Dealing with age discrimination

Retirees can experience age discrimination when either trying to find work or in the workplace. Information on the types of discrimination and how to deal with it.

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What is age discrimination?

Age discrimination can happen in recruitment and selection processes as well as the actual workplace.

It occurs when a person is treated less favourably, or not given the same opportunities as others in a similar situation, because they are considered to be too old (or too young).

There are 2 types of age discrimination:

  • direct - when you've been unfairly treated because of your age, or because you're the relative, friend or colleague of someone of a particular age

  • indirect - when there is a rule or requirement that's the same for everyone but unfairly affects people of a particular age.

Learn more about age discrimination at the Australian Human Rights Commission.

What to do if you experience age discrimination

It's a good idea to document your experiences, then try speaking to the person or organisation directly to express your concerns.

There may be an official policy, channel or process (like Human Resources) through which your issue can be addressed.

If this is not practical or possible, you can contact:

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