AGE pensioners who wish to return to the workforce are being turned away by government recruitment agencies amid confusion over their eligibility for employment services support.
The confusion comes as the Willing to Work inquiry continues to hear stories of age discrimination against older people seeking work around Australia, including discrimination from agencies.
While the federal government continues to develop programs to encourage employers to take on mature workers, one man says he was told it was “against Centrelink policy” for him to register for job support.
The Queensland man told The Senior he had recently retired and was receiving a part-pension when he decided to try to re-enter the workforce.
However, when he approached his local employment services provider he was initially told it was Centrelink policy not to register anyone who was receiving an age pension.
The man queried the matter with Centrelink, which agreed he was entitled to register as someone voluntarily seeking employment. He was given a jobseeker’s identification number.
He approached two providers near his home and was either refused outright or told he could register, but they would not submit his application for any vacancies.
“This situation leaves me confused about the reality of the Commonwealth Government’s encouragement of older people to seek employment compared to its rhetoric,” he said.
“On the one hand the government encourages older people to seek work, but on the other discriminates against them when they try to do so.”
Former Centrelink employee Helen Chadwick told the Willing to Work inquiry’s South Australia hearing in November the only way she saw mature workers gaining employment was through people they knew or through self-employment.
She said the government needed to do more to raise awareness about the value of older workers and should set an example by introducing mature-age hiring quotas in the public service.
Don’t Overlook Mature Age (DOME) executive director Greg Goudie said his South Australian agency had launched a Fair Go! campaign that would encourage employers to give older workers a chance.
“All most older jobseekers want is a fair go when applying for jobs; they just want the opportunity to be considered and not dismissed because of their age,” he said.
“They just want a fair go to demonstrate their skills and experience.”
Age Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan said programs like Restart, introduced in 2014-15, had made a start in addressing the issues.
Restart offers employers a $10,000 wage subsidy for each older worker they employ.
A spokesman for the Department of Employment said all jobseekers, including age pensioners, were entitled to support from government-sponsored jobactive employment agencies. Pensioners should register as a “volunteer” jobseeker, meaning they were not under a mutual obligation requiring them to look for work in order to retain their pension. They were then entitled to receive up to six months of assistance including advice on the local labour market, help with preparing a resume and job referral.
Jobseekers who feel they have been given incorrect advice about the support available should call the department on 1800-805-260.
For more information on the Restart program for older jobseekers www.employment. gov.au/restart