The Australian Labour Market for Older Workers

Abstract

The publication of the Borrie Report (Population and Australia) in 1975 marked a water-shed, in Australian social research. Till then everyone was convinced that ours was a young society and that our problems were demonstrably different from those being experienced throughout the western world. This proved not to be the case. Instead, the difference was simply a matter of degree. The Australian population is ageing, but quite slowly, and compared to other countries, the Australian population is still quite young. Nevertheless, the realization that things were not as everyone thought they were provoked a great deal of interest in both the research and policy communities.