Employing mature age workers can benefit your business. Age diversity can improve both the productivity and resourcefulness of your workforce as well as client satisfaction.
On this page:
Workforce Australia
Workforce Australia connects employers with people. It is delivered by a network of employment services providers in over 1,700 locations across Australia. Visit Workforce Australia to find out how you can use the free recruitment services to find and hire staff.
Filling a vacancy
Jobs Hub
If you are scaling up your workforce, the Jobs Hub can connect you with the support you need to get your workforce on board. For more information visit the department's Jobs Hub website.
Financial incentives
Wage subsidies
The Workforce Australia wage subsidy is a financial incentive up to $10,000 (including GST) that businesses may be able to access to hire eligible individuals.
Self-assessment tool
The Self-assessment tool helps you assess how well your organisation manages mature age workers. The assessment takes about 15 minutes to complete. There are 32 questions, including:
- the age profile of your workforce
- workforce data
- your human resource management policies
- recruitment and induction practices, including training and development.
At the end of the assessment you’ll get a tailored action plan for your organisation to help with recruitment strategies and to set goals on age diversity for your workplace.
This tool has been adapted from the Investing In Experience document. The information within does not include legal, financial or any other form of professional advice.
Training on employing mature age workers
There are 3 interactive training modules that show how you can employ and retain mature age workers. They include information, quizzes and useful links about mature age workers and how to build an age inclusive workplace.
- Busting myths (10 minutes to complete).
- Is my workplace inclusive? (15 minutes to complete).
- Building age inclusive workplaces (10-20 minutes to complete).
A fact sheet summarising the information covered in each module is also available for download.
Other useful links
Visit the links below to learn more about mature age employment.
The department’s newsroom provides news, data, analysis and cases studies. Read:
- how Nunn’s Dairy found a new local employee – Workforce Australia facilitated a perfect pairing for Nunn’s Dairy and Patrick
- the two-part series with the Hon Dr Kay Patterson where she shares her thoughts and insights on mature age employment.
Hiring Outside the Box – A webinar series for employers hosted by the department’s Employer Liaison Officers, where you will learn about alternative recruitment practices to develop your workforce.
Jobs and Skills Australia – Stay up to date with conditions in your local labour market and find reports and analysis of current, emerging and future labour market, and workforce, skills and training needs.
Welcome to the Fair Work Ombudsman website – Guidance on the laws that make all workplaces equal and fair.
Older Workers Resource Hub – Publications, research, resources and projects to help understand age discrimination.
Promoting an Age-Inclusive Workforce: Living, Learning and Earning Longer (December 2020).
Equal opportunity and diversity – Information to help your business provide equal opportunity employment and flexible working arrangements.
See how the tourism industry benefits from mature age workers:
- Tourism and hospitality enterprises benefit from a mature workforce
- Work Bonus advantage for workers and businesses in Tourism
See advice from Comcare about keeping people of all ages, employed, healthy and productive in the workplace:
Posters
We’re Hiring – all ages welcome!
Download these 4 posters which you can print and place in your business to let people know you are recruiting and welcome applicants of all ages:
Mature age employment poster – This poster highlights the benefits of hiring mature age people.
Brochure
Mature Age Employment – Age diversity is good for Business – This brochure highlights the benefits of hiring mature age people.
Tool kit
Mature Age Information for Employers – Investing in Experience Tool Kit – A guide for employing mature age workers.
We aim to provide documents in an accessible format. If you're having problems accessing a document, please contact us for help.