Rhosty, I have worked in nursing homes and been involved at management level for 10 years. At no time was anyone deemed 'incompetent' so their house could be sold to pay the nursing home. It is extremely difficult to legally do this nowadays. There are far more aged people's rights and laws in place now to safeguard them.
In my experience it is almost always their 'loving' family who tries to fleece them of their money.

Unless your spouse is still living in the family home, then the Government works out your financial assets and let's you know how much you need to pay the nursing home for bonds and weekly payments for care. Most people need to sell their family home to afford these bonds and payments, but the family gets most of the bond money back after you die or leave the nursing home.
If you don't own much assets, then you will occupy a 'concessional bed', which is almost fully covered by the Government, and 85% of your pension.

The Government already does heavily subsidize aged care residential facilities ( nursing homes and hostels) and they don't make much profit at all. However, the retirement village operators do very well.
The most disadvantaged aged people are those on a full pension who rent.

"The most disadvantaged aged people are those on a full pension who rent"

The most discriminated against and disadvantaged are those who have struggled to buy their own home and to provide for themselves in their old age. Few are wealthy and have the income to maintain their quality of life.

I am sure we are seeing the last of the generations who have been able to continue their independent lifestyles in the home they raised their family. Unfortunately for most, the suburbs have expanded past them and their Council rates and utility charges have continued to grow exponentially.

Along with others I do voluntary work to help people maintain themselves in their family home, helping with no or low cost work about the house and garden. It is has become very apparent over the years that many miss meals to pay for the maintenance that has to be done, such as the replacement toilet cistern that will send them to the wall with water charges if they don't get it fixed ASAP. Referring to water and energy too where the old are concerned, both should be treated as a social and cultural good, rather than primarily as an ‘economic good’.

It has been well proved that it is cheaper for government to assist the old to maintain their independence in their own home. The problem is that since the public agencies have been corporatised and both sides of government no longer subscribe to the notion of community benefit and bearing mind the notorious lack of cooperation between tiers of government, the old are being squeezed out of their savings and out of their homes of a lifetime. The entrepreneurs knocking down established inner city suburbs for expensive apartments and their mates developing cheap land for 'retirement living' would think that is a good idea of course.

No OTB, after visiting many many retirees in their homes over the years, there is absolutely no doubt that full pensioners living in rentals are worse off financially.

From the same meager pension that many others who own their own homes also get, they must also pay often huge rents. The waiting list for state housing is years long.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize how badly off most of them are, especially those living alone.

Sometimes I am reticent in telling my story, but in this case I believe I should comment on my recent life changing situation, one not dissimilar to what I believe Rhrosty may have experienced.

Approximately two years ago I was helping my then 6 year old son navigate a floating obstacle course (blow up pool slide thingy) when after safely letting him go down the two metre high slide at the end of the device, it collapsed and I fell head first into the 1.2 metre deep pool.

For a 47 year old man of some six foot four inches tall (now long as my wife says) I smashed my head on the bottom of the pool and subsequently began to drown as I could not get my head above the waterline for some strange reason. Fortunately my sister-in-law, also in the pool Realiised something was wrong and saved me from drowning at the last minute.

Needless to say I had shattered a number of vertebrae (partial c5, full c6, partial c7) and was airlifted to hospital for a life saving operation and eight months of rehabilitation.

Fortunately for me I had some good financial luck, or at least I thought so to start with.

My then full time employment allowed me to use up my annual, sick and long service leave to continue my full payment for approximately 6 months and luckily I also had access to 18 months of employee insurance payments ( roughly a quarter of my normal full pay amount). I also had my wife working permanent part-time throughout and caring for the kids 60kms south of my hospital bed.
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Whilst I sat in my wheelchair as a new member of the tetraplegic club I began to wonder at the level of care and support my fellow patients in rehab were receiving.

I for one was considered lucky by my fellow rehab inmates, I had money coming in through work and some insurance money too (after threatening legal action because the insurer stalled and fought all the way to the end before coughing up), just what you need when your life is turned upside down.

Anyway, a few (at least three) others at rehab (all having either been on the dole, unemployed or seriously at fault in relation to their spinal situation) seemed to be getting by just fine with the state and federal government throwing money and services at them that I just could not seem to obtain.

In the end I did some digging and was informed that due to my income (leave pay and insurance payments) apparently I had too much money and therefore was not entitled to any government support, not that I really minded, I have never ever received any government support, something I neither expected or needed.

What really got up my goat was on a Friday afternoon when I sat contemplating my wife and kid's visit which was to occur on the Saturday, suddenly a large white van pulled up near to where I was parked. Out jumped two young women in their mid twenties, inquiring if I knew where a fellow inmate was. He arrived on the scene letting me know "isn't this great, my two carers have come to pick me up and take me out for the entire weekend, I'll see you Sunday arvo" then he was loaded up and gone.

I was a little miffed at the situation as the guy in question had been unemployed prior to his spinal cord accident, which was solely due to his own stupidity And here I sat with no such support because I had too much income (never mind my mortgage payments, and expenses raising a family).
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Nevertheless I worked toward discharge and getting myself home to my family.

Here I am some 18 months later, running low on my own funds (probably run dry in June or July next year). Never mind, I am sure I can then join my old wheelchair mates sucking off the old government teat.

I remain in contact with these others I have mentioned above, marvelling at the level of free care they get, cares, transport, free medication and doctors costs, in one case receiving a shiny new purpose built disabled living unit, craned into his mothers backyard at no expense to him, gotta love those handouts.

Meanwhile I work on how we will get by once my super money runs out, I guess by then I will be entitled to the disability pension, provided the wife does not earn too much and our dwindling assets are not deemed excessive.

I think I will just become middle aged, poor and eventually lonley before making the transition to old, poor and lonely.

Just glad to see Rhrosty back onboard, I was beginning to wonder where he had snuck off to!

I would like to have written more, but typing with one thumb gets hard after a while and I have probably said enough. Thanks for reading such a long post,
Cheers Geoff