phonakins

The 35-Day Rule

Even though I spend an awful lot of time looking at health and welfare stuff, I have A LOT to learn about the stuff that affects older people (generally 65 years + in Australia) outside of my brief grasp of the Aged Pension and how it differs from DSP.

This week’s learnings were about the 35-day rule in NSW public hospitals for “Nursing Home Type Patients“. A “Nursing home type patient is when you’re finished needing the hospital treatment for whatever you came in with (and also anything else that came up along the way) and you’re basically just receiving the level of care a car home would give – this include regular medications if they don’t need adjusting, toileting and shower and other personal care support, and accommodation and meals. After 35 days at this level of care they can start charging “at a rate equivalent to 85% of the aged pension” for care and board.

If you get sick in that time (eg you have another stroke or you get a UTI or a hospital acquired infection) you can moved back to being a regular patient and not charged, but the clock doesn’t reset. Once you’re deemed back in maintenance mode they start charging again.

This is meant to encourage people to get their wiggle on in getting their Nan into an aged care placement. Which might be a nice idea to the bean counters, but families have very little influence on getting those placements once they paperwork is all done. Which are usually done within a month if there’s social work support to do so.

There are no aged care beds anywhere, so charging a daily fee isn’t going to get Grandma into care sooner, it’s just another stressor on the family regardless of whether they can “Afford” it or not. There’s no bed for fee paying residents or fully commonwealth supported ones. If anything this fee should be on the federal government if it’s to incentivise a placement.

After 35 in a hospital after you're deemed well enough for discharge but are stuck because you're waiting for an aged care placement NSW health starts billing you an amount equiv to 85% of the pension for board and care. It can be waived for hardship but yeah should be billed to the feds.

— 💜 phonakins 🍉🌲 (@phonakins.com) 2026-08-20T11:18:31.961Z

The 85% is of the single pension rate, which is going to be $1237.70 a fortnight from September 20, or $933 for a member of a couple. It can be waived for “financial stress” which would anyone relying on the pension for their income, and certainly screwing over the partner of the person stuck in hospital.

The other indexation rates for September 20 are here.

With the scaremongering news that rents are looking to go up 30%, the $2 a week rent assistance increases are, as always, laughable. My rent will increase in December, waiting to see by how much. Last year it was $50/week with the signing of another 12 month lease.

And with the increasing unemployment rate, more are waiting on their extra $8.10 a week and for it to have already disappeared into the nether.

So, mum’s in purgatory, but a slightly quieter one after moving to a smaller hospital, but not the private one that rejected other the day they said she was moving and was packed up and transport on the way, the one that at least two staff at the current hospital have said she should go to and a couple more expressed surprise at the rejection.

So we wait, drink lots of coffee, keep calling the same places just to see and I unfortunately am getting a new area of welfare and health to specialise in complaining about.

It’s August apparently.

If you like this post, have learned something from this or my blaterings on the socials, or just want to help me pay for coffee and petrol (the new hospital is just as far a drive but parking is less crap), my wishlists an paylinks are here.

Waiting

Currently waiting for my new washing machine to arrive. But that’s cool, apparently we’re the next delivery and since they gave us a 3 hour window it’s been pretty easy for a Sunday morning.

Waiting for mum to get an aged care bed. Waiting for her to move to a different hospital to wait for that so she’s not in a depressing dungeon ward with old men dying across from her. The staff are lovely but she really needs to get out. She has a loaner wheelchair so we can take her into the fresh air each day for coffee and a break. Trying to not feel guilty for staying home today but also telling Dad to stay home and rest because he’s really not well and we’re now waiting for his Haematologist appointment on the 24th. His white blood cell count went up again since his last blood test. Mine are normal though. I did bloods last week and they’re all normal.

Waiting on Bruce’s colonoscopy. We’re been waiting 4 months, been told to expect 6. Waiting for mum’s wheelchair of her own. We were waiting for Dad to say okay to building a ramp to the house so mum can at least visit. But he’s said yes to that at least. Now to get him to okay us going to buy a wheelchair friendly mini van.

Six Months. 44 Years.

Mum had her first stroke six months ago tomorrow. She’s been between John hunter Hospital and the Rankin Park Rehab Centre since.

We’re at the stage of looking for nursing home placements. First reluctantly now more urgently. Mum’s waiting on the manual wheelchair from Enable NSW that the OT scripted as she can no longer walk, and she needs hoisting into that and two people to support her for transfers and care needs. Still hoping to convince mum to get the powerchair conversion for the chair after it comes so she can putter around at her leisure.

She’s currently back over at John Hunter due to some health complications and infections and to treat an embolism. But she’s still mentally mum – her speech and cognition are all but the same as “before” as is her humour, like the rest of us fatigue and stress is taking its toll on her psychologically, but we’re all still looking forward while trying to deal with all the things that are thrown at us.

I turned 44 last Wednesday. I got presents and ate my little treats.

I feel like I’ve had to grow up a lot the last six months. I love it and hate it but I’m proud of how I’ve been able to step up and handle this.

But I’d like the challenges to take a break soon please?

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Frog Ponds Rock

Remembering Kim Foale

Ahh the Golden days of mummy blogging – or whatever it was us peripherical misfit non-mummy bloggers were doing at the times. Whatever it was it really was about the friends we made along the way, and one of them was Kim of Frog Ponds Rock, kinda a mummy figure to many of us, Mum to Veronica, and one of the first middle aged women I knew diagnosed with Autism (Think she was fifty at the time) with many more of the blogging crowd to follow. They’re in Tasmania, and I had the privilege to be picked up from the airport by Kim and visit her home and studio and visit Veronica at home – she was pregnant with her youngest who’s in highschool now. I was down for a speech pathology conference, it wasn’t a great time in my life but I remember those visits fondly. I was devastated when Veronica’s house burnt down, it was always a work in progress before that and I remember parts of it from my visit and ugh, why do bad things happen to good people? (Check your smoke alarms, it’s the reason the humans were able to get out at least).

This is an amazing tribute to Kim. I was sitting with my own mum who’s in the rehab hospital when I saw Veronica’s post that Kim had died that morning. Kim was 60. Mum’s 69 on Thursday and was in great health until the sudden brain bleed January 28, with another a few weeks later. She’s back in good health now, but is disabled by it, will probably have to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life, needs hoisting in and out of bed, is getting function back in her right hand – at least she’s left dominant right? But for someone who truly prefers to do things for herself it’s a huge adjustment, all the other stuff aside.

So mum and I were watching a gameshow, she was back in bed after a busy day at rehab – gym, arm exercises etc. I as scrolling my phone and the post seemed so sudden, because it was. Kim had been in hospital but was meant to be getting out that morning.

I know Veronica’s worries are now with her father – how will he cope with her suddenly gone, no matter how beautifully maddening Kim could be at times with her wonderful creativity and neurodivergence and just being a good soul. I worry the same for Dad. He’s been in crisis mode since the stroke, and hasn’t really come down from it. Still visiting every day. Still off work, but not ready to retire officially, even though age and his own health wise, let alone mum’s would make sense. He’s still overwhelmed about the prospect of renovating the house to get mum back but I think is more confronted by the idea of her going to a nursing home, either while that’s done or permanently. And I worry what would become of him then?

Mum keeps saying her first reaction to the rehab teach recommending aged care was that she’s not old. And she’s not. She’s also the healthy one, the one that looked after herself, did all the right things. And was there for everyone else. So being the one needing care is a big adjustment.

I still hope to get her home. But in the meantime, her wheelchair’s been approved (manual but she’s warming to the idea of getting the power adaptation) and we’ve been looking at vehicles to get her around in regardless of where she’s spending the night – the Voxy is one cool little option dad’s warming to with encouragement.

So, it’s all a big thing, but something I’m even more grateful for after Kim’s sudden passing. Grateful we’ve had the last four months no matter how hard they’ve been and that we’ll have whatever time is ahead. All mum can do is keep her blood pressure low (it was never high) and no take anything blood thinning to have to best chance of not having another bleed. But it may be sudden or, like I said to her, we might have another 20 years ahead of us and I want to get the house and equipment right if I’m going to be caring for her til I’m in MY sixties.

So, we take it as it comes. We enjoy the little things, eat the little cakes, look after our own health so we can all look after each other. Gp for my partner today, looking into some of his own health issues after years of ignoring them. I’ll see my own GP Friday for my scripts and will probably get the form for my annual bloodwork that hopefully still says that I many be fat but my numbers look good. Harassing my father to try to follow up things so he can care for mum – physio mostly since his own knees are not young and spritely any more, and trying to help my sister to where I can.

And of course Maxi. Maxi just has sensitive skin so it’s baths and creams and anti-allergy pills wrapped in cheese for him.

Go buy some soap from Veronica, or food for her foster kitties. Or help me and my little family out here.

WelfareMaxxing this Budget

So, it’s Federal Budget Day, and while the government tried to ease us into their cutting of the NDIS and there being little offered directly to the poorest to help their situation, there’s a few little interesting nuggets that tell you a lot about the government of the day.

One is the news that the Feds will give payments of about $6000 to community housing providers for each person on Youth Allowance or youth rates of DSP they house. This isn’t a nice little bonus to encourage them to rent to younger people, but a payment to stop them overtly discriminating in who they give tenancies to. You see, because they can only take 30% of your payment as rent, they don’t get as much from those on youth rates so they’re more likely to give a house to an older person on DSP or Aged Pensions. Obviously since there’s such a massive waitlist (in NSW the priority waitlist has increased from 5800 households in June 2021 to 12478 now) they’re not leaving places empty.

Of course, the government could look to lessen how far behind youth are starting when trying to get rentals by increasing the payments for all adults to the same rates by payments (Youth rates go to you turn 22)… I mean the Fair Work Commission has started making changes to youth pay rates for some awards this year. I don’t see much out there being cheaper if you’re 18-21 than if you’re 22….

we worked very hard to get over a dozen Labor MPs to break ranks in the lead up to the 2023 budget, but since then have heard from MPs that they're not allowed to bring it up anymore

— Jeremy Poxon (@jeremypoxon.bsky.social) 2026-05-11T03:04:21.523Z

This idealist wants to still see ALL payment rates ABOVE the poverty line. But it seems that those Labor MPs willing to break ranks to ask for such things have been told to shush, Labor doesn’t do that.

There’s talk there might be a $200-$300 tax break for all tax payers… in 12 months. Other things like shifting around tax brackets a little are always talked about – but I will of course come back to the idea that maybe lifting the tax free threshold would be a better place to start since it helps everyone on a wage and not just the top end. I’ll also add in that it’s kinda shitty that the tax free threshold is below the poverty line and they poorest lose out on tax and reduction in their welfare payments well before they peep the poverty line.

I completely understand why the government has baulked at the gas tax changes that were near certain before Israel and the US went at Iran, there are relationships to maintain and security of diesel supplies etc etc. I do think though this is why they HAVE to go bold on Capital Gains Tax and perhaps negative gearing this year, and perhaps revisit the gas takes when there’s less global uncertainty. Trump is not making an end to their trip to Iran look like it’s happening soon, even if they do ignore Israel’s intentions in Lebanon to make it the new Gaza and expand towards their Greater Israel ideal… I got petrol today and while it’s hovering about the price it was at the end of February with the excise cut, I think it’s gonna start creeping up again soon since there’s no end in sight. I don’t think Chalmers will extend the excise discount, so it’ll jump at the end of June too…

Anyway, my goal at the start of the year to food blog my way through the year went quickly when mum has her strokes, and it’s been a full one, slow but long three and a bit months since. I’ve had Everyplate meals most weeks, but switched over the buying bull chicken and mince or thanking Dad for handing over his meat tray winnings other weeks – either because money’s been tighter or because I’ve felt adventurous enough to do a week’s meals myself but have regretted that about 50% of the time when that week has had long or mentally taxing days.

We’re starting to look towards what the next step is for mum, had a builder out with the OT yesterday to see what’s possible in terms of making access to the house easier and get an idea for redoing the bathroom as an open wet room. Dad and I have been starting to assist with Mum’s personal care more in the hospital and had a more formal training session with the physio on using the sling lifter today. She may need to go into a nursing home in the short term while we get the house done, but we’re still hoping to get her home full time and get the equipment and care support she needs. She’s going to get a wheelchair soon that she can then be transported in, so I’ll get Bruce onto finding a vehicle for Dad and us to transport her so we don’t have to rely on taxis.

So, I was just back from visiting two food pantries and Aldi last week when a friend used the word “Welfaremaxxing” and I figured it could apply to us stretching our payments well beyond what most could by being creative in our purchases and other ways of feeding our families. But I would love to be able to have my meal kits to make my brain that little less taxed, and to not have to spend a whole morning using the privilege of having a car and good physical function to make sure I have enough cash to pay for the bills that can’t be worked around will free bread and zucchini. Unlike many who can’t drive, don’t have a car, buses don’t go to the new warehouse the government’s funding for a foodbank, or are living in tents by the old station because they couldn’t get a rental and are only able to heat their food because a charity gave them a camp stove.

There’s being frugal and then there’s knowing that the government should be doing more to house and feed people rather than outsourcing it to charities and the individual.

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