Anglicare Australia is calling for an urgent overhaul of employment services for older people saying a changing job market and age discrimination is making it hard for them to compete.
The call follows the release of the organisation's annual Jobs Availability Snapshot which shows at least five disadvantaged job seekers competing for every entry level job.
"The stereotype is that Newstart is for younger people, but that's a myth. Around half of all people on Newstart are mature age jobseekers - and the number of older Australians on Newstart is growing by 10,000 a year," said Acting Executive Director Roland Manderson.
"Instead of preparing to retire, many people are now selling their homes and spending their savings. Nobody should be forced to retire into poverty."
"It's taking an average of five years to find work for those who need the most help. And that's bad news for older people. Once a person over 50 has been unemployed for over a year, they're unlikely to ever find a job," he said.
"People over 55 used to be allowed to meet their mutual obligation requirements with volunteering. The recent decision to take that option away from people is counter-productive and must be reversed.
"And if we want to stop people from retiring into poverty, then we must raise Newstart and stop lifting the pension age.
"These changes are all urgent. If we don't fix this broken system, we will be forcing people to spend their older years in poverty, starting with the unreasonable expectation that they find a job which isn't there," said Mr Manderson.
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