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About this submission
Continuing participation in the paid workforce is an increasing challenge for many Victorians over 50 whom we seek to support and represent. Helping older Victorians retain or regain employment, and ensuring they are treated fairly and respectfully throughout the process, has long been a priority for our organisation. This support is becoming even more important as more people work for longer or seek to re-enter paid employment later in life.
In making this submission, we draw on many years of listening to older Victorians, providing advice and referrals to people seeking our assistance, and delivering several targeted employment support programs funded by the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments (see Section 4).
We see the current reform of employment services as an important opportunity to create a more streamlined, flexible system of support that delivers a positive and empowering experience for older workers. We are broadly supportive of the proposed streaming approach and related initiatives designed to better respond to individual needs.
We see the current reform of employment services as an important opportunity to create a more streamlined, flexible system of support that delivers a positive and empowering experience for older workers. We are broadly supportive of the proposed streaming approach and related initiatives designed to better respond to individual needs.
We are keen to see responsiveness to ageing embedded across all elements of the program, while ensuring that age itself is not used as the basis for decision-making or determining access to different forms of support. An intersectional approach, particularly one that recognises the interaction between ageing, gender, and disability, is essential.