Find out how plan hopes to address labour shortage
The Albanese government’s plan to allow the re-entry of seniors into the workforce is underway, following Australia’s current labour shortage.
HRD previously reported about employers’ call on businesses to lure pensioners back to the workforce to help solve the workforce shortage. Now, the government has reportedly accommodated employers’ proposals in hopes of solving one of the central issues of the country’s labour force, nine.com.au reported.
Government’s proposal
Soon, seniors could be granted to work more hours and still receive their pension through a government plan to fix the national labour shortage, the report said.
At present, “seniors are limited to earning $490 a fortnight, and for every $1 earned over this, a pensioner loses 50 cents of their fortnightly pension,” according to nine.com.au.
The news outlet further said that under the government’s proposal, people over the age of 66 and six months would be allowed to work extra hours and earn an income without losing their pension entitlement.
However, the plan, endorsed by opposition leader Peter Dutton, will still be debated at the Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra next month. The summit, according to Treasurer Jim Chalmers, would mainly revolve around fixing Australia’s labour crisis and agreeing on enhanced participation in the nation’s workforce, nine.com.au reported.
“We’ve got a national unemployment rate around 3.5 percent, we have the challenges that bring around skills shortages and labour shortages,” Chalmers said in the report. “We want to hear people’s ideas.”
Support for the re-entry of seniors
According to nine.com.au, the National Seniors Australia already backed the government’s plan and recommended that “employment income be exempt from the income test for pensioners with limited savings or assets.”
“This would help Australia meet worker shortages and retain skilled and qualified staff while there is uncertainty about immigration,” the organisation said, based on the report.
“The exemption could be applied economy-wide or, alternatively, it could be targeted at specific sectors e.g. health and aged care, tourism, agriculture and hospitality, and geographic areas e.g. regional Australia where demand is high, and labour supply is low,” it added.
The organisation has long advocated for the reemployment of seniors in the workforce to help the aged pensioners adapt to the cost of living and, at the same time, address the nation’s labour force shortage.
“A parliamentary inquiry examining the increase in the pensioner workforce is also set to deliver a report next month,” nine.com.au said.
