Age Discrimination Commissioner leaves valuable legacy

Former Age Discrimination Commissioner the Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO completed her term as Commissioner in July this year after being appointed in 2016.

Her work has played an important part in raising the profile of key issues facing older Australians including age discrimination in the workplace; elder abuse in the community; and older women’s risk of homelessness.

During her term, Commissioner Patterson has increased community awareness of elder abuse and available supports. She has advocated for implementation of recommendations from the Australian Law Reform Commission’s 2017 report, Elder Abuse: A National Legal Response, and helped to raise awareness of the National Elder Abuse phone line (1800 ELDERHelp – 1800 353 374) through numerous campaigns. The Commissioner has released elder abuse awareness resources in 20 languages. She has also been a leading voice in calling for the harmonisation of Enduring Power of Attorney laws and the development of a National Register.

Commissioner Patterson has advocated for older women at risk of homelessness, releasing a paper on this issue in 2019 and continuing to call for solutions to this multi-faceted problem.

The Commissioner has campaigned against age discrimination in the workplace, launching the in 2021. She partnered with the Australian HR Institute on several surveys looking at employers’ attitudes to older workers. The most recent survey found one in six organisations will not consider hiring people aged 65 and above while only a quarter are open to hiring those aged 65 and above ‘to a large extent’. The Commissioner has engaged with different industries to foster age inclusion in the workforce and has served as Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Mature Age Employment since 2018. She is also a member of the Council of Elders, which was established by the Australian Government to consult with senior Australians and provide advice about aged care reform and ageing generally.

During her term, Commissioner Patterson has challenged ageist beliefs and promoted positive intergenerational relationships. Her reports ‘What’s age got to do with it’ (2021) and ‘Talking about my generation’ have provided deeper insights into ageism across the adult lifespan. The Commissioner’s latest 2023 ‘Changing Perspectives’ project evaluated the effectiveness of educational intervention in reshaping perceptions about ageing and delivered training to more than 300 aged care and community workers across Australia. The Commissioner has also been a supporter of The Centenarian Portrait Project by Teenagers, a national arts initiative which promotes intergenerational friendships.