The Key Forces Reshaping Australia's Economy

Clubs Australia provided feedback to the Employment White Paper last year, with key recommendations focusing on increasing labour productivity growth outcomes, the workplace relations system, labour force participation, labour supply, and improving employment opportunities.

The Paper highlights the key forces which are reshaping Australia’s economy and changing the way Australians live and work. These forces include an ageing population, rising demand for care and support services, technological and digital transformation, climate change and the clean energy transformation, and geopolitical risk and fragmentation.

Based on these forces, the Government has outlined five key objectives in designing a labour market for the future and outlined 10 areas that will inform policy priorities, including for the 2024-25 Budget. These policy areas include strengthening economic foundations, improving education systems, reforming the migration system, reducing barriers to work, and investing in skills, tertiary education, and lifelong learning.

Whilst the Paper includes numerous measures, two of the key areas of interest for clubs are explained in more detail below.

Older Australians

A focus of the White Paper is to get more older Australians back into the workforce given the ageing population in Australia. As of 30 June 2020, 16 per cent of the Australian population (4.2 million people) were aged 65 years and over, which is estimated to increase to 23.1 per cent by 2066 according to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

The Government has announced that the work bonus will be permanently retained (subject to the legislation passing Parliament), which allows pensioners to retain more of their pension while employed. From 1 January 2024, a pensioner will be able to earn $11,800 annually before their person becomes impacted. Clubs Australia advocated for the permanent retention of the workforce bonus and will continue to push for additional incentives to promote older Australians participating in the workforce.

National Skills Passport

The Government has also announced funding to be used for the development of a business case for a National Skills Passport. The National Skills Passport would support employees promote their qualifications and assist employers in finding more skilled workers.  

ClubsNSW, through Clubs Australia, will continue to work with the Government on these issues.  

The full Paper can be found here.