“Unretirement”: Why More Australians Are Going Back to Work After 60 — And How to Do It Right

Retirement used to arrive like a full stop. You worked, you finished, you got the gold watch, and that was that. But for a growing number of Australians in their 50s and 60s, the full stop has become a comma.

The numbers tell the story. Since 2001, the workforce participation rate for Australians over 65 has more than doubled from 6.1 per cent to around 15 per cent. A record 760,000 Australians over 65 are now working, the highest since records began in 1995 and up nearly 20 per cent since 2022. Twenty years ago, one in 10 men were still working at 70. Today it’s one in four.

This is the “unretirement” trend and it’s not a blip. KPMG’s analysis describes a structural shift in what retirement even means, driven by a growing cohort of “ageless workers” who simply aren’t ready to stop. Some are back for the money as the cost of a comfortable retirement climbs. Many more are back for the purpose, the routine and the social connection that work provides.

At OnTalent, we place experienced professionals into roles every week, and we see the same thing again and again – the candidates who thrive in their next chapter aren’t the ones with the flashiest CVs. They’re the ones who approach reinvention with a clear head and a bit of strategy. Here is what that looks like in practice.

1. Get honest about why you are doing this

Before you touch your CV, get clear on your motivation, because it shapes every decision that follows. Are you after income or intellectual stimulation? Full-time structure or a few flexible days? The reasons people re-enter work vary enormously, and there’s no wrong answer, but you can’t build a plan around a goal you haven’t named. Someone chasing supplementary income and social contact should be looking in a very different direction from someone who wants to keep leading at a senior level. Write it down. It becomes your anchor.

2. Reframe your experience as an asset, not a liability

The biggest mistake we see more mature candidates make is apologising for their age. Flip it. Decades of experience means judgement, composure under pressure, deep networks and the ability to mentor. Employers who hire mature workers consistently praise these qualities: patience, reliability and the calm that comes from having seen it all before. When Bunnings spoke publicly about hiring thousands of team members over 55, the managing director identified their patience, their depth of knowledge and the respect they command. That’s your pitch. Lead with it.

3. Modernise the packaging, not the person… unless you should

You don’t need to pretend to be 30. You do need your presentation to look current. That means a LinkedIn profile that actually exists and is up to date, a CV trimmed to the last 10-12 years of relevant experience rather than a 40-year archive, and comfort with the video-call and online-application processes that are now standard. This is packaging, not reinvention of self. A weekend of tidying up your digital presence removes the single most common reason older candidates get quietly screened out. If you need to freshen up your look, appearance, etc. – do it! Attitude is everything and this comes through in your online presence, when you walk in the door and with the first words you speak.

4. Target the sectors that actually want you

Reinvention is far easier when you swim with the current. Australia’s official Occupation Shortage List shows healthcare, aged care, education, skilled trades and specialist technology roles in persistent shortage, with 139 occupations short of workers every year since 2021. In sectors that are this stretched, employers cannot afford to be fussy about age, and mature candidates have unusual leverage. It might mean some reskilling or volunteer hours but the principle holds: point your energy where demand is deepest.

5. Be realistic about the re-entry timeline

Here is the hard truth we always share with candidates, because forewarned is forearmed: if you’ve been out of the workforce, getting back in can take time. Jobs and Skills Australia analysis found workers aged 55–64 who lose a job take around 20 months on average to find a new one, compared with about nine months for prime-age workers. That gap is real, and it’s frustrating, but it is not a verdict on your worth; it’s a reason to start planning well in advance and before you feel the absolute need to. Lean hard on your network, and treat the search itself as the job.

6. Consider the “semi” in semi-retirement

Reinvention doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. One of the most significant shifts in the data is the rise of the phased exit: the gap between leaving full-time work and leaving the workforce entirely now sits at roughly two to three years for most Australians. Working from home has made “dabbling” genuinely viable for professionals. Part-time consulting, contract work, board roles, seasonal work, or two days a week in a field you love are all legitimate destinations. You can design a role that fits the life you want, rather than bending your life around a role.

7. Get help and use your network

Finally, don’t do this alone. The candidates who move fastest are the ones who tap their networks early, talk openly about what they’re looking for, and get expert guidance on positioning. A former colleague, a specialist recruiter or an industry contact will almost always open a door faster than a cold online application. Your professional relationships are an asset you have spent decades building. Now is the time to draw on them.

Reinvention after 50 isn’t about proving you’ve still got it. You already have it. It’s about pointing decades of hard-won capability at something that fits who you are now and where you want to be.

The workforce has finally caught up to the idea that experience is valuable. The opportunity is real, and it’s yours to shape.

About Deborah Wilson

Deborah Wilson has spent four decades in recruitment and leadership advisory, beginning her career in recruitment in 1984. She holds a Master in Org Leadership and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has guided candidates and organisations through the full cycle of economic highs and lows – recessions, restructures, and the constant reinvention that a long career demands. Now over 60 and still working, Deborah brings a rare dual perspective to the unretirement conversation: the expertise of someone who has worked with thousands of professionals supporting their career journey, and the lived experience of someone navigating this chapter herself.