AUSTRALIA | Parliamentary friends of seniors and ageing have presented the State of the Older Nation 2025, SOTON25, report at Parliament House.
On Wednesday 4 February at 6pm at Parliament House, Canberra, Co-Chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Seniors and Ageing, Rebekha Sharkie MP, Dr Mike Freelander MP and Senator the Hon. Richard Colbeck, welcomed everyone to the Parliamentary Friends Group launch and introduced the State of the Older Nation 2025 report, direct from The Hon. Christopher Pyne’s address on the SOTON25 report at the National Press Club earlier in the day.
COTA Australia’s State of the Older Nation 2025 report (SOTON25) was presented at the launch and was introduced by CEO of COTA Australia, Patricia Sparrow. COTA Australia’s Independent Chair, the Hon Christoher Pyne addressed the report with the audience and Minister Sam Rae, Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, also attended and spoke about the age care reforms.
The evening was well attended and a series of videos, prepared for COTA Australia by SEC Newgate will be available on the SOTON25 website page shortly. The videos are authentic interviews of older Australian’s views and lived experiences of ageing, ageism and societal pressures and opinions.
The launch of the SOTON25 report is a nationally reresentative survey of older Australians prepared by SEC Newgate for COTA Australia and is the fourth in the SOTON series.
The overall story revealed in this wave’s survey results is more positive than the past two waves of the State of the Older Nation, noting that the 2021 wave was conducted during the height of the COVID pandemic and the late 2022-early 2023 wave when Australians were still experiencing the effects of the pandemic.
However, while there are signs of optimism, the survey findings also show that not all older Australians share this positive experience and outlook. Issues including pervasive ageism, financial insecurity and poverty, low confidence in using technology, and difficulty accessing essential services undermine quality of life for many older Australians.
The report reinforces the need for government, employers and service providers to recognise and value the individual circumstances, needs and interests of all older Australians.
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