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In my opinion, you can never start planning your finances too early! But for me, as you enter your 30’s it is time to start getting serious about it. Here are 5 simple tips that you can use to start your ‘serious’ financial, and future, planning..
Division 293 tax is an additional tax on super contributions for higher-income earners. For first-time recipients of a Div. 293 notice from the ATO, it can come as a surprise. Super contributions such as employer contributions and salary sacrifice are taxed within your super fund at 15%. Introduced in July 2012, Div. 293 tax is an additional 15% tax for individuals with income greater than $250,000 a year. The tax is payable in addition to the standard 15% contributions tax and rather than being paid automatically by your super fund, most people learn of their Div 293 tax liability after receiving a bill from the ATO.
During our recent radio show on 5AA (every second Thursday at 3pm), we outlined some of the implications of extending work beyond 67 on the Age Pension. The day after purchasing a coffee, I overheard a group of workers discussing the radio show. Whilst it was heartening to hear, the person leading the talk was instructing his companions on the specific course of action they should adopt. Regrettably, his recommendations were based on his own circumstances.
The lump sum that you pay for your room (known as the Refundable Accommodation Deposit or RAD) comes back to your estate when you pass away. If you have paid a lump sum for your room in a residential care facility, you give up access to this money whilst you are in care, but these funds remain part of your estate which can be left to your beneficiaries. The full amount is refundable (unless you have allowed any ongoing care fees to be deducted instead of paying these costs via your bank account).
When retirement is on the horizon, things often start to get a bit easier financially. Your mortgage might be paid off or almost paid off, and you have no more school fees to worry about. Plus, if you're earning a healthy income, it's the perfect opportunity to ramp up your savings for the future. But, as most of us are all too aware, women often end up with less in their super accounts compared to men, and on top of that, they tend to live longer. These factors can really mess up your retirement plans.
As we enter a new financial year, people may find that they have inadvertently exceeded their concessional super contribution limits. We discuss what to consider if you find yourself in this situation. Excess concessional contributions occur when an individual exceeds their contributions cap for the year. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) assesses two key sources of information to determine if this limit has been surpassed: super contributions reported by your super fund and deduction for personal contributions stated in your tax return.
As a professional financial planner I spend my days talking with adults about their investments, spending habits and savings plans. As a dad, something that I try to do (and often don’t succeed) is to teach my kids about money. A recent example was that I actually had cash in my wallet (you remember those plasticky things that have a 5, 10, 20, 50 or 100 on them??) and used it to pay at a supermarket. As the change came out of the self-serve machine, Miss 6’s eyes opened wide and was like “what is that?” …………. Uh ohhhh, I’ve not done my job too well in that department!! She thought that all our money was “in your phone dad”!

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Latest insights

The Higher Everyday Living Fee (HELF) has replaced the Extra Service Fee and Additional Service Fee as part of the new aged care rules which came into effect on 1 November 2025. The intent is to provide protection to residents purchasing additional services with their residential aged care.
If you or someone you know is going through a significant workplace change such as a merger or corporate change, call us. The highest profile change locally is the Adelaide Uni merger and there are plenty of others on the go.