Federal Election 2013

This page was part of our 2013 federal election campaign and has been retained for your information. It was last updated on 6 September 2013.

COTA Australia launched its 2013 Election Platform – A New Deal for Older Australians at the Press Club on Tuesday 13 August. To find out more about the press club event click here. To read a copy of Ian Yates address click here. COTA Australia’s election platform was entirely informed by older Australians. Some of their voices have been captured here.

COTA Australia is calling for a new deal for older Australians that ensures that older people are equal and full participants in Australia’s future and that allows them to enjoy their rights and responsibilities as citizens for their entire lifetime.

A new deal is essential not only for the welfare of older Australians. It is essential if Australia is to take advantage of the opportunities that our changing demographics offer our community

A new deal means:

• an end to ageism and age discrimination in all aspects of Australian society
• access to quality health services for all older Australians
• the participation of older Australians in the workforce as long as they want or need to
• access to quality aged care services when and where they are needed
• ensuring that older Australian can have a reasonable standard of living

Click here to download COTA Australia’s election platform to find out about the actions we are calling on the government to implement A new deal for older Australians. To see how the major parties rate in addressing these actions, Click Here to view our election scorecard.

COTA Australia’s A new deal for older Australians was entirely informed by older Australians. Ahead of this year’s election we recruited a panel of nearly 900 people over 50 years of age to identify the issues that were important to them for this election and into the future. The panel commented on a wide range of issues. It is their voices that informed our priorities and their voices that are heard throughout the document.

To find out more about the election panel, including top level survey results, click here