Sixty-five-year-old Kerry Forrest wants and needs a job.
But during the three years she has been applying for positions, she has faced repeated rejection.
Not everyone works until retirement age. What are the options?
“Every phone call or email of this type is another kick in the guts, and my confidence drops that little bit more,” she said.
Ms Forrest is a trained library technician and has been applying for a range of jobs in her hometown of Burnie on Tasmania’s north-west coast.
She thinks her age is the biggest factor holding her back from securing employment.
“I’ve never had problems in the past; what’s different? I’m 65, that’s what’s different,” she said.
Ms Forrest works casually as a security guard, but shifts can be sporadic.
She recently started training to work casually in a government department, but she needs something permanent.
“It’s a start and has boosted my confidence,” she said.
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The past few years without work have been tough financially.
She put her superannuation savings into the mortgage on her unit, and is now redrawing on that to survive.
Ms Forrest sometimes receives JobSeeker payments if she has not worked enough hours.
Ms Forrest hopes she will be able to get more work to get on top of her mortgage. (ABC News: Mackenzie Heard)
But mutual obligations requiring her to apply for a certain number of jobs a month have been difficult in the past, particularly because she lives in a small town.
“[In June] I only applied for two positions — the only suitable positions advertised,” she said.
“As a result, I was scolded like a child, with payments threatened.”
Ms Forrest hopes she will be able to get more work to get on top of her mortgage.
She thinks it is time employers consider older workers more favourably.
“We bring a lot of life experience to a position. We’re old-school, we’re reliable,” she said.
More older Australians need to work for longer
Unemployment figures show that over the past three years, there has been a rise in the number of older Australians (55-64 years) who are out of work: from 2.7 per cent in June 2022 to July 2023, to 3.1 per cent in July 2024 to June 2025.
“We are on an upward cycle,” said Ben Farr-Wharton, professor of workforce strategy at Edith Cowan University.
Ben Farr-Wharton says there is “this sense that if you’re an older worker you’re more disposable”. (ABC News: Julian Robins)
While the unemployment rate has risen across all ages (15-64 years) from 3.6 per cent to 4.2 per cent over the same period, older Australians find it harder to secure employment if they lose their job.
A report by Jobs and Skills Australia shows the average duration of unemployment for mature-age people stood at 86 weeks in June 2024 — more than double the 37 weeks recorded for 15- to 54-year-olds.
Which is why those over 55, who have spent nine months on JobSeeker, receive an extra $55 a fortnight.
Many Australians need to work for longer due to low superannuation balances, cost-of-living pressures, and a lift in the pension age from 65 to 67.
“There’s a whole cohort of workers who now might have left work in their early 60s or late 50s that absolutely need to stay committed to a workplace and in paid employment,” Age Discrimination Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald said.
A recent survey produced by the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Australian Human Resources Institute found almost a quarter of HR professionals now classify workers aged 51 to 55 as “older”.
Just two years ago, only 10 per cent of recruiters took that view.
“This sense that if you’re an older worker you’re more disposable, you might be of less value than a younger colleague who might be more technologically able or adept,” Professor Farr-Wharton said.
Older women are further disadvantaged and vulnerable to long-term unemployment, according to Associate Professor Foula Kopanidis from RMIT University School of Economics.
Foula Kopanidis says many women have interrupted career paths due to caring responsibilities. (Supplied)
She said many women had interrupted career paths due to caring responsibilities.
“Superannuation and savings’ accumulation is lower for women, adding urgency to re-employment,” she said.
The growing use of Artificial Intelligence is likely to add to the perception that older workers are not adaptable.
Mr Fitzgerald said the assumption was not always correct.
“This is a misnomer. What we know is that older workers can in fact be as productive as younger workers, they can in fact adapt to new technologies,” he said.
Can older Australians fill workforce shortages?
Creating age-inclusive workplaces will be essential to filling labour shortages and managing an ageing population, according to Mr Fitzgerald.
“There is a real urgency in Australia to increase the labour force,” he said.
Jobs and Skills Australia found 33 per cent of occupations are in short supply.
Aged care workers, electricians, childcare workers, general practitioners and chefs are just some of the occupations that have been short of workers for four years or more.
“The real issue is to change the attitude of employers and workplaces; we’ve got to get to a situation where we absolutely value older workers,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
Robert Fitzgerald says creating age-inclusive workplaces will be essential to filling labour shortages. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
There are also calls for Australia to adopt a similar approach to New Zealand when it comes to older workers.
In New Zealand, pensioners do not face cuts to the pension if they work; they simply face income tax.
Whereas Australian pensioners who earn over $227 a week lose half of every dollar they earn in a cut to their pension.
Professor Farr-Wharton believes a similar approach in Australia would help build a more diverse workforce.
“A workplace that might have multi-generations within it,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations said “the government is committed to ensuring the right services, training and opportunities are in place to support mature-age Australians who want to work”.
“Increasingly, businesses in Australia are recognising the value of workplace diversity.
“There are also protections against unlawful age discrimination.”
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