Australian Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2021–22 Older Australians and employment program Fostering implementation of key recommendations from the Commission’s 2016 Willing to Work Report and promoting the benefits of multigenerational workforces is a continued focus of Age Discrimination Commissioner the Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO this reporting period. Dr Patterson’s office provided valuable insights on mature age employment and ageing workforce to the project team at Australian National University on the ‘Working Well Working Wisely: How Do We Make Longer Working Lives Feasible and Fair?’. The project’s goal is to develop interventions that can capitalise on older Australians’ skills and expertise, boost their economic participation, while minimising later health and aged-care costs. Following joint reports released in 2014, Department of Employment and Workplace 2018 and 2021, the Commission has Relations once again partnered with the Australian Human Resources Institute on the next older worker survey. The periodic survey provides a snapshot of the current employment climate for older workers and tracks changes in employers’ perceptions about the ageing workforce. The report on the findings is expected in the first half of 2023. In this reporting period, Commissioner Patterson provided advice on the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations’ Mature Age Hub, an online resource for employers and older workers, and participated in research commissioned by the department, which explored employment barriers faced by older workers. She was also consulted by the Australian National University and Deloitte Access Economics on reports relating to Australia’s ageing workforce. Mental health impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on at-risk children and young people This project, led by the National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds explored children’s experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic on their mental health and wellbeing. It was conducted in collaboration with the National Mental Health Commission. Children as a group have been subject to multiple restrictions as a result of the pandemic – their ability to move around their communities, spend time with friends and extended family members, and their ability to attend school have all been constrained at different times since early 2020. They also experienced the 52