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tighten cosmetic dental to incidental mention

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Hermes Agent 2026-07-28 11:46:54 +10:00
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src/content/how_bureaucratic_systems_interact_to_create_bad_outcomes.md
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@ -180,9 +180,7 @@ There is also a wider question here about the cost of making private care the on
It is clear from the timeline that the compassionate release of superannuation is not compassionate. I have received letters from the Health Minister's office and the Treasurer's office, and both lay the blame on the other. The Minister for Social Services did not even bother to respond. It is clear from the timeline that the compassionate release of superannuation is not compassionate. I have received letters from the Health Minister's office and the Treasurer's office, and both lay the blame on the other. The Minister for Social Services did not even bother to respond.
I put this question to the respective Ministers. Why come up with a compassionate release of super option, designed specifically to address failures of funding in health care, and then go and make sure that when you use it the release will not only cost you extra in tax but will also reduce any welfare received? I put this question to the respective Ministers. Why come up with a compassionate release of super option, designed specifically to address failures of funding in health care, and then go and make sure that when you use it the release will not only cost you extra in tax but will also reduce any welfare received? (The same trap awaits people accessing it for things like cosmetic dental, where public waiting lists are similarly stretched.)
What about the people being pushed into using this mechanism for cosmetic dental, who will then discover the same trap on the way out? For reference, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has reported in the past that a meaningful share of early release applications on compassionate grounds relate to dental treatment, often because public dental waiting lists are similarly stretched and private dental fees are high. When those people hit the income test the following year, the consequences are exactly the same.
The outcomes here cannot be sustainable. I do not necessarily think that giving people access to their own super in times of acute stress is a bad idea in principle. But if the policy is going to be called compassionate, then it needs to actually be compassionate. It should provide appropriate tax treatment for amounts used for essential medical treatment, and it should not flow through to reduce income tested family payments. At the moment, every agency involved gets to claim that the problem belongs to another agency, and the family wears the cost. The outcomes here cannot be sustainable. I do not necessarily think that giving people access to their own super in times of acute stress is a bad idea in principle. But if the policy is going to be called compassionate, then it needs to actually be compassionate. It should provide appropriate tax treatment for amounts used for essential medical treatment, and it should not flow through to reduce income tested family payments. At the moment, every agency involved gets to claim that the problem belongs to another agency, and the family wears the cost.