Mature-age employees

Last updated August 2025

Employing mature-age employees

Employees are staying in the workforce longer than ever before. This is due to many factors, including access to health care enabling people to be in physical working condition for longer, and longer life expectancies.

There are several benefits to recruiting and retaining mature-age employees, including the following:

• mature-age employees typically have a broad base of transferrable knowledge and skills that can help them to learn new ways of completing tasks;
• mature-age employees retain a wealth of knowledge that they can pass on to other employees – for this reason, they are often excellent workplace mentors and coaches;
• mature-age employees have higher retention rates than younger workers, with younger workers much more likely to change jobs, according to the Australian Bureau of Statics 2025 job mobility data; and
• by recruiting mature-age employees, you could have the additional benefit of eligibility for a government subsidy (see below).

Government incentives for recruiting mature-age employees

The Australian Government has two key programs to encourage employers to recruit mature-age employees:

• the Restart wage subsidy program (read more); and
• the Career Transition Assistance program (read more).

Federal and state governments are also considering ways to encourage businesses to retain mature-age employees for longer, by:

• encouraging later retirement;
• removing incentives for early retirement;
• providing training programs and additional support for mature-age employee; and
• prohibiting age-related discrimination.

Restart wage subsidy program

The Australian Government’s Restart wage subsidy program pays up to $10,000 to businesses that hire and retain employees over the age of 50.

Subsidy payments only apply to mature-age employees new to the business and are based on the employee’s length of service.

Employers that hire a mature-age employee on a full-time basis will receive the subsidy over a 6-monthly period. Employers can negotiate how often they get the subsidy.

If the employee only works part-time, you may be eligible for a pro rata subsidy based on the number of hours they work.

Career Transition Assistance program

The Career Transition Assistance program is designed to provide greater opportunities for people aged over 45 years to become more competitive in the local labour market. The program can assist mature-age employees through:

• skills assessments;
• exploration of suitable occupations;
• research of local labour markets; and
• tailoring job applications.

What are your obligations to mature-age employees?

You have several obligations to your mature-age employees. These are in relation to:

• health and safety (read more);
• discrimination (read more);
• flexible work arrangements (read more); and
• workers’ compensation (read more).

Health and safety

As an employer, you have a legal responsibility to protect the health and safety of your workers. It is therefore important to understand the demographics in your business, as well as the issues and challenges associated with an ageing workforce. That way, you can ensure you are taking all reasonably practicable steps to protect the health and safety of your workers.