Challenging how we think about ageing

At a glance 

• 90+ people participated in ageism awareness workshops across the Murrumbidgee 

• 5 communities hosted sessions – Harden, Wagga Wagga, Temora, Griffith and Deniliquin 

• The workshops were delivered in partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission, helping people recognise and challenge ageism in healthcare and everyday life 

Ageism can be easy to overlook. It can appear in the language people use, assumptions about what an older person can do, or decisions made about their healthcare without genuinely hearing their voice. 

During 2025-2026, Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) partnered with the Australian Human Rights Commission to bring a series of ageism awareness workshops to communities across the Murrumbidgee. 

For MPHN Acting Senior Lead Priority Populations Shelley Gledhill, ageism is an issue she has seen repeatedly through the organisation’s work in aged care. 

“As soon as people go into aged care particularly, they become forgotten. Your voice doesn’t go on with you, no matter your complaints or concerns or the life that you live. We wanted to address that.”  

Rather than limiting the conversation to health professionals, MPHN used its community relationships to take the workshops directly into local settings – from a community gym in Harden and fire station in Griffith to residential aged care facilities and Temora Town Hall.  

Led by Dr Emily Steel from the Australian Human Rights Commission, the sessions encouraged health professionals, aged care workers and community members to recognise stereotypes and unconscious assumptions, rethink the language they use and consider how older adults can be better included in decisions affecting them. Participants reported leaving better equipped to communicate respectfully and challenge ageism in their workplaces and communities.  

Shelley said the response demonstrated the appetite for these conversations. A Temora workshop that initially had so few registrations MPHN questioned whether it would proceed ultimately attracted 15 participants after people attending the Wagga Wagga session spread the word.  

Murrumbidgee Aged Care Consortium Chair Maree Bernoth believes tackling ageism matters because its effects extend well beyond overt discrimination. 

“Ageism is pervasive in our community and yet we need to be respectful of everyone. That respect must be afforded to older adults – consider what they’ve contributed over the years, the difference that they’ve made in their communities. It’s good to see MPHN raising awareness. But the work doesn’t end with a workshop. It’s got to be ongoing until respect is afforded to everyone regardless of age.”