Two FLA Grants

The project draws on expertise within Macquarie University and the Optus Macquarie Cyber Security Hub with the involvement of Dr John Selby, Associate Professor Christophe Doche and Martin Boyd.

The project aims to assist consumers to protect their privacy and finances by improving mobile phone security through education and implementation of other measures to stop personal information being compromised and abused by professional scammers. The project addresses a rapidly growing problem, with many individuals facing significant financial loss and considerable difficulty in rectifying the identity problems that arise from porting crimes.

An additional $30,000 contribution to the project will be provided by the Optus Macquarie Cyber Security Hub.

A second grant by FLA has been awarded to Associate Professor Tim Kyng for ongoing work into retirement village costs and contracts. The project has received $90,000 in funding to investigate “The nexus between Retirement Villages and Aged Care”. It will explore the risk and costs of relocating from a retirement village to other accommodation, particularly to aged care, with analysis of industry practices that may limit aged care funding options.

The grant follows on from Dr Kyng’s previous FLA-funded project for the development of a Retirement Village Calculator to compare fees between villages. The second stage of the retirement village project will allow a deeper exploration of the true costs and broader implications of living at a retirement village.

This will include an evaluation of financial or other hardships that may arise because of delays in returning funds to the resident by the village, and whether the amount available for aged care or other accommodation options may be eroded by unexpectedly high fees levied on departure or other unfavourable contract terms.