COTA Queensland consultation open
Healthy Ageing Queensland - 2022 - 2023 Budget submission Hub opened for consultation 24 January 2022.
Healthy Ageing Queensland - 2022 - 2023 Budget
Overview of submission
COTA Queensland's 2022/2023 State Budget priorities
COTA QLD's 2022/2023 State Budget recommendations published
Category :
Project update
Created On :
08 April 2022
COTA Queensland consultation for Budget submission now closed
COTA Queensland's consultation for the Budget submission has now closed.
Category :
Project update
Created On :
04 March 2022
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COTA Queensland consultation close
COTA Queensland consultation closed 28 February 2022.
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COTA Queensland Budget submission published
COTA Queensland's 2022 - 2023 Budget submission will be published online by 31 March 2022.
Submit your idea via email to policy@cotaqld.org.au or via the confidential online form on this page
The 2022/23 State Budget submission details the key initiatives and recommendations that COTA Queensland believes that the Queensland Government should introduce to help address the existing barriers to achieve a supportive environment for a Healthy Ageing Queensland.
To be responsive to the growing older Queensland population, our government needs to develop more inclusive and responsive policies that address growing inequalities and contribute to the wellbeing of older Queenslanders. All older Queenslanders, whatever their age, circumstances, or where they live, have a right to access the infrastructure, services, and supports that allow them to thrive and age healthily. This includes opportunities to participate in employment, volunteering, and civic leadership, access to health and social support services, appropriate and affordable housing and transport, and to live our lives without discrimination and prejudice because of age
COTA Queensland strongly supports ongoing action towards achieving an Active and Healthy Ageing Queensland underpinned by a revised Age-friendly Queensland Strategy and Action Plan.
Contribution of older Queenlanders
Older Queenslanders make up a large and growing proportion of the Queensland population. This was 15.4% of people in Queensland in 2018 which is the same as the rest of Australia. It is now estimated that in 2021 there are 857,097 people aged 65 and over. By 2041, more than one in five Queenslanders will be over 65 or an estimated 1,504,173.[1]
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear how significant the under-recognised role of older people is to the functioning of the economy and our communities. We have seen services and organisations that rely on volunteers, many of whom are older people, having to find new ways to work or to ‘wait out’ the pandemic. Parents scrambled to balance work and family demands as they were suddenly without the support of grandparent care. Many older people, among others staying in, looked for new ways to continue to contribute from home.
Some older adults spend the equivalent of a standard work week or more providing an unpaid contribution to the community; for those providing care for a spouse or family member, this number is significantly greater[2]. Many are still employed across a wide range of professions and occupations. In 2018, 13 per cent of Queenslanders over the age of 65 were in the paid workforce.[3] Through these paid and unpaid roles, as a financial and moral supporter of children and family and as consumers of goods and services, older Queenslanders also make a major financial contribution to the economy. Queenslanders’ wellbeing, participation, and continued contribution needs to be supported by age-friendly policies, services, and infrastructure.
[1] Queensland Government Statistician's Office, 2019.Projected population, by five-year age group and sex, Queensland 2016 to 2066.Population projections: State | Queensland Government Statistician's Office (qgso.qld.gov.au)
[2] Newgate Research. (2021). State of the (Older) Nation: A Nationally Representative Survey Prepared for the COTA Federation (Councils on the Ageing). Newgate Research. https://www.cota.org.au/policy/state-of-the-older-nation/
[3] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018) Older Australia at a Glance. AIHW. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/older-people/older-australia-at-a-glance