Urgent need for Age Discrimination Commissioner
According to National Seniors Australia (NSA), a report on age discrimination reaffirms the urgency for a standalone age discrimination commissioner as promised by Labor during the election.
The report by the Australian Human Rights Commission, coincided with International Day of the Older Person on 1 October, and highlights the ageism that exists in society and the barriers older people face, especially in employment.
Research shows a person in their 50s who becomes unemployed will remain unemployed three times longer than someone of a younger age.
NSA welcomed the Government’s announcement that it has begun introducing legislation to establish an Age Discrimination Commissioner in the Australian Human Rights Commission.
NSA spokesperson, Paul Versteege, said a dedicated commissioner would be able to rule on age discrimination in a range of situations.
“Older people face age discrimination in many ways, for example, when applying for a job or promotion, enrolling at university or TAFE and even when using services such as banking, superannuation and government services,” Mr Versteege said.
“We even hear of cases where people are given tips to hide their age on their resume. If that’s not an example of serious age discrimination, then what is?
“There is a sex and a race commissioner but why not an age commissioner?
“National Seniors has pushed this issue hard for many years, particularly during this year’s election campaign and now we are calling on the government to appoint a standalone commissioner.”
Over the last six months the average period of unemployment for those aged 55+ was 62 weeks compared to 20 weeks for the younger cohort.
