News Archive for April 2014

With house prices continuing to rise in the major cities around the country, many Australians are turning to property investment as a way of getting a good return on their money.

With thousands of Australians getting ready to pack their bags for an overseas get-away this Easter,  travel insurance should be high on the pre-travel check list for many. But with so many options available it can be difficult to decide what policy and what level of cover you need to get.

Istanbul has taken out the top honours in this year's Travelers' Choice Awards by leading travel website Trip Advisor. The awards rank the world's top 25 destinations based on users' reviews and ratings over 12 months.

If the Australian Government was to act on recommendations from the recent Grattan Institute report, Doubtful Debt: the rising cost of student loans, it could save up to $800 million dollars a year by 2017 if it recovered outstanding student loans from people living overseas and deceased estates.

The Housing Industry Association of Australia (HIA) has thrown its support for a broad based debate on Australia's taxation system calling for the removal of a number of inefficient taxes including stamp duty.

Population estimates released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveal that if current growth trends prevail, Melbourne is projected to overtake Sydney as Australia's largest capital city by 2053.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is advising Australians who are planning an overseas getaway in the lead up to Easter to Bali and other cities in Indonesia to exercise a high degree of caution due to the high threat of terrorist attacks.

Private health insurance just got more expensive for the average Australians as the largest increase to hit private health customers in 9 years came into effect yesterday. Health insurance premiums are expected to rise by an average 6.2 per cent, which equates to an average price hike of $250 a year.Mozo spokesperson Kirsty Lamont said that many Australians will be feeling the impact of the price hike in their hip pocket and a lot of people will be thinking twice about maintaining their private health insurance, but its important not to panic."Don't do a dump and run," she said. "Spend some time shopping around first to see if you can save. You can save hundreds of dollars by shopping around and choosing the best policy for your needs."With a typical family private health insurance policy now costing around $4000 a year, the price hike has presented a good opportunity for policy holders to take stock and really think about the cover they really need."Compare your current policy against other options but don't just choose a policy on premium price alone," Ms Lamont said. "Take a close look at what your covered for and not covered for to determine how much value you'll get out of the policy."Here are Mozo's top tips to manage health insurance costs.

The Reserve Bank of Australia board surprised no one with the announcement today that it was keeping the official cash rate at 2.50% for the eighth consecutive month.