The BCA has lodged a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission Inquiry into Commonwealth legal barriers to employing older workers. The BCA submission’s key points are:

• the BCA strongly supports initiatives that encourage the full economic and social participation of all Australians, particularly older workers
• age-based discrimination should be addressed by educating employers about the benefits of older workers
• proposals to regulate private recruitment agencies unnecessarily duplicate existing protections under the Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth)
• proposals to expand the basis on which all employees are now able to request flexible working arrangements to include age under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) may only tip the balance of choice even more firmly in favour of younger workers.

Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission Inquiry into Commonwealth Legal Barriers to Employing Older Workers