A national inquiry into age and disability discrimination in the workforce has heard some Tasmanian workers are being told that they are too old for jobs they are applying for.

The Australian Human Rights Commission’s Willing to Work Inquiry has heard from about 60 older workers and employers and peak interest groups in Launceston and Hobart.

It examined practices, attitudes and laws that deny or reduce older people and people with a disability access to equal employment opportunities.

Age and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan said urgent reform was needed.

“We hear that sometimes [older workers] are told directly by employment agencies that they’re too old for the job they’re interested in,” she said.

“In other cases they’re not told that directly but they never get feedback as to why they’re unsuccessful in applying for a job for which they’re very qualified.

“We hear that older workers are asked to put their age on applications, when they should not have to do that.

“The purpose of that is to discriminate against them, there’s no other purpose in doing that.”

Older workers ‘angry and frustrated’

She said the ramifications of age discrimination were devastating on families.

“We hear that by and large older workers feel that they don’t have a fair chance to get a job when there’s one advertised,” she said.

“Of course for a person say in their 50s who still has a lot of household expenses, mortgage, kids and so forth this is absolutely devastating.”

Sue Leitch from the Tasmanian Council on the Ageing interviewed a handful of older Tasmanians before giving evidence in Hobart.

She said they were angry and frustrated.

“There is a high level of frustration that is being felt by people that are either looking for work or are in work places where there’s not necessarily good work culture towards older people,” she said.

“What we’re finding in some of the restructures that have been going on in organisations is that people in their early 50s are being earmarked for redundancies and virtually tapped on the shoulder.”

Commissioner Ryan said Tasmania was improving and she welcomed the development of a diversity and inclusion plan for the public service.

“Which will lead to those departments and agencies putting in place strategies to give mature workers and workers with disability more opportunities,” she said.

“So I think we’re going to see some improvements here in Hobart.”

A report will be prepared for the Commonwealth Government by June next year.

Topics: discrimination, community-and-society, work, tas

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Tags: experience matters, jobs for older workers, jobs for seniors, mature age jobs, mature age workers, older workers