The Australian Law Reform Council (ALRC) has released an Issues Paper for its inquiry into the legal barriers to mature aged participation in the workforce.

 

The release of the paper comes after the ALRc has been asked to investigate a number of laws, including superannuation law, family assistance, child support and employment law.

 

“There is often a complex interaction between things that are ‘barriers’ to workforce participation and things that are ‘incentives’ to leave the workforce. Leaving the paid workforce may also mean people are able to make a valuable contribution in other productive work—like the hugely important role of volunteers in our community,” ALRC President Professor Rosalind Croucher said.

 

“The ALRC considers that six interlinking principles should guide reform in this area: participation; independence; self-agency; system stability; system coherence; and fairness. One key question we are asking in the Issues Paper is whether there are any other principles that should inform our deliberations. Other questions refer to changes that should be made to remove barriers in the various areas of law under review.”

 

The full issues paper can be found here