Policy Dialogue on Migration and Ageing in a Multicultural Australia

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Program and recordings

View the recordings in the video playlist here.

TIME (AEST)	PROGRAM
8:30 – 9:30	Arrival and Registration
9:30 – 9:45	WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS Janine O’Flynn, Director, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU John Piggott, Director, CEPAR, UNSW Sydney
9:45 – 11:00	SESSION 1: How Migration is Set to Change Older Age Groups Chair: Meimanat Hosseini-Chavoshi, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, CEPAR View the recording:
9:45-10:00	Migration and Ageing: How Cultural and Linguistic Diversity is Set to Boom among Older Australians Rafal Chomik, UNSW Sydney, CEPAR
10:00-10:20	Understanding Australian International Migration Peter McDonald, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, CEPAR
10:20-10:40	Compositional Aspects of Australia’s Older Population: Projections to Mid-Century Jeromey Temple, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, CEPAR
10:40-11:00	Combined Q&A session
11:00 -11:30	Morning Tea
11:30 – 12:50	SESSION 2: Health of Ageing Migrants and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities Chair: Fatima Jamal Khan, Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University View the recording:
11:30-11:50	Healthcare Engagement among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities Reema Harrison, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Macquarie University
11:50-12:10	Health Outcomes in Australia’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Population Fiona Stanaway, The University of Sydney, CEPAR
12:10-12:30	Perspectives by commentators: Julie Byles, University of Newcastle, CEPAR Bianca Brijnath, National Ageing Research Institute
12:30-12:50	Combined Q&A session
12:50 – 13:50	Lunch
13:50 – 15:10	SESSION 3: Migrants, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities and Caregiving Chair: Marian Baird, CEPAR Chief Investigator, The University of Sydney View the recording:
13:50-14:10	Ageing Migrants in Australia: The 'Default' Care Economy Myra Hamilton, The University of Sydney
14:10-14:30	Cultural and Lingusitic Diversity Navigation of Aged Care Lee-Fay Low, The University of Sydney
14:30-14:50	Perspectives by commentators: Michael Lye, Department of Health and Aged Care Mary Ann Baquero Geronimo, Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils’ Australia (FECCA)
14:50-15:10	Combined Q&A session
15:10 – 15:40	Afternoon Tea
15:40 – 17:00	PANEL SESSION: Policy, Practice and Research – Challenges and Responses for Implementation Chair: Warwick McKibbin, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA), ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, CEPAR View the recording:
	Panellists include: Marian Baird, The University of Sydney, CEPAR Bei Lu, UNSW Sydney, CEPAR Ian Yates, Office of the Inspector General of Aged Care
17:00	CLOSING REMARKS Warwick McKibbin, CAMA, ANU, CEPAR

Abstracts and speaker bios

Migration and Ageing: How Cultural and Linguistic Diversity is Set to Boom among Older Australians

Rafal Chomik, UNSW Sydney, CEPAR

Abstract: Over the last decade, the average Australian has become one year older and three percentage points more likely to have been born overseas. This trend is now feeding into the older population: Among Australians aged 65+, non-European and non-English-speaking backgrounds are set to boom. By mid-century, there will be five to six times as many older Australians from Asia as there are now and they will make up a fifth of the older population. Although these ageing migrants will speak better English than past cohorts, they may risk other socioeconomic, health, and care vulnerabilities. This brief contributes to what we know about the intersection between ageing, migration, and Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (CALD). It looks to the future but also assesses the current socioeconomic, psychosocial, health, and care outcomes by age and time and several diversity categories. It also calls for more refined evidence and for better data classification and collection.

Bio: Rafal Chomik is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR). He is an economist with experience in business consulting, public administration, and international organisation technical assistance. He specialises in population ageing, social policy design, and poverty analysis. At CEPAR he leads the Centre’s research translation effort.

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Understanding Australian International Migration

Peter McDonald, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, CEPAR

Bio:  Peter McDonald is Emeritus Professor of Demography in the School of Demography, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University. He was President of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) for the years, 2010-2013. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. He is frequently consulted on the issue of population futures (causes, consequences, and policies) by governments around the world, especially in Australia, Europe, and East Asia. In 2008, he was appointed as a Member in the Order of Australia (AM) and, in 2024, he was promoted to an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO). In 2015, he received the Irene B. Taueber Award, the major award of the Population Association of America. In 2022, he received the Laureate award of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, the most prestigious international award in the field of demography. He is a Chief Investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research as Honorary Professor of Demography in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne.

Compositional Aspects of Australia’s Older Population: Projections to Mid-Century

Jeromey Temple, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, CEPAR

Abstract: Understanding heterogeneity in trajectories of ageing is critical to design, plan, and deliver appropriate care, health, and social support services. In Australia, a considerable evidence base has emerged on migrant ageing to support such planning, with a focus on ageing of people from a CALD background. In contrast, little research has considered migrant population ageing. In this presentation, I provide an overview of recent projections of the older Australian population with respect to birthplace, English language proficiency and religious affiliation to mid-century.

Bio: Jeromey Temple is Professor of Economic Demography at the University of Melbourne node of the ARC Centre for Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR). His research is mainly at the intersection of demography, economics, and public policy – and explores their relationship to ageing at both the individual and population level. Temple’s research is supported by a number of ARC and NHMRC grants which are all focused upon improving the Australian society and economies adaptation to population ageing. Jeromey holds a BA in Population Studies (first class hons), a B.Com and PhD in Demography, all from the Australia National University (ANU).

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Healthcare Engagement among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities

Reema Harrison, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Macquarie University

Abstract: Inequities in access to health care are commonly experiences by people from CALD backgrounds, often as a result of system and service-level barriers to healthcare engagement. This presentation will explore evidence of the current barriers experienced in the Australian healthcare system, and the opportunities to health system improvement to address inequities.

Bio: Professor Reema Harrison (BSc hons Psychology; MSc Health Psychology; PhD in Psychology of Patient Safety) is a mixed-methods researcher with a strong track record of translational health systems and services research. Professor Harrison leads a program of research investigating how increasing stakeholder engagement can contribute to improved healthcare quality, experiences, and outcomes. Her work has sought to generate, investigate, and evaluate models of care through a lens of diversity, specifically in relation to culturally and linguistically diverse communities and people with intellectual disabilities. With a background in Psychology, Professor Harrison has devised and validated tools to evaluate patient and clinician experiences of care in a range of contexts. She has also published on the use and quality of peer support, mentorship, and co-design approaches for creating change to enhance healthcare experiences and outcomes. 

Health Outcomes in Australia’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Population

Fiona Stanaway, The University of Sydney, CEPAR

Abstract: The diversity of the Australian population is routinely acknowledged but there is frequently limited attention paid to the diversity within this diversity. In this session I will discuss the importance of going beyond country of birth when examining the health of Australia’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse population and also provide some specific examples where health inequalities can be missed by focusing only on country of birth. I will also discuss the importance of granularity of data, again with some specific examples of how lack of granularity and combining certain groups together can hide important inequalities in health.

Bio: Fiona Stanaway is a clinical epidemiologist who is passionate about the better use of data to identify health inequalities in Australia’s ethnically diverse population. Her current research involves a data linkage project that is linking the 2016 Census to New South Wales hospital data to examine ethnic inequalities in cardiovascular disease. As part of this project, the team is looking at ways to use the Ancestry data collected in the Census to group Australia’s population by ethnicity.

Perspectives by commentator(s):

Bio: Professor Julie Byles AO BMed PhD FAAHMS, is Global Innovation Chair in Responsive Transitions in Health and Ageing at the University of Newcastle. As a clinical epidemiologist, Professor Byles interests are in risk determination, health assessment, other health care evaluation, and measurement of health outcomes. As a Gerontologist and Fellow of the Australian Association of Gerontology, Professor Byles’ research interests in ageing include the role of health services, preventive activities, and treatments in maintaining quality of life for older people, and in determining physical, psychological, and social factors associated with optimal physical and mental health of men and women as they age. Her work has included health assessment, medications used by older people, sleep disturbance, health effects of alcohol, nutrition screening and interventions, health and retirement, and prevention of falls in residential care. Professor Byles is Head, International Longevity Centre-Australia and Co-President, International Longevity Centre - Global Alliance.

Bio: Professor Bianca Brijnath is the Divisional Director of Social Gerontology at the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI). Her disciplinary training is in medical anthropology and public health and her research expertise is in cultural diversity, dementia, and mental health. Within these disciplinary and contextual boundaries, she has undertaken several studies on dementia prevention, awareness, diagnosis, and care, specific to culturally diverse communities in Australia and internationally. She has authored over 100 publications, including a sole-authored book with Berghahn Books titled “Unforgotten: Love and the culture of dementia care in India” and produced >30 multilingual films, comics and animations. In recognition of her research, she was inducted into the State Government of Victoria’s Multicultural Honour Roll in 2022.

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Ageing Migrants in Australia: The 'Default' Care Economy

Myra Hamilton, Associate Professor in Work and Organisational Studies, The University of Sydney

Abstract: This presentation will explore the intersection between ageing, migration and Australia's care economy by looking at two examples: (paid) migrant care workers working in aged care, and (unpaid) migrant grandparents caring for grandchildren. It will draw out implications for Australia's ageing agenda, care systems and migration system, and the interface between them.

Bio: Myra Hamilton is an Associate Professor and Australian Research Council Mid-Career Industry Fellow in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at The University of Sydney. From April 2020-April 2024, she was Principal Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), at the University of Sydney Business School. She is a sociologist and social policy researcher whose research focus is on gender, ageing and care. Myra’s research explores how policies and services can build wellbeing and financial security in work and in care over the life course. She is the author of over 70 scholarly publications in this field. Her work has an applied focus, with an emphasis on the ways policies and services support individuals and families, and she has close working relationships with the community sector including peak bodies in the areas of parents, carers, and seniors, she is Reviews Editor of the International Journal of Care and Caring and sits on the NSW Carers Advisory Council and the Board of COTA NSW. She makes regular contributions to public and media debate on issues such as grandparenting, retirement decisions, balancing work and care, the care workforce, and intergenerational relationships.

Cultural and Lingusitic Diversity Navigation of Aged Care

Lee-Fay Low, The University of Sydney

Abstract: People from Culturally and Lingusitically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds tend to use aged care at lower rates than people from non-CALD backgrounds. Barriers relate to the aged care system (e.g. low accessibility of information, lack of culturally tailored services, racism), the community (e.g. low knowledge and norms around use of aged care, limited community organization infrastructure, low availability of aged care workforce from that community, lower sociodemographic status), family (e.g. distrust of services, difficulty navigating the complex systems) and older person (e.g. reluctance to accept services, lack of insight). Specific barriers may apply more strongly for some CALD communities.

Bio: I believe that every person irrespective of age or cognitive status should be supported to live as high quality a life as possible. My main areas of research are in dementia and ageing, home and residential aged care particularly practice and culture change, rehabilitation for dementia, dementia literacy and stigma, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. I am particularly interested in developing and evaluating interventions and knowledge implementation strategies to improve the life experience of older people. I have expertise in epidemiology, systematic reviews, clustered randomised trials, and translation of research into practice.

Perspectives by commentators:

Bio: Michael Lye joined the Department in December 2019 as the Deputy Secretary responsible for Ageing and Aged Care and has led extensive reforms to the Commonwealth Aged Care Program. Michael is also the Senior Indigenous Champion for the Department. Prior to joining the Department, Michael was Deputy Secretary at the Department of Social Services, where his responsibilities included disability and carers policy and programs, the National Disability Strategy, the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Disability Employment Services. Michael has a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in psychology and law and industrial relations, and a Masters of Social Welfare Administration and Planning, both of which are from the University of Queensland.

Bio: As CEO of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils’ Australia (FECCA), Mary Ann Baquero Geronimo brings significant work experience in systems thinking and evidence-based policy advocacy that are rooted in people and communities in Australia and previously, in the East and Southeast Asian region. Prior to her appointment as CEO, she was the Director of Policy for Health and Ageing at FECCA and led a strong representation on access and equity for culturally and linguistically diverse communities in the pandemic response, primary healthcare, and reforms in the aged care sector. She developed and led the implementation of EnCOMPASS Multicultural Aged Care Connectors Program in 29 sites across the country assisting over 9,000 older persons and carers from multicultural communities for 18 months prior to inform the care finder program. An accomplished scholar, she has co-authored works on ethnography, ageing, and multicultural public health communications, notably a cross-country study on older women's financial security in Southeast Asia. Mary Ann's academic credentials were honed as a Lee Kuan Yew Scholar at the National University of Singapore, where she completed her master’s in public policy and administration.

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Panel session

Bio: Marian Baird AO is Professor of Gender and Employment Relations and Co-Director of the Sydney Employment Relations Research Group in the University of Sydney Business School. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia. Marian is a leading researcher in the fields of industrial relations, women, work, and care. Her research focuses on policy responses at all levels, including government, business, and unions. She has a long history of policy engagement on gender equitable organisational change, flexible work, women and leadership, paid family and domestic violence leave and reproductive support policies. Through her career as an engaged researcher, she has worked with federal and state government departments, organisations, unions, and not-for-profits to improve the position for women in the workforce and society. Marian has contributed to the development of government and company policies on maternity and parental leaves, flexibility, discrimination, and the ageing workforce. Her pathbreaking research on paid parental leave contributed to the introduction of Australia’s paid Parental Leave Scheme in 2010. In 2022–23, she advised the Australian Government on extensions and changes to the Scheme. Currently, she is a Chief Investigator on the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) and leader of the mature workers and care stream. Other current research projects include the female body@work project, women’s economic empowerment and workplace violence in female dominated sectors. Marian is an Expert Panel Member of the Fair Work Commission, appointed in March 2023. She is a member of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations’ Parent Advisory Group to improve the economic security of Australian parents, appointed in 2024.

Bio: Bei Lu is a CEPAR Senior Research Fellow located at the UNSW Business School and a Research Fellow with Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University, China. She is Director of Engagement for the CEPAR Ageing Asia Research Hub. Bei returned to academia in 2002 to undertake a PhD in Economics at UNSW after working as an international trader for 12 years. Her research focuses on demographics, health, pensions, and population ageing related social welfare and economic issues. Bei has been very successful in developing international linkages over the past ten years with organizations such as the provincial government of Zhejiang, China, the Asia Development Bank, the World Bank China as well as academic institutions. She also participated in a Chinese Key National Science Project from 2015-2019 and currently serves as a director for an aged care service provider in NSW Australia. She has presented her research at a number of international conferences including the Stanford-Harvard Population Ageing Conference and the London School of Economics Long-Term Care Conference. Her research has appeared in The Lancet Public Health, China Economic Review, International Social Security Review, the Journal of the Economics of Aging, Population Review, CESifo Economic Studies, the Journal of Family Issues and the Journal of Aging and Social Policy. She has also published in Chinese newspapers, journals, and books.

Bio: Ian Yates is the Acting Inspector-General of Aged Care in the Australian Government. He commenced as the Interim Inspector-General of Aged Care on 30 January 2023. He was appointed as the Acting from 16 October 2023. Prior to becoming Interim Inspector General Ian was Chief Executive of Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia, the national peak consumer body for older Australians, from October 2002 to December 2022, after being Chief Executive of COTA SA since 1989. He was also Chair of the Ageing and Aged Care Council of Elders, a member of the National Aged Care Advisory Council and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Advisory Council. and a member of the Aged Care Financing Authority. Ian also represented older Australians on other key federal government and sector advisory bodies including the Australian Tax Office Superannuation Industry Stewardship Group; the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Consumer Advisory Panel; the Advisory Board of the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR); and was a Director of Livable Housing Australia and the Aged Rights Advocacy Service.  He remains the Chair of the Management Committee of the Australasian Journal on Ageing. Ian held senior governance positions in hospital and essential services in South Australia throughout the 2000’s and served on the Flinders University Council for 20 years including seven years as Deputy Chancellor. Ian is Emeritus Deputy Chancellor of Flinders University and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University. He was awarded Membership in the Order of Australia (AM) in June 2005.

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