It's a type of discrimination that has potential to affect
us all – as the saying goes, growing old is inevitable (but
of course, growing up is optional!).
In April this year, a National Inquiry was launched into
Employment Discrimination Against Older Australians and
Australians with a Disability by the Australian Human Rights
Commission (AHRC).1 The AHRC has just
released an
Issues Paper outlining the range of issues that will be
examined by the Inquiry, due for completion in July 2016.
The launch of the Inquiry followed a national survey into age
discrimination within the workplace by the AHRC.2 The
survey found that 28% of workers over the age of 50 had experienced
age discrimination and, interestingly, the prevalence of age
discrimination increased as income levels decreased. It also found
that 58% of Australians over the age of 50 years looking for paid
work had experienced age discrimination.
