Trish’s story

Trish talks about age discrimination in the workplace. We explain how the Equal Opportunity Act relates to her situation, and how the Commission can help people who have a similar experience.

A grey haired older lady smiles at the camera — Photo by Ravi Patel on Unsplash

"I couldn’t believe he said it; it made me feel so uncomfortable, like he was mocking my age. It also made me feel like the work I did and the contribution I made to our office wasn’t valued at all."

“I’ve been an accountant for my whole working life, and I’ve been at my current firm for years. I’d always thought my experience was one of my assets – until my manager told me one day that he wished I’d ‘hurry up and retire’ because I was too old and there were too many women in the office. I couldn’t believe he said it; it made me feel so uncomfortable, like he was mocking my age. It also made me feel like the work I did and the contribution I made to our office wasn’t valued at all.

I told one of my colleagues and she said it sounded like age discrimination. She suggested I contact the Commission – they organised a meeting with my manager and, after I explained how it made me feel, he agreed to pay me some financial compensation.”

The incidents portrayed in this story are inspired by real complaints received by the Commission, but all names and other identifying details have been changed.

How does the law apply to Trish’s situation?

In Victoria, it’s against the law for you to be discriminated against or bullied because of your age, including when you are at work. Age discrimination can happens to people of all ages, whether you are young or old.

The Equal Opportunity Act applies to employers of all sizes and covers all types of workers, including full-time, part-time and casual employees, agents and contract workers, and trainees and apprentices. Age discrimination is against the law in all stages of employment, including recruitment, returning to work after injury or illness, dismissal and retrenchment.

You can make a complaint

Get help from us.

You can make a complaint to us if you think you have experienced:

If you wish, someone else can make a complaint for you. Find out how we help people resolve complaints.

We can also give you information about your rights.

More information

Find out more about age discrimination
Find out more about discrimination in the workplace

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