The workshop aims to identify practical, policy-relevant approaches to aging that link care systems, labour mobility, and responsible technological change across Australia and South Asia.
Australia, like many high-income countries, is facing the combined pressures of population ageing, rising demand for care services, and persistent labour shortages in aged care, disability support, health, agriculture, and other essential sectors. These pressures have renewed interest in well-designed labour mobility programs, including Australia’s Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, as part of a broader response to workforce needs, regional development, and social protection challenges.
This workshop brings together policy, academic, and multilateral perspectives on ageing, care systems, labour mobility, and the role of technology and artificial intelligence in reshaping work and service delivery. It will examine how migration and labour mobility can help Australia address care and workforce shortages while creating opportunities for workers and communities in sending countries, and how AI may shape labour markets, skills, service delivery, and social protection systems in both Australia and sending countries.
Online Access Zoom Link: https://anu.zoom.us/j/89547044162?pwd=Vv1sW6jd7uUN0q5ZUMN0FJzsX6rLNc.1
Event Speakers
Iffath A. Sharif
Iffath Sharif is the World Bank Group Director for Social Policy, leading global strategy, partnerships, and evidence-based policies to strengthen social protection systems, advance skilling solutions, and improve employment outcomes.
Shyamal Chowdhury
Professor Shyamal Chowdhury is the Rajiv Gandhi Chair of South Asian Economics at the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics, Crawford School of Public Policy, and the Director of the Australia South Asia Research Centre (ASARC).
Ryan Edwards
Ryan Edwards is an Associate Professor of Economics and the Deputy Director of the ANU Development Policy Centre. He was the centre's lead on the Australian Government's Pacific Reseach Program for its entire seven years, and was the thematic research lead across the consortium on labour mobility, migration, integration, and economic development.
Sarah Bankins
Sarah Bankins is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management at Macquarie University. Her research examines the effects of artificial intelligence on the nature of work and workers’ experiences. She explores questions such as what it means to work with AI, how jobs and skills are changing, and how people respond when AI systems make decisions that affect them.
Thomas Walker
Thomas Walker is a Lead Economist in Social Policy at the World Bank. He is based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. He leads the World Bank’s operational and research program on labour mobility in the Pacific region. Prior to joining the Pacific region, Dr Walker led the World Bank’s social protection program in Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Rachel Jolly PSM
Rachel is Assistant Secretary, Pacific Labour Mobility Branch, in the Office of the Pacific in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Pacific Labour Mobility Branch leads Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme strategic policy, engagement with participating countries and design of new commitments (including skills development pilots).