work, health and safety laws. Remedies If a person feels that they have experienced discrimination on the ground of age in the context of employment, there are several ways of pursuing a complaint. The different forums for complaining about discrimination in the workplace on the ground of age include: The Australian Human Rights Commission. For more information visit the Commission’s complaints portal: . If a complaint is not resolved by the Commission, it can be taken to the Federal Circuit Court or the Federal Court of Australia. State or territory anti-discrimination agencies. If a complaint is not resolved by those agencies, it can be taken through the administrative law tribunal and court system. The Fair Work Commission. If a complaint is not resolved by the Fair Work Commission, it can be taken to the Fair Work Division of the Federal Circuit Court or the Federal Court of Australia. The Fair Work Ombudsman, if the employer is a system employer’ ‘national under the FWA. Discussion questions How adequately do existing laws protect older Australians from employment discrimination? How effective are the legal remedies for older workers who have experienced discrimination? How could existing laws be amended or supplemented? What difficulties are there for employers in understanding and complying with legal obligations? Policy Currently, there is a fragmented strategic and policy framework relating to older workers in Australia. The Australian Law Reform Commission’s report, Access All Ages-Older Workers and Commonwealth Laws identified this as an issue and recommended that the Australian Government develop a National Mature Age Workforce Participation Plan. The Plan would provide a coordinated policy response to the challenges of an ageing population and low labour force participation of older workers. Past initiatives and activities Past initiatives and activities which have attempted to raise awareness of the challenges and develop policy responses to the ageing population and the labour force participation of older Australians include: The Treasury published intergenerational reports in 2002, 2007, 2010 and 2015. The Reports assess the long-term sustainability of Government policies and how changes to Australia’s population size and age profile may impact on economic growth, workforce and public finances over the next 40 years. In 2012, the Advisory Panel on Positive Ageing was established in response to a recommendation of the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior
work, health and safety laws. Remedies If a person feels that they have experienced discrimination on the ground of age in the context of employment, there are several ways of pursuing a complaint. The different forums for complaining about discrimination in the workplace on the ground of age include: The Australian Human Rights Commission. For more information visit the Commission’s complaints portal: . If a complaint is not resolved by the Commission, it can be taken to the Federal Circuit Court or the Federal Court of Australia. State or territory anti-discrimination agencies. If a complaint is not resolved by those agencies, it can be taken through the administrative law tribunal and court system. The Fair Work Commission. If a complaint is not resolved by the Fair Work Commission, it can be taken to the Fair Work Division of the Federal Circuit Court or the Federal Court of Australia. The Fair Work Ombudsman, if the employer is a ‘national system employer’ under the FWA. Discussion questions How adequately do existing laws protect older Australians from employment discrimination? How effective are the legal remedies for older workers who have experienced discrimination? How could existing laws be amended or supplemented? What difficulties are there for employers in understanding and complying with legal obligations? Policy Currently, there is a fragmented strategic and policy framework relating to older workers in Australia. The Australian Law Reform Commission’s report, Access All Ages-Older Workers and Commonwealth Laws identified this as an issue and recommended that the Australian Government develop a National Mature Age Workforce Participation Plan. The Plan would provide a coordinated policy response to the challenges of an ageing population and low labour force participation of older workers. Past initiatives and activities Past initiatives and activities which have attempted to raise awareness of the challenges and develop policy responses to the ageing population and the labour force participation of older Australians include: The Treasury published intergenerational reports in 2002, 2007, 2010 and 2015. The Reports assess the long-term sustainability of Government policies and how changes to Australia’s population size and age profile may impact on economic growth, workforce and public finances over the next 40 years. In 2012, the Advisory Panel on Positive Ageing was established in response to a recommendation of the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior
discussion-paper-age.docx