Every age needs purpose, inclusion and respect – WA’s Juniper publishes white paper showing rising ageism and the need for a collective response

While aged care provider Juniper released their white paper, The Voice of Older Western Australians 2025, at the conclusion of WA’s seniors Week, shedding a light on how Australia’s seniors are fairing is an imperative temperature check for the sector at large at any time. To that fact, the independent white paper reveals nearly three in four Western Australians have recently experienced age-based discrimination, sadly a sizable increase from last year’s findings. 

Juniper partnered with CoreData WA to undertake the study, with the report highlighting the pervasive challenge of ageism, as well as the profound resilience and joy of seniors across the WA state. The step, of all cross-sections of the sector acknowledging the challenge of ageism, is critical but as well, the need to pivot to a long-true reality. Knowing older people across Australia have much to contribute from decades of lived life and skills honed is key to mitigating ageism. To answer the call of seniors for respect and inclusion is not just a moral imperative but a strategic shift to managing and improving many challenges in Australia today.

Challenge and resilience

The second annual report from Juniper delves into the experiences, attitudes and wellbeing of WA’s seniors 70 and over. A snapshot of the findings depict a picture of many hues, many seniors are happier and able to be more engaged in activities of value, however, ageism and access to services remain high hurdles to wellbeing.

Rise in age-based discrimination

72%, or close to 3 in four seniors, of the WA seniors sampled in the report conveyed they had experienced age-based discrimination in the past year. This is a sharp rise from 66% the year prior.

Diving into the specifics of discrimination, the report indicates being addressed in a patronising or dismissive manner has increased substantially. From 29% in 2024, to 40% in 2025, women were found to be twice as likely as men to experience this shade of discrimination, 51% to 28% respectively.

A respondent in the report shares, “as a professional with a long career, to be suddenly treated as someone who doesn’t know anything is galling to say the least. It makes me feel worthless, like I have nothing to offer.”

Russell Bricknell, Juniper’s CEO, assesses that the findings are deeply concerning. “Older people tell us they often feel invisible, undervalued or spoken down to and that takes a real toll on their wellbeing.”

“Every Australian deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, no matter their age. This applies not just during WA Seniors Week but all year round.”

Juniper’s leadership has long indicated that data led reform is valuable and possible. The 2025 white paper is now able to second the findings of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2024 report, Shaping Perceptions, which indicated that ageism pervasively remains the highest accepted form of prejudice across the nation. The problem is evidenced and change paramount.

Happiness and perseverance

The report showcased an encouraging trend amid the challenges, the Happiness of Older Western Australians Index, a measurement of engagement in core activities linked to wellbeing, showed an aggregate rise in happiness, particularly among women.

Many in the study indicated they had elevated states of happiness due to being able to spend quality time with friends and actively pursuing regular exercise.

Bricknell notes, “Older Western Australians continue to show remarkable resilience. It’s clear that connection, community and purpose are vital ingredients for happiness, but these are undermined when people face barriers to inclusion or respect.”

A persistent problem – access to aged care

The report importantly directly tackles a looming problem for seniors across the nation, accessing aged care services. The complexity of schemes, programs and the navigation required to even understand the basic mechanics has some seniors, advocates and some provider CEOs wondering if PHDs are required to be able to access basic senior services.

Charles Moore of BaptistCare has publicly commented on this growing problem, noting that for his parents, the complexity of trying to navigate aged care services has resulted in persistent confusion and distress. He has commented that even with an aged care CEO in the family, his parents are struggling to wade through the mire of legalese and digital hurdles.

Clearly evident from respondents in this year’s Juniper report is widespread confusion over how to access aged care services. Many shared that they were frustrated by the lack of clear, face-to-face advice on offer. The stress from the opaque and sometimes contradictory information has already been widely expressed by seniors and advocates alike.

Juniper’s white paper is able to yet further contribute data from Australia’s seniors, the confusion over trying to access what should seemingly be straightforward life-affirming services has resulted in unnecessary heightened levels of stress, reduced wellbeing, and elevated levels of strain on families and the health system.

Bricknell notes the brokenness of the system and the benefits to its reform, “finding and understanding aged care shouldn’t be this hard. Improving communication and accessibility could dramatically improve health outcomes and quality of life for older Western Australians.”

Reform is possible and should be now

The substance of contribution The Voice of Older Western Australians 2025 provides does not reside only in its data-driven findings but in the platform of change it invites all stakeholders of the sector to participate in.

Juniper invites the sector, provider leadership, executives, clinical leaders, front-line staff, seniors, loved-ones and volunteers, to name but a few, to collectively opt in to action change to tackle ageism and strengthen support for older people.

“With Australia’s ageing population growing rapidly, now is the time for action,” Mr Bricknell advocates.

“Ageism hurts everyone — individuals, families, and our broader society. We’re calling on all Australians to challenge age discrimination wherever they see it.”

Data led change – an opportunity for all providers

The Voice of Older Western Australians is Juniper’s flagship research project, now in its second annual edition. Created to facilitate the amplification of voices of seniors and to clarify the elements shaping their wellbeing, resilience and happiness, it is also an invitation for providers across the country to invest in data-backed insights and reform.

Juniper is clear, the 2025 White paper is not just to provide evidence-backed insights into the complexities of ageing in Australia, for those at its heart, but be a vehicle for encouraging and implementing change. 

The White paper was created so that policymakers, service providers, and wider communities and society at large, may be able to respond to shape a more inclusive future for seniors. 

Importantly, this inclusivity must not and should not be seen to only benefit seniors. A multi-generational society, where lessons, wisdom, experience and relationships are intertwined and shared across the decades, means a strength of nation that is robust, varied and shared.