Job Services Australia is the Australian Government's national employment service, which offers you support and training suited to your individual needs.
If you are 50 years and over and looking for work, you can register to receive help from Job Services Australia. Your Job Services Australia provider will work with you to develop your own combination of job search, training and other assistance to address any barriers to employment and to help you get and keep a job.
Through Job Services Australia, you can:
- receive assistance that is tailored to your individual circumstances
- access a broad range of training and other support to help you become work ready or to address personal circumstances that might prevent you from getting and keeping a job
- train or re-skill in areas where skills are in demand through the Productivity Places Program
- participate in a broader range of work experience, including community-based Work for the Dole or Green Corps activities, through employment in a social enterprise, or voluntary work
- receive a more holistic service, with providers working with other community services in your local area.
Your local Job Services Australia provider will have access to the Employment Pathway Fund which may be used to purchase a broad range of assistance to help you get the right training and other support to help you find and keep a job.
Support to help you start your own business
Starting a new business is another employment option available to you as a mature age job seeker. If you are considering setting up your own business, you may be eligible for the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS), depending on your personal circumstances.
Other initiatives to help mature age job seekers
Experience+ is a website supporting mature age employment and contains information for employers, mature age job seekers and mature age workers.
Experience+
Experience+ is a new suite of initiatives designed to help mature age job seekers and workers.
Career advice—Free, professional career advice and a résumé appraisal service for job seekers and workers aged 45 years and over.
On-the job support—Face-to-face support and training for mature age people aged 55 years and over who are at risk of losing their job due to their health condition, injury or disability.
Job transition support—Help for mature age workers aged 55 years and over who have physically demanding jobs in the manufacturing or construction industries (and in Priority Employment Areas) to find alternative employment that is less physically demanding.
Experience+ training—Funding grants to help employers provide training to their mature age workers (aged 55 years and over) to allow the worker to provide additional support to an apprentice or trainee.
Consultative Forum on Mature Age Participation
The Consultative Forum on Mature Age Participation will provide Government with advice on practical solutions to address the barriers to employment for mature age people.
The Forum will consider issues including:
- community and employer attitudes towards mature age people
- age discrimination
- re-skilling
- career transitions
- suitability of training
- mentoring
- retaining the expertise of older workers.
Golden Gurus
Golden Gurus provides mature age Australians (aged 50 years and over) with a range of opportunities to support community organisations and small businesses.
There are opportunities for mature age people to take on a skilled volunteering role. This role could involve helping a community organisation to grow or helping a community organisation deliver support to others (for example, by transferring skills and experience to people with disability, young people, Indigenous Australians or people experiencing challenges in life).
There are also opportunities for appropriately skilled mature age people to take on a small business mentoring role. This role could include supporting a new small business owner who has completed the Government’s New Enterprise Incentive Scheme. The Scheme helps unemployed people to set up their own small business.
If you’re interested in becoming a Golden Guru you can find an organisation that delivers the Golden Gurus program in your state or territory.
Child Care Benefit work, training and study test
If you are a grandparent who has the primary responsibility for raising and caring for a grandchild you may be entitled to additional assistance with the costs of approved child care.
The Child Care Benefit (CCB) work, training and study test is waived for eligible grandparents who have the primary care of their grandchildren. This enables grandparent carers to access up to 50 hours of CCB for each child in approved care each week. Previously, grandparent carers could only receive CCB for up to 20 hours per week if they were not working, training or studying.
More information on family assistance
- Call the Family Assistance Office on 13 61 50 between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm (EST) Monday to Friday.
- Visit the Family Assist website
- Visit the nearest Family Assistance Office located in all Centrelink Customer Service Centres, Medicare Australia offices and Tax Office shopfronts.