Parents

Helping you help your parents

1. Especially for seniors
The internet is full of information but sometimes it’s hard to verify the source or know if it applies to you in your country. The Australian Government’s official Seniors website is a great place to visit for accurate and credible information for your parents in their retirement.
www.seniors.gov.au

2. Hit the road
If your parents are enjoying their retirement by travelling the world you should encourage them to use the Smart Traveller website. As well as providing up-to-date travel warnings, the site also has a section dedicated to travel for seniors.
www.smartraveller.gov.au

3. Improving your understanding
As your parents get older, they will often need to spend more time at the doctor’s and will start telling you about conditions you might never have heard of before. The Better Health Channel is a fantastic resource for finding out more about the human body.
www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au

4. Having some fun
Have you ever wondered what your parents were like before you were born? If so, My Parents Were Awesome is a great website to check out. It is a celebration of what your parents did before you came along and contains an extensive gallery of images submitted by sons and daughters all over the world.
www.myparentswereawesome.tumblr.com

5. Retirement entitlements
If your parents are retired it is important that they know all of their entitlements. Thankfully the Centrelink website provides accurate information about a number of topics such as Age Pensions, Pension Loans Schemes and Seniors Supplements.
www.centrelink.gov.au

6. Aged care information
If you’re considering Aged Care for your parents, one of the best resources is the Aged Care Australia website. This is the Australian Government’s official website on the subject and is full of useful material. It is easy to navigate and covers an impressively broad range of topics.
www.agedcareaustralia.gov.au

7. Giving back to the community
Not all people want to sit around drinking cups of tea or playing endless games of golf in their retirement. Your parents might want to get involved in volunteering. There are so many opportunities out there and Volunteering Australia will give them all the information they need to volunteer the right way.
www.volunteeringaustralia.org

8. You’re not alone
Caring for your parents can be both physically and mentally challenging. Thankfully there is support available and the Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres are a great place to find out where to find this assistance.
www.health.gov.au

9. Searching the family tree
If your parents are interested in genealogy, you might encourage them to research the family history. This gives them an exciting project to focus on and can keep their mind active and stimulated.
www.findmypast.com.au

10. Seeking assistance
If your parents are living at home in Queensland but need some assistance, the Home Assist Secure program could be a valuable resource. Anyone aged 60 or over is eligible for the program and the website gives a very good outline of the services available.
www.communities.qld.gov.au