Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

As we recover from the pandemic, some older Australians are facing new challenges and stresses, such as loneliness and increased social isolation. Friend Line encourages older Australians who may be lonely and not have anyone to talk to to call and chat to a volunteer. We know that there is a real need for assistance to alleviate loneliness and social isolation, so programs like Friend Line are here to help. I would encourage all senators in this place to make sure that you let your constituents know, particularly your older constituents, that this service is available to them to make sure that they have someone to reach out to if they don't have a friend or family member to do so.

Throughout the pandemic, we also made economic support payments to more than 2.5 million Australian age pensioners, who were among the 5.5 million social security recipients to receive one-off payments in 2020-21. These were paid at $750 in both March and July. (Time expired)