@sharonbetts. Thanks for posting. Unfortunately, you assumed wrong. Access to paid downloads on the site are available for 12 months. Furthermore, the upgrade policy is defined in the FAQ. As long as the upgrade is a minor release, your update is free. To access it, just log into the site and access your order history. The new download is available for you to access.
If the new release was a major release, only then would you have to purchase it again, but in cases like that I normally provide a discount coupon for existing users of the previous major release.