ms WALTERS: The other reform initiatives have been: the distribution of the Adelaide ACAT team to the three metropolitan teams to embed them closer to the communities and closer to the geriatric units that they work closely with; the transition of all teams across South Australia onto the e-ACAT system, allowing the streamlined provision of information through to Medicare to reduce any delays in the processing of people ACATs; and also the preparation of all teams to use the new My Aged Care system, which was introduced on 1 July this year.

Dr McFETRIDGE: Thank you for that. Member for Heysen.

Ms REDMOND: I refer to page 22 of Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, the third dot point under the financial commentary, and indeed further down under the estimated result, the third dot point on the same page. Both refer to growth in, first of all, the 2014-15 savings targets and in the 2015-16 savings targets. Can you advise, minister, whether any part of the Office for the Ageing or any of the programs that you referred to in your opening are affected by those savings targets?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: No, they are not.

Ms REDMOND: So the Office for the Ageing has been exempted from any of the savings targets?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: As I am advised, it has not been affected and it has not been changed. As I said, the FTEs remain the same as last year.

Ms REDMOND: And no change to the amount of funding?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: No.

Ms REDMOND: In that case, minister, given your obvious enthusiasm for ageing issues highlighted by your lengthy opening statement, I wonder why nothing concerning ageing or programs under ageing appears in either the highlights for the past year or the targets for this year.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: The document is obviously the Treasurer's document. Yes, I am enthusiastic about ageing. I am enthusiastic about us understanding the triumph of civilisation. I am enthusiastic about understanding the diverse experience of people, because ageing is but a number. I know 55-year olds who are old and feel very old and 85-year old people who are very sprightly.

Ms REDMOND: And that is your answer as to why there are no highlights?

The CHAIR: No, the answer was that she is not responsible for the document, and then she got more florid.

Ms REDMOND: I take it, minister, that if there was room to put it into the document—and I accept that the budget is already a very big document and not everything can go in there—you would include in the highlights things like your digital magazine for seniors, Weekend Plus, and that it would appear as a highlight at this page. You mentioned online surveys and 5,000 being completed, but there remain in the community a significant number of seniors who are not online and not part of the digital community.

They have taken it up at far greater numbers than was ever anticipated, but there are still significant numbers that are not engaged. Does your department, the Office for the Ageing, have any information on what proportion of those people are not getting information because of the fact that they are not part of the digital engagement?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I take on board what you say and it is something that I always remain aware of, the technology literacy divide, as one might talk about it. We often see a similar difference in the lower socioeconomic areas as compared to areas of more income. My understanding is that the directory is physically sent to people every year and it is also available in places like councils and libraries. As far as the Weekend Plus, because of a focus on efficiencies and availability, it has been primarily online and will continue to be.

Ms REDMOND: When you say primarily online, is it available in any way other than online?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I am advised—and I correct my statement—that it is only available online. I guess one of the key things we look at, through the Positive Ageing Grants, is increasing people's literacy in and use of IT and supporting training programs that way.

Ms REDMOND: On the same page, minister, the position of the director of the Office for the Ageing is established under section 3 of the Office for the Ageing Act. Who is the current director, and is it completely full-time or does that officer do other duties within the department?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That director is to my far left, and that is Skye Jacobi, Director of Intergovernment Relations and Ageing. So she does have other areas that she is responsible for.

Ms REDMOND: When was that appointment made and for what term?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I will ask Ms Jacobi directly.

Ms JACOBI: I have been working in the role since July 2013.

Ms REDMOND: I am curious, minister, because I understand that Greg Mackie was the previous executive director of the office until February 2013 and, according to his LinkedIn profile, former minister Jack Snelling abolished the position.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That predates my time as minister.

The CHAIR: Nor is the minister responsible for Mr Mackie's LinkedIn profile.

Ms REDMOND: Nor is minister responsible for anything much. I go to Budget Paper 3, page 53 or, if you prefer, Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, page 39, regarding the aged care assessment program. You mentioned in your opening statement that funding is provided by the commonwealth. In the financial year 2014-15 the funding provided by the commonwealth was more than originally expected, but we cannot tell from the budget papers how much more. Can you explain how much more it was?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I think we will take that one on notice.

Ms REDMOND: Could the minister also take on notice this question which I put on the record: just how much salary is paid to each of the people who are here with you, for how long they are here and for how long they have prepared, have spent hours preparing, so that we can find out just what that non-answer cost?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That is a ridiculous question and I will not put it on notice.

The CHAIR: I agree.

Ms REDMOND: I will put it on notice anyway.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Good for you.

Ms REDMOND: I refer to Budget Paper 5, page 21, and aged care concessions. It is also in the budget speech, so, if you want, Budget Paper 2, page 2. The Treasurer, in that speech, described pensioners as 'the most vulnerable in our community', and you have mentioned, in fact, a cost of living allowance being introduced to assist eligible older citizens with key cost of living expenses.

That is supposedly to replace the council rate concessions that were removed. What strategies are in place to fund the shortfall? In particular, what strategies are in place to assist self-funded retirees? Interest rates are at record lows, as we all know, and while that is an excellent thing for all of us with a mortgage, if you are in the self-funded retirees category and you are reliant on income from your savings, then you are worse off because of low interest rates. What is the government doing to assist self-funded retirees?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That budget item is not relevant to this ageing portfolio.

Ms REDMOND: I refer to Budget Paper 4, Volume 4, page 63, and the healthy ageing strategy designed to 'improve the livability of older people and capture the economic growth possibilities'. What resources have been allocated to implement the healthy ageing strategy?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: The allocated budget for ageing strategic projects and grant funding in 2014-15 was $2,316,617; the allocated budget for 2015-16 is $2,554,079. I have already highlighted some of the areas that we have done. Obviously, when we are looking at Prosperity Through Longevity and then we have our action plans for safeguarding—I'm sorry, do you have an issue with elder abuse and raising awareness of a key issue?

Ms REDMOND: I have an issue with your being unable to explain what you mean by Prosperity Through Longevity when I asked a very direct question about it at the outset, and then you refer to it again.

The CHAIR: Do you want to continue with your answer, minister? Don't respond to interjections.

Ms REDMOND: I didn't interject. She asked me a question.

The CHAIR: I think you are interjecting wordlessly.

Dr McFETRIDGE: How does that show in Hansard?

Ms REDMOND: I will just get that straight for Hansard, that I am interjecting wordlessly.

The CHAIR: Indeed, you are. I will repeat it, if you like—non-verbal interjection.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: To support the priorities of the plan, regardless of whether you agree with the name of the plan, the Office for the Ageing manages the allocation of a series of grants, specifically peak organisational funding to the Council on the Ageing, the Every Generation Festival funding to the Council on the Ageing, elder protection grant funding to Aged Rights Advocacy Service and Radio for the Third Age.

We also provide ethnic ageing grants to five organisations—Co-ordinating Italian Committee, Associazione Nazionale Famiglie degli Emigrati, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia through the Greek Welfare Centre, the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia and the Federation of Polish Organisations in South Australia—and positive ageing grants for one annual round and grants for seniors for two rounds annually, the highlight of which, I would put in the budget papers, is the Innovation in Ageing Challenge.

Ms REDMOND: While you look at that minister, can I ask further to that last response: those communities—and, in fact, I was at a function for the Co-ordinating Italian Committee on Sunday afternoon—the Italian, the Greek, and in fact most of the European communities, are very well established in South Australia and so we have a number of retirement and nursing home facilities that almost specialise in people from particular ethnic backgrounds. That is terrific, but we have an increasing population of South-East Asian people and, following on from that, a newer group of African migrants.

Has the Office for the Ageing yet assembled statistics on the ageing profile of those various communities? I think I have mentioned in estimates before that we know that as people age, and particularly if they start to suffer from dementia, they may well revert to their original language, even if they have become quite fluent in English, because they will go back to an earlier age. It is therefore a problem that we can foresee and I would like to know what, if anything, is being done in terms of collecting statistics on this issue and/or making arrangements to address this issue.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I could not agree with you more, member for Heysen. OFTA is working with Multicultural SA to identify those groups. As far as the ethnic ageing grants to the five organisations are concerned, I will be reviewing those grants this year to look at the distribution, because it does focus at this point on those older European migrants who came post-World War II. You might have noted in the budget that there was a substantial increase to multicultural funding, so this government takes very seriously supporting our multicultural communities.

Ms REDMOND: When you say you are working closely with Multicultural SA, could you be any more specific as to what you are doing with them?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: The key things would be obviously the identification of those groups that are ageing most rapidly. It is my understanding those groups include the Vietnamese population predominantly, and the Indian population, some of 25,000 people who are in South Australia born in India, some who have come since the Colombo Plan in the 1970s.

To follow up on your points, we are very well aware that often people who speak English as a second language, and have for some time, go back to their birth language and also prefer, for example, cultural appropriateness around that time, including the food and the celebrations. We do have through South Australia, as I am sure you have visited, Italian nursing homes and Greek nursing homes. We have also seen in other areas that you have a cluster within an aged-care facility.

Ms REDMOND: Thank you. Can I just follow on from that with a question—and it may be something that I am happy for you to take on notice. Some years ago, up at Tailem Bend hospital, which is at least partially funded by the state government, there was a trial site for a computer software system. That computer software system, amongst other things, was able to provide translation for those services. It is clear that in our community people do not see a viable career path in the aged-care sector and it is often the least qualified and most desperate people needing a job who go into it, so they are often people who do not have good English skills themselves. This computer system enabled both translation for a patient or from a person who might be a carer in such a facility, and it also provided ability to do a whole range of other things, including physical therapies, with pictures on screen and so on.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I am very familiar with this and we have recently launched the Italian Ciao program. It is an application. Obviously, technology has changed somewhat quite rapidly and it is an app that does that. It also, from a dementia perspective—and this is with my Department for Communities and Social Inclusion hat on—reminds people with pictures, as you said, to keep their language up and also for the assistants. I am very delighted that the member for Kaurna has rejoined us, because he represented me at the Greek Welfare Centre and their application to have translations in Greek also targeted at our aged community and their language needs.

Dr McFETRIDGE: Just following on from that answer and going back to the screening process we talked about this morning, you have a lot of new migrants coming in to work in the aged-care sector. How are we able to go back and check on their histories? Is there some international system that we are using nowadays or is it just since the day they arrive?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Member for Morphett, that would be relevant to the screening unit.

Dr McFETRIDGE: You are the minister, so I thought you might have some idea, that was all.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: There would be a protocol as to people who have been here for, I propose, probably less than 10 years. I do not have that detail with me.

Dr McFETRIDGE: It would be interesting to find out what precautions we are taking, because there are many new migrants who are finding the only job they can get is in the aged-care sector. Budget Paper 3, page 93, the budget statement reports that the cost of state disability support is increasing, and it identifies the ageing population and their carers as expenditure risks. What additional allocation has been provided in this year's budget to address the increasing costs of supporting older people with disabilities and older carers?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Sorry, which page are you on?

Dr McFETRIDGE: It is Budget Paper 3, page 93. The budget statement reports the cost of state disability support is increasing.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I am sorry; can you refer to which expenditure risk title?

Dr McFETRIDGE: I would if I had it with me, but it will be on that page, I guarantee it.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I am sorry, I do not see the relevant budget area.

Dr McFETRIDGE: It is a question you should perhaps take on notice. I can refer back to just the cost of the whole subprogram then if we need a particular individual reference.

Ms REDMOND: It is not Volume 3; it is Budget Paper 3, page 93.

Dr McFETRIDGE: Yes.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Sorry, just repeat: the essence of your question is an increased risk in?

Dr McFETRIDGE: What additional allocation has been provided in this year's budget to address the increasing costs of supporting older people with disabilities and older carers?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That is not relevant to this portfolio.

The CHAIR: The budget line did not match anything I can find.

Dr McFETRIDGE: Does the minister or her Office for the Ageing visit aged-care facilities as part of the aged-care assessments? Would that be a correct assumption?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Relevant to aged-care facilities?

Dr McFETRIDGE: No. That they would be visiting aged-care facilities.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: My understanding, and I will stand corrected, is that mostly it is either people in their own home or probably in hospital who require that assistance. There would be some, but the majority would be those other areas.

Dr McFETRIDGE: The reason I ask that is that, while the previous budget reference was for older people with disabilities, I am very concerned about the number of young people with disabilities in aged-care facilities. I wonder if you have done any work on that because, obviously, if young people are in aged-care facilities, that is stopping older people coming into aged-care facilities. It would be an interesting figure. I know it is probably minister Piccolo's department, but have you had discussions with him about that at all?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It is not relevant to what we are talking about now. The state does have responsibility for people under the age of 65 and that is relevant to minister Piccolo.

Dr McFETRIDGE: I think it is relevant in as much as we are trying to assess people on behalf of the commonwealth to go into aged-care facilities and if those spaces are taken up by young people, I think that would be an issue.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I am advised that the Aged Care Assessment Program and the Aged Care Assessment Team work very closely with Disability SA in regard to those people.

Dr McFETRIDGE: Do we know how many people there are at all? Any idea?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Under 65?

Dr McFETRIDGE: Under 65, yes.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I do not have those details, particularly those recorded with Disability SA. You need to direct your question to minister Piccolo.

Dr McFETRIDGE: Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, page 16. I had a quick look at the Strategy to Safeguard the Rights of Older South Australians Action Plan 2015-21 before we came into committee. According to the action plan, the Office for the Ageing will develop an awareness campaign on elder abuse. I know there was a similar question asked before, but how much funding has been allocated for the development and maintenance of the action plan's site and when will it be up and running?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That will be under existing resources. We expect that it will be up and running in October. Just to be clear about this action plan, we have a budget for these projects of $305,000 allocated for this year. We are doing a population-based awareness-raising media campaign, $125,000; workforce awareness campaign phase 1, $30,000; age-friendly communities initiative and age-friendly forum, $60,000; the SA Elder Abuse Helpline pilot, $60,000; and a review and evaluation of client outcomes from the pilot phone line, $30,000. That is the total budget.

Ms REDMOND: Just further to that response on this issue of elder abuse, we all know, and internationally it is common, that with elder abuse generally financial abuse is going to be the largest proportion, physical abuse the next largest, and sexual abuse the smallest. Obviously, our media get very excited about the last mentioned, but do not get terribly excited about financial abuse. Does the Office for the Ageing or anyone else have any research into what numbers of people are subject to any of those forms of elder abuse?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I understand that, at the moment, there is no South Australian specific data that identifies a prevalence of elder abuse, and as you accurately identified there are several types that you would consider. The Aged Rights Advocacy Service does keep clear statistics on that area since we are rolling out the program here and we are also engaging the University of South Australia to do some research to understand the prevalence in this state.

Ms REDMOND: When are we likely to get any information resulting from the research?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I will ask Ms Walters to answer that.

Ms WALTERS: We expect that to come early next year.

Ms REDMOND: Thank you.

Dr McFETRIDGE: Thank you, Mr Chair. Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, page 36, the completion of the new 120-bed ViTA complex at the Repat, is recorded in the budget papers as one of the highlights. In April the government announced plans to convert the Repat Hospital into a health, aged care and supported accommodation precinct. Given that the Repat is a centre of excellence for the health of the ageing, how is the Office for the Ageing participating in the closure of the Repat Hospital?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: That is not relevant to this portfolio. I request that you refer to minister Snelling.

Dr McFETRIDGE: So there are no discussions at all between the Office for the Ageing and—

Ms REDMOND: Why would they be involved in something about ageing?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Well, you know, it is interesting that you talk about that, because let's talk about the projects that OFTA that has been involved in in 2014-15: Resilience and Wellbeing for Older People, $50,000; Age-Friendly Communities and Age-Friendly Businesses, $75,000; Our Directions for Living in a CALD Age-friendly South Australia, $25,000; Planning Ahead for the CALD Community—we spoke earlier about the additional needs and the increased vulnerability for those who are culturally and linguistically diverse.

South Australian Elders Living a Positive Life DVD, $40,000; Supporting Carer Awareness of Financial Abuse and Risk, $25,000; and Rights Awareness Raising Resources for Seniors $30,000. We have also got the research component of the Office for the Ageing, the Elder Abuse Prevalence Study which we have just made note of, $50,000; Building Resilience in Individuals Communities Research, $45,000; Single Ageing Women and Housing Security, $30,000; and the South Australian Framework for Using International Human Rights Norms as a Basis for Ageing Strategies, $12,000. That is $408,000 for those projects and research funds for the previous financial year.

Dr McFETRIDGE: Thank you minister for that information. Budget Paper 4, Volume 3, page 16. In last year's estimates committee answers, the committee was told that there were 523 retirement villages in South Australia with four new ones being established in the same period, that is, 2013-14. Can the minister tell the committee how many retirement villages closed during the last financial year, what the reasons were for these closures, how many new retirement villages opened, and how many retirement villages do we expect to open in the current financial year?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I have been spending a lot of time in retirement villages and with people who live in retirement villages and choose that way of life. If there is one thing that I have realised it is the diversity in the owners and operators of retirement villages: not-for-profits very small groups, and not-for-profits very large groups, and for-profit communities. So really while there continues to be growth, as I understand it, and there are some challenges, I think you cannot say that retirement villages have all the same parameters; they certainly have different operations of how they do that.

I do not believe I have that detail. We know that there are 526 registered retirement villages in South Australia with approximately 25,330 residents. We have seen considerable growth where there were 450 villages in 2007. The retirement village's unit within the Office for the Ageing consists of four staff and provides information, assistance and education sessions on retirement village matters, clarifying areas of concern as well as providing a mediation service to help resolve disputes between residents and operators.

Ms REDMOND: I have a last question in relation to that, minister. In all your travels around the state going into retirement villages and talking to people who live in them as well as presumably to operators, have you gained any sense that there could be some problems in the future? What I want to put to you minister is this: the baby boomers are now reaching what has been considered to be retirement age, and a number of them may make the choice to go into retirement villages, but the product that has been on the market up until now is, in my discussions with various people, unlikely to fit with what baby boomers want and expect.

I understand from some members of that community that the product will not match the expectation of the baby boomers and we could therefore find that, whilst there are new villages being built, we may well have villages that are failing simply because there is no market interest in moving into them. Are you aware of that problem on the horizon?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I do not think the issue is a lack of market interest in retirement villages.

Ms REDMOND: No, I mean of the product of particular retirement villages.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I think the area of interest and the area of growth is the diversity of product, some which may be under the Retirement Villages Act and under that type of product. However, I think people are also interested in having maintenance-free housing. One of the challenges going forward will be to provide diversity to the housing market of different types.

What you are raising with me is that retirement villages, while it has been one of the most dominant areas for older people—those who choose to not live in their own home—the interest will still remain there; I think that will happen. However, I think that people are looking for different opportunities and different options, particularly those that provide low maintenance and a feeling of security and community.

Ms REDMOND: What I was trying to get at was the fact that a number of the villages in this state are, you would say, fairly small accommodations that baby boomers are not going to be willing to move into, and that there is on the horizon the prospect that some of these older, smaller units in established retirement villages may not be a product that people want.

Even if they choose that lifestyle—I accept the low maintenance, low cost and lock up and go and all that sort of thing that attracts about a retirement village—a lot of what we have as product in that sector at the moment will not be a product that the baby boomer generation is going to want to purchase.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: There is enormous diversity in what people's needs are, and also about what they can afford. One of the key things is that we have people entering retirement villages for less than $200,000 and some up to $850,000 so, as much as people want different sizes, particularly when we have a high proportion of people living on their own, what they can afford will be the main driver of that.

The CHAIR: Thank you, minister; thank you to your advisers. I now declare the examination of the Minister for Ageing complete, and the committee stands adjourned until 2.45pm.

Sitting suspended from 14:32 to 14:45.