Melbourne to Host World Conference on Ageing

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PDF printable version of Melbourne to host world conference on ageing (PDF 18 KB)

29 May 2008

Melbourne has secured the right to host an international conference on ageing in 2010 – one of the largest international gatherings of world experts in the field, Australian Federal Minister for Ageing, Mrs Justine Elliot announced today.

It is expected to attract more than 2,000 delegates and will inject more than $8 million in to the economy.

The 10th International Federation on Ageing (IFA) Global Conference on Ageing will be held in Australia as a result of a successful bid by the Victorian Council on the Ageing.

Experts on ageing from around the world will converge on Melbourne in 2010 to discuss ageing populations and new ways to improve the quality of life of older people.

Mrs Elliot congratulated COTA Victoria, and its national body COTA Over 50s, for bringing the conference to Australia.

“This conference will bring together government and non-government organisations, and people from around the globe to share ideas and best practices to improve support for older people,” Mrs Elliot said.

Mrs Elliot said the conference was an example of the important work that COTA Over 50s and its member groups were doing in promoting research and awareness on ageing issues.

This year’s international conference will be held in Montreal, Canada from September 4 to 7. Previous conferences have been held in Denmark, Israel and Singapore.

This year’s conference will look at the importance of designing environments that promote the participation, health and security of the world’s older population.

This is the second time Australia will host the Conference – with Western Australia successfully hosting the event in 2002.

Ageing in Australia

Australia’s population is getting older. Around 13 per cent of our population (some 2.8 million people) is aged 65 years or older. This is expected to rise to 18 per cent by 2021 and to 26 per cent (around 7 million people) in 2051. The number of people aged over 80 years will almost double over the next 20 years.

Australia is experiencing a new demographic phenomenon with citizens now enjoying the fourth longest life expectancy in the world – and a major shift in the number of people living to be more than 100. Currently, there are 2,860 Australians over the age of 100 and that is expected to increase to 78,000 by 2055.

For more information, contact Mrs Elliot's office on (02) 6277 7280