Summary

This 4th edition of Older Australia at a glance describes the characteristics and circumstances of Australia’s 2.7
million older Australians using key statistics in relation to 45 topics or areas of interest. This edition differs from previous ones (AIHW 1997; AIHW: Gibson et al. 1999; AIHW 2002b) in several ways. Firstly, this version looks to future generations of older people, by including information on those now aged 50 to 64 years, providing potential insights into how future cohorts of older people may be similar or different from current cohorts.

Secondly, this edition reflects the more sophisticated approaches which are increasingly evident in both policy and research directed at understanding personal and population ageing, by incorporating a broader range of topics on transport use; use of technology; intergenerational transfers within families; vision problems; oral health; dental services; and Extended Aged Care at Home. In keeping with this more comprehensive approach, other pre-existing topics have been expanded to include new material on social and community participation; superannuation; wealth and expenditure; and each of the National Health Priority Areas.