Jobmaker: discrimination law exemptions could protect employers who turn away older applicants

Companies that cut hours of older workers to hire younger staff could be in breach of scheme's rules, Treasury says

Employers who tell older workers not to apply for jobs they intend to create with jobmaker wage subsidies for young employees may be protected from discrimination law, according to the Treasury.

Officials told a Senate inquiry into the jobmaker hiring credits bill on Monday that exemptions in the Age Discrimination Act could protect employers in such cases, a position supported by the Australian Human Rights Commission, although both said employers needed to seek their own legal advice.