Are 40-year mortgages the answer to the housing crisis?
The radical change to mortgages that could help first home buyers, why the LA Olympics will look so different, and the chance to shape compensation for cancelled flights. Here are five things you may have missed this week.
Could 40-year home loans become the norm?
This week saw customer-owned Great Southern Bank launch a new 40-year mortgage pitched at first home buyers.
It follows research from the bank showing 29% of Gen Z and Millennials and 19% of Gen X would consider a 40-year loan if it meant lower repayments.
It's not the first mega-mortgage to arrive on the market.
G&C Mutual Bank and Australian Mutual Bank both offer 40-year home loans for first-time buyers.
Stretching out a loan term to four decades will trim regular repayments. The downside is a far higher overall interest cost.
And really, who wants to pay off a mortgage for half the average life expectancy?
Great Southern Bank is taking a realistic view, saying it expects relatively few first-time customers will complete the full 40-year loan term.
Rolf Stromsoe, chief customer officer at Great Southern Bank explains, "For some Australians, having lower monthly repayments is the difference between renting and buying their first home.
"This could be their starter home loan - exactly what they need to get their foot in the door at the beginning of their home ownership journey.
"As their needs evolve and their earnings capacity changes, they may refinance any number of times," says Stromsoe. "But this is the loan that can start it all."
You'll need a deposit of at least 10% to be eligible for Great Southern Bank's 40-year loan.
LA Olympics breaks longstanding tradition
The cost of hosting the Olympics Games continues to escalate. Last year's Paris Olympics, for instance, cost French taxpayers €6 billion ($10.6 billion).
So, in a bid to keep a lid on costs, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will break with history by charging event sponsors for naming rights of various sporting venues.
LA28 chairperson and president, Casey Wasserman, says this "will not only generate critical revenue for LA28 but will introduce a new commercial model to benefit the entire (Olympic) movement".
Companies are already lining up to take advantage of the opportunity.
The squash competition, for example, will be held on a lot at Universal Studios, which will become the Comcast Squash Centre following sponsorship by US media and tech giant Comcast.
If you have a business, the naming rights of 19 other venues are up for grabs.
Or you may want to hold off until the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, which will be played out across 17 different venues. No word yet though from the Australian Olympic Committee on whether it will sell off naming rights.
Lost money from cancelled flights?
Air travel within Australia can be something of a lottery.
In July, just seven in 10 flights arrived on time, and more than 3% were cancelled - a figure that rises to 7% among some regional airlines.
If you're fed up being left out of pocket when flights run late - or don't take off at all, here's a chance to have your say.
Currently, there are no national standards for passenger remedies if flights are delayed or cancelled.
Catherine King, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, says, "When things go wrong, it can be hard to know what passengers can expect from airlines and airports, because the approach is different at every airport and with each airline."
This is set to change with proposed new Aviation Consumer Protections, which will clarify the minimum level of support airlines should offer if a flight you've paid for is disrupted.
This is where Aussie travellers come in.
The federal government is asking passengers for their thoughts on what the new aviation consumer protections should look like - be it paying refunds or providing food and accommodation.
To have your say, head to the federal government's infrastructure website and follow the links 'Aviation consumer protections'. Submissions close October 5, 2025.
Cash for wine bottles in WA
Western Australia's Containers for Change scheme is being expanded, giving the state's residents more opportunities to make a buck or two by recycling containers.
And they have plenty of time to prepare.
From July 1, 2026, the scheme will pay 10 cents for all fruit and vegetable juice, flavoured milk and cordial containers up to 3 litres, as well as wine and spirits bottles, and even wine casks.
It means almost all beverage containers up to 3 litres will be eligible for the 10 cent refund - time to start stockpiling those money-making containers.
The Containers for Change scheme has seen recycle rates in WA rise from 34% to 65% since it was introduced in 2020.
In NSW and South Australia, the Return and Earn schemes will be expanded from mid-2027 to include wine and spirit bottles, cordial bottles, and larger drink containers.
Aussies make the ultimate sacrifice to fund getaways
For some of us, no goal is worth giving up a daily cappuccino for.
But data from global travel app Skyscanner and digital bank Up, reveals that two in five Aussies are swapping their daily cafe run to save for a holiday.
So strong is the wanderlust that one in three of us are even planning big ticket purchases, such as buying a new car, around personal travel goals.
Skyscanner's Jarrod Kris says around 53% of travellers are booking flights early as a way of managing the cost. But that may not be necessary. The Skyscanner app has a handy DROPS feature, which alerts users when popular flights fall in price by at least 20% compared to the past seven days.
Up's principal data scientist Dr Brian Oakley, says the bank's customers are setting up dedicated savings accounts to pay for travel, with a median of $3000 set aside for holidays.
This month saw Up, a subsidiary of Bendigo Bank, introduce Glow and Flow, which allows customers to earn 4.6% on savings as long as they don't dip into their funds. Make a withdrawal, and the rate drops to 1.25%.
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