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Full Federal Court to hear call for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to access age pension
The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and the Human Rights Law Centre are challenging Centrelink to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to access the age pension earlier. The case is heading towards the Full Federal Court for late 2022.
Simon Levett
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men have an average life expectancy 8.6 years lower than non-Indigenous men, with women’s lives on average 7.8 years shorter than non-Indigenous women. The age pension does not account for these differences.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience adverse health outcomes as a result of discrimination and colonisation, which leads to social, economic and health inequalities.
Ms Nerita Waight, CEO at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, stated that “our people have shorter lives because the government has failed to provide the support services needed to close the gap. This means our people are much more likely to not reach the pension age and if they do reach it, enjoy it for less years than the rest of the population.”
She continued, “bringing fairness to the age pension would have a big impact for our people and would have just a small impact on the government – we hope they do the right thing”.
Mr Nick Espie, Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said that “we should all look forward to a future in which we can age and retire with dignity. But because of the gap in life expectancy, our people are being denied equal access to this opportunity. “
Mr Espie recalled, “it is a national shame that our people are still dying too young. I’ve been to far too many funerals for family that we have lost far too soon. While the Closing the Gap agreement provides hope, change takes time and it is clear that equality in life expectancy is still a way off. People who are at the end of their working lives don’t have time to wait another decade – they need proper support now. There is now an opportunity for the Albanese government to fix this inequity as a matter of priority.”
He remarked that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women “have lived in the shadow of the Stolen Generations, experienced stolen wages, and have been excluded from full participation in society in our own country. This case is a chance to address the long-term hardship and disadvantage that comes from years of policies and laws that have worked against us instead of for us.”
Mr Espie continued “until we have equality in life expectancy, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be able to access the pension earlier. This is just one way the Australian government can recognise the health impacts of generations of systemic discrimination and be accountable for the lack of progress towards closing the gap.”
He highlighted that “the Productivity Commission last year confirmed that the target of equal life expectancy is not on track to be met by 2031. The gap in life expectancy can only be closed if the federal government honours its commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, including to partner and share decision-making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This case aims to support the vital work of the Coalition of Peaks by holding the federal government accountable for these commitments and encouraging the government to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to implement self-determined solutions to close the gap.”
Mr Espie concluded that “as well as rectifying the existing inequality of access to the pension, lowering the pension age would in itself support a number of closing the gap targets by helping to improve the economic participation, financial security and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who can no longer work.”
ACOSS confirmed that the extension of the age pension would mostly “help many First Nations people who currently end up on JobSeeker Payment, which is much lower than the age pension”.
