Australian women – Alice Mantel

Against the trend – grey divorce is rising

The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) has released its research into the rate of Australian divorces. While the rate of divorces for all age groups has remained constant, if not, actually decreasing slightly, the rate of divorce for older couples (over 65 years) and long-term marriages (over 20 years) is steadily increasing.

Divorces

The crude divorce rate (divorces per 1,000 Australian residents) was 2.2 divorces per 1,000 residents in 2021, up from 1.9 in 2020. The total number of divorces granted in 2021 was 56,244, the highest number of divorces recorded since 1976. However, this high number (and therefore also the crude divorce rate) was affected by administrative changes that have enabled divorces to be finalised in a reduced time frame. For this reason, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) cautions about comparing the 2021 divorce statistics to those of earlier years.1

Since the 1990s the crude divorce rate has trended downward, reaching a low of 1.9 per 1,000 residents in 2016, 2019 and 2020. The higher 2021 figure disrupts the trend over recent years, although, as noted above, the break in series may be due to changes in administrative arrangements.

After very low rates in the first half of the twentieth century, the crude divorce rate rose in the 1960s and 1970s. It peaked at 4.6 per 1,000 resident population after the introduction of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), which came into operation in January 1976 and allowed no-fault divorce. As some long-term separations were formalised and some divorces that had been filed in the previous years were brought forward, this contributed to the steep rise in the number of divorces in 1976.

Between 1986 and 1996, age-specific divorce rates increased across all age groups for both men and women.

From 1996 to 2016, while the divorce rate overall declined, the trends in divorce rates differed between younger and older age groups: falling for men under 45 years and women under 40 years increasing for men aged 50 years and older and women aged 45 years and older.

Between 2016 and 2021, the age-specific divorce rate increased for all age groups of men and women but, as noted above, this may simply indicate that the administrative changes affected the processing of divorces across all age groups.

The trends in divorce discussed above apply only to married couples and do not capture the extent to which people in cohabiting relationships separate over time. Research indicates that cohabiting relationships are more likely than marriages to end in separation, particularly when cohabitating couples have not otherwise gone on to marry (Hewitt & Baxter, 2015; Qu, Weston, & de Vaus, 2009).

At what age are couples divorcing?

The median age of men and women rose between the early 1980s and recent years, which is largely attributed to trends in people marrying later as well as more divorces involving longer marriages (see the discussion on marriage duration below).

The upward trend in the median age of divorce has stalled since 2018. In 2021 the median age at divorce was 45.9 for males and 43.0 for females, similar to the median ages in 2018 and 2019 (45.9 for males and 43.1 for females for both the years).

Median age at divorce in 2021 – Overall, the median age at divorce has been rising since the 1980s; 43.0 years for females and 45.9 years for males.

Duration of marriage to divorce

The largest proportion of couples separating and then divorcing were married for nine years or less. In 2021, 56% of separations and 41% of divorces were couples in this category. This showed little change from 2020.

Couples who had been married for 20 or more years made up more than one-quarter of divorces in 2021. In the 1980s and 1990s these couples made up a smaller proportion, at around one in five divorces.

The median duration of marriage to divorce for divorcing couples over the last decade (2011–21) was between 12 and 12.2 years, and the median duration of marriage to final separation was 8.3 to 8.7 years. In other words, it took 3–4 years from separation for divorcing couples to finalise their divorce.

What about the children?

The proportion of divorces involving children under 18 years has fallen since the 1970s, from 68% in 1975 to 47% in 2014. It has remained at around this percentage in recent years, shifting slightly higher, to 48%, in 2021. The general declining trend is partly due to the rise in divorces of long-term marriages where children are already grown up. An overall decline in the fertility rate and a rise in childlessness may also contribute to the fall in the proportion of divorces involving children.

It is also important to note that divorce statistics do not include separations of cohabiting couples with or without children. Research suggests that cohabiting couples with children were more likely than married couples with children to separate (Qu & Weston, 2012).

Divorces of same-sex marriages

Same-sex marriages were included in the marriages data for the first time in 2018, following the Amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 that allowed same-sex couples to legally marry in Australia and came into effect on 9 December 2017. Divorces of same-sex couples were recorded for the first time in 2021.

There were 473 divorces granted for same-sex couples, representing 2.5% of all same-sex marriages registered between 2018 and 2021.

There were 306 divorces of female same-sex couples and 167 divorces of male same-sex couples between 2018 and 2021, representing 2.9% of female same-sex marriages and 2.3% of male same-sex marriages registered in that period.

To read the entire article, go to: https://aifs.gov.au/research/facts-and-figures/divorces-australia-2023.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (various years). Divorces Australia (Catalogue No. 3307.0, 3307.0.55.001). Canberra: ABS.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (various years). Marriages and Divorces Australia. Canberra: ABS.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1980). Social Indicators 1980 (Catalogue No. 4101.0). Canberra: ABS.
Hewitt, B., & Baxter, J. (2015). Relationship dissolution. In G. Heard & D. Arunachalam (Eds.), Family formation in 21st Century Australia. Dordrecht: Springer.
Qu, L., & Weston, R. (2012). Parental social marital status and children’s wellbeing. (Occasional Paper No. 46). Canberra: Department of Social Services.
Qu, L., Weston, R., & de Vaus, D. (2009). Cohabitation and beyond: The contribution of each partner’s relationship satisfaction and fertility aspirations to pathways of cohabiting couples. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 40(4), 585–601.
1 ABS (2021) stated: ‘The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia have advised that the high number of divorces finalised in 2021 is in part related to administrative changes to increase finalisations and reduce time frames. These changes enabled the finalisation of more applications for divorce than previous years and allowed the court to reduce backlogs by finalising more divorce applications in the year than were received. This constitutes a break in time series and any comparison with earlier years should be made with caution.’

Law Council calls for more action on elder abuse

The Law Council of Australia has continued to call for measures that will better protect older Australians.

“Elder abuse is insidious and more prevalent than I think any of us would like to believe,” Law Council of Australia President, Mr Tass Liveris said.

“Incidents of abuse may be physical, social, financial, psychological or sexual and can include mistreatment and neglect.

“What makes it most devastating is that the perpetrator is often someone the older person trusts and relies on, such as a family member, friend or carer.

“We must stamp out elder abuse and protect vulnerable members of our community.”

The Law Council is calling for:
• Appropriate, sustained and increased funding for specialist legal assistance and aged care advocacy services, government agencies, and relevant State and Territory tribunals that work towards reducing elder abuse.
• Implementation of outstanding priorities identified in the Australian Law Reform Commission and Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Royal Commission) reports and the National Plan to Respond to the Abuse of Older Persons 2019-2023, including:
• developing a new Aged Care Act which is consistent with the recommendations of the Royal Commission report by 1 July 2023; and
• ensuring that those in residential aged care facilities have legal redress to protect them from abuse, whether perpetrated by care providers (including in the use of restrictive practices) or fellow residents.

At the end of last year, the Law Council of Australia welcomed the decision by Commonwealth, State and Territory Attorneys-General to prioritise enduring power of attorney (EPOA) law reform to reduce the risk of older Australians being subject to financial abuse and looks forward to this work coming to fruition.

EPOA arrangements are intended to ensure a person’s interests are protected when they lose capacity to make decisions for themselves. However, in the absence of adequate legal safeguards, financial elder abuse by appointed decision-makers may be facilitated by such arrangements.

Law Council of Australia, 15/06/2022, https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/media/media-releases/australia-must-address-elder-abuse

Let’s talk about women and retirement

Why is retirement different for women? Women retire with about 60% of the superannuation funds that men have. They live 5 years longer and they are far more reliant on the aged pension. On the plus side – women are more likely to retain their friendship networks, more likely to be the principal carer for their partner, their parents and their grandchildren, as well being more likely to volunteer to help others.
Listen to my wide-ranging discussion with community radio 2RDJ broadcaster, Neil Lithgow about women and retirement. Listen here:

Be part of this research project

By simply spending 30 minutes of your time answering these questions about yourself, you can make a contribution to research about ageing and Australian women.

What is AgeHAPPY?

The Healthy Ageing Project Population Youth-senior (AgeHAPPY) is an online heath survey for Australians. The Healthy Ageing Project (HAP) mission is to improve the understanding of health across a lifespan to promote healthy ageing and prevent disease.

This round of the survey commenced in 2020. It started with a pilot study called HAP. Data on self-reported health, lifestyle, mood, and vascular risk factors is being collected from male and female participants aged 18 years and over. AgeHAPPY is a continuation of the Women’s Healthy Ageing Project (WHAP).

WHAP commenced in 1990 as a study examining the health of Australian women from midlife (then aged 45-55 years) before the menopausal transition and into ageing. The study has almost 30 years of data on mood, dietary intake, risky behaviours, physical activity and social connectedness among other factors. WHAP continues to follow up these women, who are now all aged over 70 years. The children of the original participants have now joined the study as of 2021 commencing the WHAP generations study.

AgeHAPPY is a study into the lifelong effects of lifestyle and habits on health and the progression of ageing. Everyone over 18 years of age can participate in the online health questionnaire. This research ultimately contributes to promoting healthy ageing in Australia and to improve the wellbeing of all Australians.

Chronic disease is the largest cause of death and disability in Australian society and throughout the western world. The information collected will enable greater understanding of the impact of social and behavioural factors on health and influence policies toward better prevention and early detection of health issues, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

Most studies on “ageing” are usually limited to the elderly. HAP defines ageing as a phenomenon that occurs continuously throughout all stages of life – and presents its health challenges at all ages. Many studies show that indicators for chronic disease occur years before onset.

Through this online health survey, HAP can collect valuable demographic, clinical, behavioural and lifestyle data which allows them to analyse the impact of factors on health and ageing at every age.

Get involved in the AgeHAPPY study

The first section of the study is an online questionnaire covering areas such as demographic information, general health history, family health history, mood, quality of life, physical activity, sleep, diet, alcohol intake, smoking, physical function, social relationships, and negative life events.

The second section is a cognitive component which tests thinking skills, a bit like a brain game. A participant will be invited to complete the online cognitive testing from the Healthy Brain Initiative – Brain Health Registry (HBI-BHR). The Brain Health Registry is a web-based study that enables researchers to efficiently identify, assess and monitor the brain changes associated with the progression of neurodegenerative diseases and brain ageing more efficiently.

In 12 months’ time, HAP will contact you to complete a follow-up online questionnaire.

To participate, please follow the link:
https://medicine.unimelb.edu.au/research-groups/medicine-and-radiology-research/royal-melbourne-hospital/healthy-ageing-program/healthy-ageing-project

Australia’s health by socio-economic status

However you describe it, being poor, disadvantaged, or living in a low socioeconomic area is more likely to make you more susceptible to preventable chronic diseases such as heart disease, arthritis and diabetes.

Australia’s Health Tracker by Socioeconomic Status 2021 reports on the health status of Australians based on their socioeconomic standard which the study has found has a major impact on people’s health. Families and individuals with limited resources not only have more chronic disease, they are at greater risk of dying prematurely as a result of chronic health conditions. People living with mental ill-health are less likely to participate in employment, which in itself, is associated with an improvement in general mental health levels.

The ten million people living in the 40% of communities with lower and lowest socioeconomic status have much higher rates of preventable cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases than others in the population. These communities also have the highest rates of suicide throughout the nation.

Risk factors that are likely to contribute to this higher rate of illness and premature death include:
• Physical inactivity
• Lifetime alcohol consumption
• Daily tobacco use
• Unemployment as a result of mental health issues.

These health disparities within the Australian population are persistent despite considerable policy reform and efforts to improve services in recent decades. The targets for a healthier Australia were developed by the Australian Health Policy Collaboration, a national network of leading health experts and organisations. The Collaboration has worked with the support of the Mitchell Institute, Victoria University since 2014 to influence public and policy awareness and action to reduce high rates of preventable chronic disease in the Australian population.

The report sets health targets for medical conditions such as:
• Obesity – Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, asthma, back pain and some cancers.
• High cholesterol – High levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol are a risk factor for heart disease. National data from 2011-12 is the most recent available data and indicated that close to one-third of all socioeconomic groups were estimated to have high cholesterol levels.
• High blood pressure – Rates of reported high blood pressure are relatively consistent across socioeconomic groups. High blood pressure is often caused by poor diet, physical inactivity, obesity and excessive alcohol consumption. It is a risk factor for chronic conditions including stroke, heart diseases, and chronic kidney disease
• Diabetes – Hospitalisations and deaths related to diabetes are, respectively, 2 and 2.3 times as high in the lowest socioeconomic communities compared to the highest.

Australia’s Health Tracker by Socioeconomic Status 2021 report, The Mitchell Institute at Victoria University. Australia’s Health Tracker by Socioeconomic Status 2021 report

Retirement village exit rules changed

New legislation means that NSW retirement village contracts will now include a timeframe that ensures timely payments for a former resident’s exit entitlements.

These changes apply only to registered interest holders with a long-term registered lease that gives them at least 50% of any capital gain.

They do not apply to:
• registered interest holders who own a lot in a strata or community scheme village or own shares in a company title or trust village that gives them their resident right; or
• unregistered interest holders.

New retirement village laws started in January 2021. The changes reflect complaints made about how exit entitlements were previously managed and provide a timeframe for former residents to receive their exit entitlements. Summarised, the changes:
• enable residents to receive exit entitlement money before their unit sells (if the sale has been ‘unreasonably delayed’);
• provide an option for residents to fund their move into aged care by accessing part of their estimated exit entitlement money;
• ensure residents no longer have to pay ongoing charges for general services for more than 42 days after they leave the retirement village (commences on 1 July 2021 onwards).

New legislation has been introduced which affects existing and all new retirement village contracts. Previously registered interest holders had to wait until a new resident either moved into or leased their old unit before they were able to receive their share of the sale proceeds (the “exit entitlements”). This could mean that if the village operator delayed the sale of a unit after the resident left, the former might not receive their exit entitlements for anywhere between two and five years.

Under the new legislation, a registered interest holder can apply to the Secretary of the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation for an exit entitlement order directing the village operator to pay the exit entitlements to the former resident even though the unit has not sold. The order can require payment after six months for Sydney metropolitan, Wollongong and Blue Mountains residences and within one year anywhere else in NSW. This order will only be made if the village operator has “unreasonably delayed” the sale considering the time taken to refurbish the unit and whether the operator as selling agent has performed all their duties within reasonable time.

Such an application can only be made by a former resident but not their estate. If the order is made, the exit entitlement must be paid with 30 days of the order.

If the registered interest holder moves out of the retirement village into a residential aged care facility and has not received their exit entitlement, the resident may ask that the operator make one or more daily accommodation payments to the facility on behalf of the resident within 28 days of the resident’s request. As more than 60% of residents move directly into aged care, their move can be delayed if they do not have access to funds to pay the daily accommodation payments to the facility and the unit does not sell quickly. These amendments are intended to make the transfer easier for residents and family members.

For more detail, see Fair Trading website, https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/about-fair-trading/legislation-and-publications/changes-to-legislation/changes-to-retirement-village-laws

Serious Incident Response Scheme begins in aged care facilities

With the release of the final report of the Royal Commission Into Aged Care, one of its most frightening details is that in 2019-20, over 851 alleged sexual assaults were reported in aged care facilities. However, as resident-on-resident assaults for the most part go unreported, the real figure is likely “as high as 2,520, or almost 50 per week”.

Despite such high statistics, the report’s 148 recommendations make no specific recommendations as to how that issue that predominantly affects older women should be managed.

The issue is expected to be managed by an enhanced reporting system known as the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) that begins on 1 April.

The scheme requires aged care providers to identify, record, manage, resolve and report all serious incidents that occur, or are alleged or suspected to have occurred.

Aged care providers also need to have in place an effective incident management system to manage all incidents, respond to incidents, and take steps to minimise the risk of preventable incidents reoccurring. The incident management system covers a broader range of non-reportable incidents and includes incidents that involve staff or visitors.

Under the existing system, aged care providers do not have to report incidents that involve a perpetrator who has a cognitive impairment and the operators have got strategies in place because it is felt that an impaired person cannot be successfully prosecuted.

“In some cases, family members encourage their loved ones to move into residential care because they felt that it would be safer for them”, the report notes. “But, on the contrary, people living in residential aged care likely face a much higher risk of assault than people living in the community.”

Under SIRS, there is a wider range of serious incidents that are reportable than those reported under current compulsory reporting requirements. Importantly, providers will have to report incidents of abuse and aggression between consumers, including where the resident who commits the incident has a cognitive or mental impairment.

Under the SIRS protocol, aged care must report all ‘Priority 1’ incidents within 24 hours to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. ‘Priority 1’ incidents include those that cause or could reasonably have caused physical or psychological injury or illness requiring some form of medical or psychological treatment. Instances of unexplained absence from care and any unexpected death of a consumer are always to be regarded as Priority 1 reportable incidents.
From 1 October 2021, all ‘Priority 2’ incidents, that is reportable incidents that do not meet the criteria for ‘Priority 1’, must also be reported within 30 days.

In addition, the SIRS requires every residential aged care service to have in place an effective incident management system – a set of protocols, processes, and standard operating procedures that staff are trained to use.

For further information, refer to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission website, https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/sirs

How do you feel about growing older?

Survey of seniors — Most people become happier as they age

Poetry inspired by Flourish

A collaboration of sewing, photography and poetry.

Winner, Flying Arts Alliance, Qld, 2020ce — Flourish, cyanotype photograms on cotton with thread.
104cm x104cm (framed with Perspex)
Leanne Vincent, 2020.

A Lineage of Ecologies

Each sea blue petal, gathered
in honour of Detritus, was slow
stitch’d into this teeming quilt,
this bowerbird mandala,
this cathedral rose window
in the navy night,
this rock pool in kaleidoscope.
And now the Seaweeds, from
Photographs of British Algae
to whom Flourish is indebted,
wave from their 19th century pages
in a lineage of ecologies.

Category: Australian women