Age and disability discrimination in the workforce - barriers to participation

In 2015, the Federal Attorney-General, Senator George Brandis asked the Age and Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan, to undertake the Willing to Work: National Inquiry into Employment Discrimination Against Older Australians and Australians with disability. The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry required the Commissioner to examine practices, attitudes and Commonwealth laws that deny or diminish equal participation in employment and make recommendations to address employment discrimination against older Australians and Australians with disability. Some of the report's key findings are summarised below: 

• People aged 55 years and over make up roughly a quarter of the population, but only 16% of the total workforce. This age cohort is the fastest growing in Australia, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. While labour force participation for older people has been growing in recent years, particularly for older women, labour force participation continues to decline with age.

• In November 2015, 73.8% of Australians aged 55–59 years were participating in the labour force, with 56.5% of 60–64 year olds and 12.7% of those aged 65 years and over in the labour force
• While mature-age people have a lower unemployment rate than younger people, they tend to have greater difficulty finding subsequent employment when they do become unemployed.
• In November 2015, the average duration of unemployment for mature-age people was 68 weeks, compared with 30 weeks for 15–24 year olds and 49 weeks for 25–54 year olds.

Of note, benefits to the Australian economy as a result of increased workforce participation are well established including increased gross domestic product (GDP), reduced overall welfare expenditure and increased self-reliance in retirement. A 7% increase in mature-age labour force participation would raise GDP in 2022 by approximately $25 billion, while an estimated $50 billion could be added to GDP by 2050 if Australia were to move up into the top eight OECD countries for employment of people with disability.

Commissioner Ryan has grouped her recommendations for change into three themes: Priority Government Commitments; improving existing systems; and what employers and businesses can do. Underlying all the recommendations is the need for societal attitudes to change.

With the Age Pension qualifying age increasing every year to reach 67 years in 7 years time, it's become essential to enable people to remain in the workforce as long as possible.

The Commissioner's Report to the Attorney-General can be accessed at this link:

Willing to Work - National Inquiry Report