Ooh, my swear jar overflows everytime I try to open *?!@# products

Hands up. Who, like me, hates child-proof packaging?

Yep it deters kids but they fail to mention that in most cases, the packaging is also adult-proof.

Then there's scissors which come in plastic packaging that needs scissors to open and cuts our hands. Um - we bought scissors because we needed them and now we can't get them out of the infernal packaging.

No wonder my swear jar overflows.

Can openers, confusing instructions, small fonts, grip issues... it's no wonder that a majority of older people feel their needs are overlooked by product designers and desire clear age-friendly product information to make informed purchasing decisions.

Australia is experiencing a big demographic shift, with the number of people aged 65 and over expected to increase to more than 10 million by 2066.

And that's where the Global Centre for Modern Ageing steps in its new report, Empowering Older Adults with Better Product Usability.

It surveyed more than 1000 Australians aged 65 and over and marks a pivotal step towards enhancing the quality of life for Australia's ageing population.

"Importantly, it extends well beyond older adults alone," association boss Julianne Parkinson said.

"It presents an opportunity for product design to be more inclusive, being mindful of the diverse needs, preferences and circumstances of individuals that continue to change throughout their lives."

It revealed people are seriously cheesed off with 93 per cent of respondents saying that product usability is crucial for independent living but question the "user-friendliness" of products.

About 81 per cent feel neglected by product designers and manufacturers.

But nearly half (43 per cent) of older Australians do not seek help or request product adaptations.

Ms Parkinson said that while there's a wide array of products available in the market, there's a discrepancy between the industry's belief that products are user-friendly and the actual usability challenges.

"This represents a great opportunity for product developers to better understand these consumers and close the gap on usability frustrations."

In collaboration with Aussie columnist, author and social commentator, Jane Caro, the Global Centre for Modern Ageing aims to highlight the challenges faced by older adults and spearhead advancements in product usability.

Ms Caro voiced her own personal frustrations with the lack of usable products for older Australians: "So many products, so many of them frustrating, impenetrable and hard to use.

"Instructions are often impossible to read and indecipherable when you can. Packaging seems to be designed to keep you out. I can no longer undo jars, bottles, boxes, medicines, tubes and containers."

Ms Caro believes that while many older Australians have money to spend and time to shop, they are rapidly losing the inclination.

"It's ageism rearing its ugly, wrinkly, head again. We ignore the old and think of them as deficient. We are not. We are just struggling to use poorly and insensitively designed products," said Caro.

She called for a concerted effort to better support the rapidly ageing demographic and encourages people to come forward and join the move to empower older people to live independent lives.