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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-07-27 Daily Xml
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AGE MATTERS PROJECT

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:10): Will the Minister for Industrial Relations provide the chamber with details of how SafeWork SA is addressing the issue surrounding an ageing workforce in South Australia?

The PRESIDENT: I am interested in this one. The minister.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:10): I thank the honourable member for his very important question. I am sure this is of great interest to you, Mr President. Australia currently ranks 13th in the list of Organisations for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) countries in terms of the proportion of people in the workforce aged 55 to 64. Furthermore, we know that, after Tasmania, South Australia has the oldest population in Australia and will therefore be more affected by the labour exodus as the baby boomer generation moves into retirement.

The average age of full-time workers has been increasing faster than the general population, with workers in the vital areas of education and health amongst the oldest workers in Australia. The state government is considering all avenues of augmenting labour supply to our workforce in order to have sufficient workers for our state's future industry and economy. SafeWork SA is managing the Age Matters project through its work/life balance strategy after successfully tendering for flexible working arrangements funding through the Improving with Age funding.

Age Matters is a 16-month project that seeks to address the issues that mature age workers are facing in recruitment and employment, such as age-based bullying, being pushed towards retirement, access to promotional training and flexible work arrangements. The first stage of the project has involved consultation with key stakeholders, including representatives from private sector human resource agencies, community sector groups, related government agencies and academia, to ascertain ways to address the barriers facing the mature-age worker, as well as to create effective tools for promoting the utilisation of this increasingly relevant sector of the workforce.

Focus groups of employers, as well as focus groups of older workers, will meet in August 2011 to ensure that the project is on target in addressing the needs of these two critical markets. The Age Matters project plans to undertake promotional events and presentations celebrating the International Day of the Older Person on 1 October 2011. During the SafeWork Week 2011 it will distribute tools, including print resources and a web clip video for training purposes. These resources will also be broadly disseminated on the SafeWork SA and Equal Opportunity Commission websites, assisting in dispelling the myths frequently associated with mature-age workers and to promote the benefits of a mature workforce.

SafeWork SA is working in partnership with the Equal Opportunity Commission to tackle age-based discrimination through the development of employer training modules as part of the identified outcomes of the Age Matters project. The Equal Opportunity Commission carried out an age discrimination survey in March 2010 regarding employment and recruitment difficulties for persons aged 45 and over. It provided an insight into the experiences of age discrimination that older South Australians are encountering and where attention needs to be focused.

Age Matters will work with industry and business groups, employers and employees, to raise awareness of the importance of mature worker participation in our state. This will include developing strategies to retain older workers and optimising mature worker participation, including combating ageist stereotypes, raising awareness of protections afforded by discrimination legislation and promoting the adoption of flexible workplace arrangements.

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