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about COTA NS| sitemap | links | media releases and press articles | policy and information | publications | State and Territory COTAs | national seniors association | what's new | feedback |
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14 December 2000
"The Government has taken its first steps in responding to issues for older workers and the ageing workforce in welfare reform. COTA has focussed on bringing these issues to the attention of Government over the past two years. The dimensions of the issues are vast: 46 per cent of people aged 50 to 64 do not have paid employment and 33 per cent rely primarily on social security," says Mr Denys Correll, national executive director of Council on the Ageing (COTA).
"In the context of these figures, we particularly welcome the plans in welfare reform to:
Target mature workers who face retrenchment or who have just been retrenched for labour market assistance to prevent long term unemployment.
This has been one of COTA's most important recommendations. It is critical retrenched workers receive help before they become long term unemployed and have run down their assets base - and before they lose confidence and self-esteem from hundreds of job rejections.
Develop business/community partnerships which aim to improve perceptions and practices in regard to older workers both as job seekers and employees.
Government leadership in promoting positive community and business attitudes and practice is the underpinning for improving the position of older workers.
Expand education and training options for mature age people receiving a social security payment. Older unemployed people have complained about discrimination by Job Network providers in getting access to education and training opportunities. This initiative will hopefully remedy this situation.
"The workforce is rapidly ageing at the same time as the economy and workforce is undergoing profound change. We urgently need to ensure that the workforce is able to respond to these changes. The welfare reform response is the first step with the 2001 Budget being the next," concluded Mr Correll.
31 October 2000
The Council on the Ageing today welcomed the findings of the Productivity Commission report on Long Term Aged Care Expenditure.
"The report vindicates what COTA has been saying for the last few years. Australia is well equipped to cope with the changing demographics," said Mr Denys Correll, COTA National Executive Director. He identifies 3 major supporting factors in the Productivity Commission report:
that the health of the ageing population is getting better all the time averting the need for high care
that the demand for the most expensive form of care in nursing homes is diminishing as people remain in their own homes with community care
that the ageing population is increasing its wealth and that in the future will be much more independent of Government services and income support.
"COTA also believes that promoting workforce participation amongst older people will have an important bearing on the economic impact of an ageing population.
"Australia has a bad record in retrenchment of older workers and age discrimination in recruitment.
"The average retirement age for a male at the moment is just 58. And much retirement is because of employer pressure rather than the choice of the individual concerned.
"However, if more people can work into their 60s we will find they have more income and better health for retirement. This will also improve the economics of our ageing population," concluded Mr Correll.
2 October 2000
Australia urgently needs to strengthen its age discrimination legislation and manage its ageing workforce better if it is to prosper, according to the Council on the Ageing.
COTA Deputy Director, Ms Veronica Sheen, has just returned from the Committee for Economic Development (CED) Ageing of the Global Workforce conference in the United States at which she was the Australian delegate.
"The conference was developed from the CED's concerns about the position of older Americans in the workforce, the emerging fiscal issues relating to an ageing population, and the problems relating to premature retirement," said Ms Sheen.
"Although the near full-employment situation in the United States is giving an impetus to job prospects for older Americans, there is much poor practice with regards to older workers in that country as there is in Australia.
"However, it is evident that older workers in Australia are in a worse situation than older Americans. We have weaker age discrimination legislation and fewer avenues for the workforce placement, training and career counselling of mature age people.
According to COTA, some 33 per cent of Australians between the ages of 50 and 64 rely on some form of social security payment and 46 per cent do not have paid employment.
Ms Sheen said, " Australia needs to come to terms with population ageing and revise its images of itself. It is the end of the era of youth.
"Age discrimination is a significant feature of Australia's human resource practices, expressed through recruitment decisions and retrenchment practices," she said.
COTA is calling for immediate reforms to be put in place by government and employers.
These include:
Education of employers about the ageing workforce and the desirability of age balance in the workforce combined with a strengthening of age discrimination legislation
Investment in relevant training and provision of high level assistance to disadvantaged older workers.
Revision of Federal Government income security policies for people in the pre-retirement years and recognition of the need for income and asset protection of mature workers at risk of long term unemployment.
"We now have the reports from the Welfare Reform Inquiry and House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment Inquiry into older workers. The Government is well-placed to instigate some genuine policy responses," concluded Ms Sheen.
16 August 2000
WELFARE REVIEW AND NELSON INQUIRY SHOW TACKLING AGE DISCRIMINATION MUST BE A PRIORITY FOR OLDER JOBLESS
The plan of the McClure committee to reform Australia's social welfare system could help older unemployed, according to the Council on the Ageing, but tackling age discrimination will be necessary. 46% of people age 50-64 do not have a job.
"We have had two reports this week which show the desperate urgency of action on mature age employment issues," said Mr Denys Correll, National Executive Director.
"COTA believes that both reports set the scene for the Federal Government to now take a lead on older workers and the ageing workforce.
"First, the Nelson report, a result of the year long older workers inquiry of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Workplace Relations, shows that targetting employer attitudes will be critical to improving their chances of getting jobs.
"Second, the McClure report, stresses the need for social obligations to extend to employers in their hiring and firing decisions on older workers.
"Many mature age people are relegated to social and economic oblivion through age discrimination in employment. This pervasive attitude has enormous costs to the individual, the government and the economy. Business is also losing because it does not understand the real benefits of age balance in the workforce.
" We welcome the proposed changes to income support arrangements which will make it easier for unemployed people to take on part time and casual jobs.
"In particular we support:-
a sustained national strategy targeting employers, to promote the benefits of maturity and age-balance in the workforce and to counter age discrimination;
specific training, particularly in computer skills, combined with work experience, for mature age people;
abolition of the inclusion of superannuation in the social security assets test for people 55 and over on benefits for more than 39 weeks.
"We call on the Government to end the period of inertia and inaction on mature age unemployment," concluded Mr Correll.
14 August 2000
The report of Dr Brendan Nelson's House of Representatives inquiry into older workers released today provides unequivocal evidence of the desperate need for Federal Government action according to the Council on the Ageing.
"Most of the recommendations are supported by COTA and we have made many similar recommendations to the Government, in the past 12 months," said Mr Denys Correll, National Executive Director.
"We hope the period of inertia and inaction on the issue is now over. And that there is hope for the mature age unemployed people that COTA has contact with.
"In particular we support:-
a sustained national strategy targeting employers, to promote the benefits of maturity and age-balance in the workforce and to counter age discrimination;
specific training, particularly in computer skills, combined with work experience, for mature age people;
abolition of the inclusion of superannuation in the social security assets test for people 55 and over on benefits for more than 39 weeks.
"The Committee has produced a large report and many recommendations. COTA will be examining these in detail in the next few days," concluded Mr Correll.
26 July, 2000
Council on the Ageing (Australia) welcomes the release today, of the new Government publication "Be Wise with Medicines ...the facts". Too many older Australians are admitted to hospital as a result of problems with the use of medicines. There are approximately 80,000 of these admissions each year that cost an estimated $350 million.
Professor Ric Day, the chairman of the Pharmaceutical Health & Rational Use of Medicines Advisory Committee, (PHARM), said today "Half the admissions that occur as a result of problems with medicines are avoidable."
Denys Correll, national executive director of Council on the Ageing (Australia) said "Council on the Ageing is doing its part to reduce the incidence of incorrect use of medicines through a nationwide project Being In Control: Wise Use of Medicines. Eighty three older volunteers are being trained to conduct information sessions at senior citizens' centres on the wise use of medicines. With the assistance of the Office for Older Australians this project is being conducted by Councils on the Ageing throughout Australia."
The Being in Control project is being conducted jointly with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia who are providing expert support and self-help brochures to assist the older educators.
Mr Correll concluded "the Commonwealth Government's new publication Be Wise with Medicines ...the facts is a wonderful source of information for older people who want to know more about medicines. The 14 page booklet contains questions they should ask their pharmacist, hints on medicine usage and many other interesting pieces of information regarding pharmaceuticals."
6 July 2000
The Council on the Ageing today welcomed the proposal of the Minister for Aged Care, Bronwyn Bishop, to establish an expert committee to progress action on older workers issues and the ageing workforce.
"The Council on the Ageing was the first organisation in Australia to contend that the panic about the ageing population and its potential costs to government could be abated by improving the level of workforce participation of people over 50," said Mr Denys Correll, COTA National Executive Director.
"At the same time we have been the nation's main voice for older workers themselves - people who have been devastated by the experience of retrenchment and who face endemic age discrimination in their search for work. These people, we have argued, represent a vast reservoir of skills and talent for Australian business and the economy.
"We are delighted that the Government is keen to take some decisive actions on the issues that COTA has been raising. COTA's leadership role in Australia on this issue was established with our national congress, Older Australians: A Working Future, launched by Minister Bronwyn Bishop, in November 1999. The congress attracted a large number of participants from government, business, academia, service providers, media and other policy making and research bodies.
"COTA has been a lead organisation in terms of the House of Representatives Employment Standing Committee inquiry into older workers, presenting two major policy submissions and a raft of recommendations.
"We have also been the major group advocating for the rights and needs of mature age workers in terms of the Government's Welfare Reform Inquiry.
"Our expertise in the area is now receiving international attention. COTA has been invited to address a conference on Australia's ageing workforce in Washington DC in September.
"COTA looks forward to participating in the Minister's advisory group on this issue of immense importance for Australia's future," concluded Mr Correll.
24 May, 2000
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OLDER PEOPLE TO LEARN MORE REGARDING THE USE OF MEDICINES
The Minister for Aged Care, the Hon. Bronwyn Bishop, MP, will launch a new project on medicines and older people at the Royce Hotel on Thursday 25th May 2000 at noon.
This national project is aimed at empowering and encouraging older Australians to ask about their medicines and develop a closer link with their community pharmacist.
Council on the Ageing (Australia) and The Pharmacy Guild of Australia are working with the Federal Government to train older people to assist their peers in the wise use of medicines. Discussion groups will be held in local communities throughout Australia for people aged fifty years and older.
The aims of the project are to:
empower older people "to ask" their doctor or pharmacist about their medicines; and
encourage older people to ask their pharmacist or doctor about their condition, their treatment and both their prescribed and non prescribed (over the counter) medicines.
The involvement of the Pharmacy Guild is an integral part of the project. Those pharmacists participating in the project will establish links with the peer educators in their regions and work together to reinforce the wise use of medicines messages and to provide advice.
Up to seventy older people will be trained as peer educators across the nation. The launch by the Minister will be on the second day of the three day training program that will be held at the offices of Council on the Ageing (Australia).
9 May, 2000
HACC FUNDING INCREASE,
RURAL HEALTH INITIATIVES, BUT
SMALL TICK FOR MATURE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM
"The Government has delivered a modest Budget with some wins for older people. Gaping holes remain in a number of service areas which the Budget has failed to address," according to the Council on the Ageing (COTA), national executive director, Mr Denys Correll.
Home and Community Care
"The Government has effectively increased the funding for HACC, as advocated by COTA. This has been done through a major innovation with a Veteran's Home Care Program. In addition, the Government has restored the 6 per cent real growth that now needs to be matched by State Governments in all states and territories to ensure that older Australians are not short-changed. If states don't match then older people miss out on the full Commonwealth input.
"The increased resources will be well-received by older people. There is a desperate need for improvements to home based services which help people to live independently in the community. The Government expects 20,000 more people will be able to access HACC.
Residential aged care
"COTA believes the Government could have done more in this Budget to alleviate the nursing home crisis. We are still receiving calls of concern about the level of care in nursing homes. Improvements to the aged care standards and accreditation agency and the new training facility will help provide a basis for a proper quality assurance mechanism but will not provide the additional nursing staff or activities programs that are urgently needed in many nursing homes. There is still no overall information strategy for consumers. This needs to be urgently addressed by the Minister.
Rural initiatives
"COTA welcomes the initiatives to revitalise bush nursing and small regional hospitals. Older people want facilities near their homes. Likewise, increased allied health services attached to general practice are welcome.
Older unemployed
"COTA believes the Government's Mature Age Participation Pilot Program for older unemployed to be run by the Department of Family and Community Services is a minor response to the concerns we have raised about this group in the past 12 months. Much, much more needs to be done. Nevertheless, we are gratified that there is progress.
"We are pleased by the recognition in the pilot of the problems faced by people who are ineligible for income support due to the harsh social security means test, often because they have received a redundancy payment. This group has also been excluded from labour market assistance. COTA will be seeking to build on this initiative in reforming policy for this group and other mature age unemployed as this has been a major area of our policy work in the past 12 months.
Protection for older people affected by termination of the social security agreement with the UK
"A positive measure in the Budget is the protection for older people who were likely to miss out on receiving an Australian age pension due to the termination of the social security agreement with the UK. COTA advocated that all people presently in Australia should be excluded from any effect of the termination. It is pleasing that the Government has taken our advice on this issue," concluded Mr Correll.
18 April, 2000
Grandparents could be the secret weapon to help implement the Federal Government's stronger families and child care programs announced on the weekend.
According to Sheila Rimmer, President of the Council on the Ageing, grandparents undertake 55% of all childcare in Australia. In two-income families, or in the case of sole parents, grandparents provide free childcare for families who cannot afford commercial services.
"In addition to child care workers or neighbourhood assistance, the Government should recognize the support given by the extended family", Mrs Rimmer said. She explained that the role of grandparents is important as a preventative one. With the nuclear family collapsing under the stress of modern life and a divorce rate of 43%, dysfunctional families lead to delinquency, social breakdown, crime and drug abuse. "The Government needs to appreciate that grandparents are essential to the stability of the family, which in turn, is the foundation of a healthy society".
The Council on the Ageing which is a charitable organization representing the interests of older people, has set up a grandparenting project, to emphasize the contribution to families made by grandparents; to help prepare grandparents for child care; to support grandparents caught up in family breakdown situations; and to represent grandparents who have had to take over the fulltime parenting of their grandchildren.
28 March 2000
- Detail and financing issues to be resolved
The Council on the Ageing (COTA) has welcomed the big picture focus on social and economic participation of the Interim Report of the Reference Group on Welfare Reform today.
"Many mature age people are relegated to social and economic oblivion through age discrimination in employment," said Ms Veronica Sheen, COTA's national policy officer.
"This group could benefit substantially by a welfare system that focussed on the ideas of maximising opportunities for social and economic participation.
"But as the Interim Report emphasises, it will be critical for business to do its part in terms of "mutual obligation" by employing people on merit rather than irrelevant factors such as age.
"The report also says that business will need to be more flexible in accommodating people with a broad range of needs. This could be quite important for those people who wish to make changes to how they work and the hours they work as they age.
"In the income support area, the report discusses a number of interesting possibilities for improvements. However, there is no discussion of some of COTA's key concerns about the impact on social participation created by the low level of benefits for a number of mature age unemployed people and the absence of any benefits for many mature age unemployed due to the harsh social security means test.
"We would also have liked to see some discussion of the links between issues for people of working age and people of age pension age in the report as we have identified this as a major deficiency in Australia's welfare system at present.
"Nevertheless, the reference group has made an admirable start to setting up a process for significant changes to Australia's welfare system. But there is clearly far to go in terms of how the goals they have set could be achieved. We will need to see what mechanisms will be developed and whether the government will be prepared to make some short term investments for some long term gains," Ms Sheen concluded.
17 March 2000
The Council on the Ageing welcomes today's announcement by the Minister for Aged Care, the Hon Bronwyn Bishop, that she is establishing a National Aged Care Accreditation and Compliance Forum.
Mr Denys Correll, National Executive Director for the Council on the Ageing said today "Recent exposures of poor quality care in some nursing homes must be addressed. Our older community and their families must have clear assurances that residents of aged care services receive world class care. At the present, such assurance does not exist. The Council on the Ageing looks forward to contributing to the forum.
"Our initial focus will be seeking a faster, more effective complaints system. Older people, families and staff of nursing homes need to know there is a complaints system that will respond quickly to health and safety issues. Nursing home residents need to be secure they will not be victimised if they complain.
"Regarding powers to intervene, the Aged Care Act may need amendment to enable the strongest possible intervention to protect the health and welfare of residents. This could mean placing an administrator in charge with or without the consent of the proprietor.
"It is now time for Government, service providers, and the Council on the Ageing, representing older people to make our system safe and secure for older Australians," Mr Correll concluded.
For comment on any media releases or articles please contact
Council on the Ageing (Australia)
Level 2, 3 Bowen Crescent
Melbourne 3004
Tel: (03) 9820 2655 Fax: (03) 9829 9886
email: cota@cota.org.au
Copyright © 1997 Council on the Ageing.
All rights reserved.
Revised: 23 October, 2001
COTA National Seniors Policy Secretariat [formerly Council
on the Ageing (Australia)
Level 2, 3 Bowen Crescent, Melbourne Vic 3004
Tel (03) 9820 2655 Fax (03) 9820 9886
email cota@cota.org.au
