Older South Australians increasingly facing homelessness and poverty: COTA SA

That the dire warning to the South Australian state government from senior's peak advocacy group COTA SA, ahead of the 2020-21 budget.

The organisation which represents more than 630,000 older people throughout the state, has presented a submission to the government targeting seven key areas - ageism, employment, housing, health, transport, older country South Australians and technology inclusion.

Chief Executive Jane Mussared said age discrimination was rife in South Australia, including and especially in workplaces and it was critical the older population was a key focus in this year's Budget.

"There was a real lack of measures and funding to support the ageing well of South Australians last year," she said.

"Employment conditions and housing affordability have worsened, particularly for older women, and must be at the top of the State Government's priorities if we are to realise the stated ambition of this government to support ageing well."

COTA SA is urging the State Government to step into the breach created by the federal JobMaker program which only targets younger unemployed people; and offer incentives and training to ensure older workers also have a pathway back to work.

"Studies consistently find that one-third of older workers have experienced age discrimination in the past year," said Ms Mussared. "More than half of female jobseekers are aged over 40, while the median time on JobSeeker (formerly Newstart) for unemployed people between 55 and 64 years old is more than three years.

"JobSeeker is a payment designed to 'fill the gap' but an increasing number of people in their 50s and 60s, especially women, will rely on it as their sole income as their careers come to an end prematurely.

"These people can't get work because they're discriminated based on their age, they are not eligible for a disability pension, and they are too young to retire and receive an aged pension - it's a perfect storm."

Ms Mussared said the period of unemployment leading into retirement was growing, compounding the state's housing issues.

"South Australia is also in urgent need of a comprehensive housing strategy, to give older people access to safe, appropriate and affordable housing," she said.

"In many local government areas, there has been at least a 50 per cent increase in the number of people suffering housing stress. The rate of people affected will increase very fast as our population continues to age, and the supply of affordable accommodation diminishes.

"The Federal Budget failed to deliver new social housing infrastructure. The State Government has a chance to achieve a double good - stimulate the economy and jobs while housing people who are otherwise at considerable risk of homelessness.

"We have also urged the government to fund a specialised housing service to assist vulnerable older people in housing stress to secure ongoing and appropriate accommodation. Current services are not targeted to the specialised needs of older people and have not learned from evidence elsewhere that early intervention is much more cost and time effective."

Among COTA SA's health recommendations, is that South Australia catch up with the rest of the nation by offering free ambulance travel for age pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders.

Read the full submission here