The government and ASIC are demanding banks and financial service providers strengthen their scam and fraud defences. With this nefarious activity costing Australians $318 million in the past 15 months alone, the industry’s positive response has not come quickly enough.
With industry funds feeling the heat from APRA, it’s likely more members will look for a better option, especially if they are nearing or in retirement. Those choosing to do so need to tread warily.
Participating in a clinical trial proves lifechanging for Bowral couple
Paddy (pictured) knows first-hand the unrelenting family trauma that accompanies dementia. At 82, and comfortably retired with her 90-year-old husband Geoff in the picturesque Southern Highlands town of Bowral, she speaks almost daily with her closest friend whose husband is afflicted with this crippling disease.
“It’s horrible. There’s no other way to put it. He was highly intelligent, ran businesses, and now there’s just nothing. And she must care for him. That’s what’s so hard. She phones me nearly every morning just to let off steam, to have a normal conversation. It’s just dreadful for everybody involved,” she tells The Golden Times.
Those personal experiences – she has other friends suffering from dementia – helped prompt Paddy to do a couple of online courses about dementia at the University of Tasmania.
“That further piqued my interest and then came this opportunity to participate in an online clinical trial at the University of New South Wales’ Centre for Heathy Brain Ageing (CHeBA). As it was online and I could choose when I participated – typically early morning – it seemed too good an opportunity to let pass.”
The landmark trial, known as Maintain Your Brain, was led by Henry Brodaty, co-director of CHeBA, and is the largest internet-based trial ever conducted in an attempt to prevent cognitive decline and dementia. It encompassed four intervention modules – physical activity, nutrition, brain training and peace of mind.
While it was only Paddy who was directly involved in the trial, it has proved lifechanging for both, as she explains.
“It’s changed our daily life. We’ve always thought we had lived pretty heathy lives. But this trial highlighted just how much more there was to it, whether it be diet – it’s essentially Mediterranean – exercise or keeping your brain active. We learnt so much and now it’s just become our way of life.
“A lot of it is just commonsense. We all know processed foods, fizzy drinks, are not good for us. But it’s introducing the discipline into your life to ensure that you adhere to the regime.”
What Paddy found challenging was the brain exercises that targeted seven cognitive domains – verbal executive, verbal memory, visual executive, visual memory, visual attention, speed and working memory. She was allocated three 45-minute sessions each week for the first 10 weeks and then monthly sessions.
“The exercises, such as mental arithmetic, started out relatively easy, but then they got progressively harder. In the end they were really challenging, forcing me to really get the grey matter working. It was a challenge, no doubt about it, but a very worthwhile one.
“It kept me alert, so, when coupled with the exercise and a different diet, it really has changed our perspective on life. On a scale of one to 10, in terms of how it’s transformed our lives, I would have to say an eight.”
For this couple, it’s clearly working. Although Geoff is legally blind, they just spent a week camping in the Snowy Mountains to celebrate his birthday, cake and all.
“Camping – it’s what we’ve always done. And we will keep doing it in some form or other as long as we can. It’s no different to still taking regular trips to Sydney to attend concerts at the Opera House. We always walk through the Botanic Gardens to the Opera House which is quite a hike for us, but it’s something we still get great enjoyment from.”
