The workshop aims to identify practical, policy-relevant approaches to ageing that link care systems, labour mobility, and responsible technological change across Australian and South Asian context
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.
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. Caring for an Ageing World
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
I study the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on the nature of work and workers' experiences. My research aims to help answer questions like what does it mean for us to work with AI? How will jobs change, how will work change, how will our skills change? How do people respond to AI making decisions that impact them, in contexts including human resource management and healthcare?