Total: 413 good practice(s). Download
The programme provides personalized support for jobseekers with various skillsets has helped individuals change industries or re-enter employment after periods of joblessness. Career Transition Assistance facilitators work with jobseekers on building resumes, practicing for interviews, and identifying professional goals.
Jobseekers aged 45 and older.
Between 1 July 2019 and 31 March 2021, 11,085 people were referred to the programme, of whom 75% (8,407) commenced the course. 71% of participants reported completing the course, and the programme prepared testimonials from individuals who had successfully secured employment after completing the course.
This programme was developed by the Government of Australia to address the specific challenges faced by older jobseekers and to improve tailored employment services for people aged 45+. As part of Workforce Australia, the programme was delivered by local employment and skills organisations. The programme was rolled out nationally following a trial based in 5 regions: Adelaide South, South Australia; Ballarat, Victoria; Central West, New South Wales; Perth North, Western Australia; and Somerset, Queensland.
The programme promotes employment for relatively older job-seekers and is free of charge for eligible individuals. It helps older workers transition into new occupations by identifying transferable skills and building competencies needed in modern workplaces.
Career Transition Assistance Program 2019–2021 Evaluation Report - Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Australian Government
The Care Allowance scheme, implemented by the Department of Labor and Welfare in Mongolia, is a financial scheme taregeted at family members that care for older persons in need of permanent care and to those taking care of older family members. This scheme provides an allowance of MNT 84,500 per month,which was determined by the government as it aligns with the minimum living standard.
Beneficiaries include retired or near‑retirement professionals (senior specialists and veterans) aged typically 60+, who gain meaningful engagement and supplemental income, while younger generations benefit from mentorship and advisory support.
By 2021, the programme engaged 884 senior professionals in advisory roles and supported 442 with repayable financial assistance, leading to over 1,390 new job placements. It enhanced older persons’ income security, promoted self-employment, and strengthened institutional capacity through intergenerational knowledge transfer.
The program was structured under the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, using national and local budgets. It integrates senior professionals into advisory and income-generating roles via structured grants and support mechanisms, including repayable funding and employment generation schemes.
It transforms ageing into an asset—leveraging accumulated expertise of seniors to foster advisory capacity, create jobs, and honor lifelong contributions, while aligning with both social protection and active ageing goals.
The Caregivers Allowance in the Cook Islands is a government welfare payment that provides financial support to adults aged 18 and over—regardless of nationality—who reside in the Cook Islands and care for an older person, a person with a disability, or a child with high care needs. Caregivers must not be in full-time employment, and eligible recipients receive $100 NZD twice monthly.
Caregivers
A multi‑programme evaluation (UNICEF, 2020) found that the caregiver allowance—alongside other social cash transfers—plays a critical role in reducing poverty, vulnerability, and risk, especially in households caring for elderly, disabled, or dependent persons. It contributes significantly to household welfare in both Rarotonga and the Pa Enua
The development of the Caregivers Allowance in the Cook Islands is rooted in the country’s long-standing, tax‑financed social protection system, which began expanding significantly from the 1960s onward, and formally included a caregiver payment by the time the Welfare Act 1989 was established. This Act created the structural basis for multiple welfare payments—including those for older persons, persons with disabilities, and caregivers—and embedded the principle that the state should support families caring for vulnerable members. Over the decades, the allowance evolved through continuous policy refinement driven by government reviews, parliamentary oversight, and social‑sector evaluations. By 2017, the Caregivers Policy and its administration were scrutinized in a Public Accounts Committee inquiry, which examined implementation quality, eligibility rules, and payment mechanisms—showing active policy shaping and administrative strengthening.
It values caregivers and provides social protection.
Evaluation of social cash transfer programmes in the Cook Islands - UNICEF
The Carer Payment Initiative, implemented by national and local Australian Governments, provides payment to individuals who care for disabled, unwell or elderly individuals. This payment is provided to carers who have provided constant care for a minimum of six months, minimising the impact that caring for a family member has on earning income.
Primary beneficiaries are carers (often family members) providing constant care to people with disability, severe illness, or frailty who cannot support themselves independently.
The program supported a rapidly growing carer population. Recipients rose from about 57,800 in 2001 to 301,200 in June 2022, increasing from 0.4% to 1.4% of the population aged 16+. In 2025, reforms allowed carers to work up to 100 hours every 4 weeks, offering greater flexibility and improving labour market participation.
Established under the Social Security Act, administered by Services Australia. A 2008 review expanded eligibility to parents of children with severe disability, adding ~19,000 new recipients. Implementation has relied on legislative adjustments and regular updates to reflect carers’ evolving needs.
It provides long-term, responsive support to carers while adapting rules to promote inclusion, sustainability, and work-life balance.
In Japan, the “Club of Friendship between Generations in Akita”, implemented by the local community, brings together an intergenerational group of individuals in their 20s to those in their 80s to encourage friendships and enhance social networks across generations. The club provides community spaces for residents to meet, form friendships and participate in social activities.
Older residents of Akita City, Japan—particularly senior citizens facing barriers to mobility, social engagement, and access to services due to demographic ageing and youth out‑migration.
Recognised as an “Age-Friendly City” in 2019 and honouring “Aging-Friendly Partners” by 2025, the city strengthened public–private collaboration and fostered a more inclusive environment for seniors.
Akita City, a WHO Global Network member since 2011, has advanced age-friendly initiatives such as a one-coin bus service (launched 2011, expanded 2017) to improve elderly mobility, the intergenerational “Club of Friendship Between Generations” to strengthen social ties, and a multi-generational city hall built in 2016 with universal design features like concierge support, wheelchair paths, and heated floors/roads for winter safety. It also formalized an Age-Friendly Partner program engaging local businesses and institutions in senior support.
Akita City has advanced age-friendliness through integrated efforts in transport, infrastructure, governance, and community programs, combining accessible design with social engagement. Since joining the WHO network in 2011, it has sustained and expanded services, built public–private partnerships, and introduced tailored solutions—such as heated mobility paths and low-cost transport—to meet local ageing and winter-related challenges.
The Center for Ageing Support and Community Development (CASCD), implemented by the Viet Nam Red Cross Society, is a non-governmental organization that works to support older persons, individuals impacted by HIV/AIDS, poor women and people with disabilities. It promotes community care through both paid and volunteer programmes, offering services such as intergenerational self-hubs and advocacy for the rights of older persons.
The programme primarily benefits older people in Vietnam, especially those in rural and underserved communities. It promotes their social inclusion, health, and economic resilience through community-led initiatives.
In 2025, a national expansion plan targets 12,000 ISHCs, aiming to support hundreds of thousands of older adults across the country HelpAge International. Additionally, since 2021, 186 new ISHCs supported by the World Bank and JSDF have benefited 24,725 older persons.
CASCD began by mobilizing older people into grassroots associations. With support from HelpAge and the government, the model evolved into Intergenerational Self-Help Clubs (ISHCs)—providing services ranging from home care and microfinance to health screening and legal aid. The model is now part of Vietnam’s national ageing strategy.
It is community-owned, cost-effective, and highly scalable, empowering older adults as both beneficiaries and leaders. The model successfully integrates health, income, care, and rights—addressing ageing in a holistic way.
Singapore established a network of centre-based community care services to support older persons with varying care needs while enabling them to remain in the community. Coordinated by the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), the services include day care, dementia day care, community rehabilitation and Active Ageing Centres (Care). These centres provide supervision, nursing care, rehabilitation, personal care, meals, social and recreational activities, and caregiver support, helping older persons maintain their physical, cognitive and social well-being.
Older persons who require supervision, rehabilitation or long-term care services, including persons living with dementia, as well as their caregivers.
The initiative expanded access to community-based long-term care by providing coordinated day care, rehabilitation and dementia care services across Singapore. It supports ageing in place, helps maintain older persons' physical and cognitive functioning, and provides respite and support for family caregivers through an integrated national referral and subsidy system.
The Agency for Integrated Care coordinates referrals, eligibility assessment and access to centre-based care services through hospitals, polyclinics and AIC Link centres. Community care providers deliver standardized services, including rehabilitation, nursing care, dementia care, personal care and social engagement programmes. Government subsidies are available through means testing to improve affordability, while the national coordination model enables consistent service quality and equitable access across Singapore.
The initiative integrates health, rehabilitation and social care into a coordinated community-based long-term care system. By combining national coordination, standardized referral pathways, financial support and multidisciplinary services, it enables older persons to remain in their communities while reducing reliance on institutional care. Its integrated service model is scalable and readily adaptable to other ageing societies
Charo Wongdo is a private elderly care initiative, where professional caregivers become 'care buddies' to an elderly. The founders identified a gap in elder care. The services provided include: assistance with daily hygiene, meal prep, medication administering, help with transport to hospital appointments, and emotional companionship.
Older persons in Bhutan
This programme has led to a significant reduction in the number of missed appointments at the hospital, as caregivers are there to ensure they make it. The initiative also created jobs for youth who were abroad and came back to Bhutan with experience working in aged societies.
Founders of this initiative saw an increase of Bhutanese moving abroad and leaving their older family members behind.
This practice values the Bhutanese value of loyalty and gratitude into a professional service for elderly.
Charo Wongdo: Bhutan’s first dedicated elderly care service – The Bhutanese
The Multi-Generation Entrepreneur Development Education Ecosystem or MEEDEE for short is an online-based learning tool that is combined with in-person teaching to provide lifelong-learning opportunities for older persons. MEEDEE provides more than 30 courses designed to equip older persons with digital literacy and occupational skills, enabling them to establish online businesses and generate income. The courses are offered free of charge and the emphasis is on practical skills. It also offers courses on financial management and on physical and mental health, supporting older persons to remain self-reliant and fulfilled as they age.
Older persons looking to improve their digital and income-generation skills.
By end of 2024, over 21000 older persons have undergone MEEDEE training.
As Thailand is moving from an "aged" to a "super-aged" society, the working-aged population is declining and more people will have to work longer. However, many Thais worked most of their life in the informal economy and lack the skills to participate in the new digital economy. MEEDEE aims to close this gap through trainings offered via the free and in Thailand very popular instant messaging application "LINE" - as older persons would likely already be familiar with using it. Additionally, MEEDEE has partnered with over 2500 schools for older persons and with more than 70 government, private sector, and community organizations to provide in-person training. MEEDEE also operates online and in-person market places and supports users wishing to participate in them. MEEDEE not only teaches older persons new skills, but encourages them to participate in peer education, and for this has established a group of over 1000 "MEEDEE Certified Trainers" where older persons are involved in curriculum development and teaching. In 2021, MEEDEE spent approximately 100000 USD to develop and roll-out the programme. The goal is to have MEEDEE's funding covered through corporate social responsibility and marketing and product development resources.
MEEDEE's blended learning model with both online and occasional on-site learning is very cost-effective in providing comprehensive education for older persons.
The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) is a nationally representative longitudinal survey established to collect high-quality data on Chinese residents aged 45 years and above. The survey gathers information on health status, healthcare utilization, employment, retirement, income, pensions, family support and living conditions. Conducted through regular follow-up surveys, CHARLS provides a comprehensive evidence base for research and policymaking on population ageing, health, and social protection in China.
Policymakers and all data users
The survey has supported extensive research on healthy ageing, retirement, long-term care, pensions and socioeconomic wellbeing, and its datasets are publicly available for academic research.
CHARLS has established one of China's leading longitudinal datasets on ageing, covering approximately 10,000 households and 17,500 individuals across 150 counties and 450 communities. The survey has supported extensive research on healthy ageing, retirement, long-term care, pensions and socioeconomic wellbeing, and its datasets are publicly available for academic research.
CHARLS demonstrates the value of long-term, nationally representative data for supporting evidence-informed policymaking on population ageing. Its standardized methodology, regular follow-up surveys and publicly accessible datasets make it a sustainable and highly replicable model for strengthening ageing research and policy development.
