1-8 March is the inaugural SA Women's Week, concluding on International Women's Day; the theme this year is March Forward – it’s time to turn promises into progress. This SA Women's Week, we're turning the spotlight on the challenges and barriers to ageing well faced by older women as well as on our advocacy to address these issues.

At COTA SA, we are in constant conversations with diverse groups of older people to understand their experiences, needs and challenges and what matters most to them, and advocating on their behalf to decision makers.

Older women can face compounded barriers to ageing well requiring a dedicated focus in our policy and advocacy for older South Australians.

We know that older women often encounter additional challenges due to a lifetime of lower wages, gender inequality, and caregiving responsibilities, which leave them more vulnerable to poverty, health issues, and housing instability. Additionally, many older women face difficult decisions, often brought on by financial pressures and circumstances beyond their control.

Older Australian women, on average, retire with almost 30% less superannuation than men, putting them at a higher risk of financial strain due to rising living costs. A KPMG report on the superannuation gender gap highlights that 55% of full Age Pensioners in Australia are women, warning that financial insecurity in retirement is a key factor contributing to the poverty and housing instability of older women in the country.

Our focus on older women is highlighted through our 2025/26 State Budget submission, where we are calling on the State Government to invest in a Life Navigation Service to better support older South Australians, particularly women, to age well.

Another of our recommendations in our State Budget submission is for the State Government to commit to further investment in social housing that will support older South Australians, and in particular older women who are one of the fastest growing groups most at risk of becoming homeless, to access secure housing.

At COTA SA, we often hear older women often tell us they feel invisible, and this is also the case for older women who have experienced family, domestic and sexual violence and may not even see themselves as victims of type of abuse.

While historically this has been an under researched area, through working on a groundbreaking project last year supported by Office for Women, COTA SA championed the voices of older women, while also raising awareness that it’s never too late to seek help, even for people who may have experienced violence for their whole life.

In our 2025/26 State Budget submission, we have called on the State Government to commit to investing in initiatives focused on protecting older women in South Australia from elder abuse including domestic, family and sexual violence.