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OBJECTIVE To review research published in the AJA in terms of authors' positions and disciplinary backgrounds, and the settings in which research was done. METHODS Eighty two papers by 373 authors, in Vol. 35 No 1, March 2016, to Vol 37 No 2, June 2018, were reviewed. RESULTS Different clusters of authorship were found for research using surveys or database analyses, research in hospitals and aged care settings. Two out of three authors held academic positions, and professional practitioners in hospitals were much more likely to have academic affiliations than in aged care settings. Differing research cultures are seen to contribute to these outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Editorial policies have been central to maintaining publication standards. The Journal's publication partners could take a number of actions to advance recognition of professionals in different roles as authors and to expand the range of research published, especially nursing and social science research.

The role of the Australasian Journal on Ageing (AJA) in the Asia-Oceania region has been developing over the 30 years of the journal's publication, and review of its current and potential future roles is timely in the context of a number of developments in the region. This review describes the regional reach of the AJA, presents an analysis of regional content published over the 5 years to 2012, discusses the regional context with reference to other journals published in the region, and proposes several strategies for advancing the AJA's regional role. Pursuing these strategies would realise the AJA's potential as a vehicle for promoting the exchange of multidisciplinary knowledge on ageing.

In looking to future directions in residential care, this paper considers a number of factors that make for stability and others that are likely to see a continuation of present trends before turning to sources of new development. While recent policy measures to integrate nursing homes and hostels have focused attention on higher levels of residential care, the scope for change here is seen to be limited by funding and other constraints. Instead of a return to the continuum view of residential care, a redrawing of the paradigm is proposed that builds on initiatives that promote more varied combinations of care and accommodation, more flexible funding arrangements, and more interaction with community care across a range of housing settings. Support for this paradigm of diversification is found in current international developments.

Objectives: To compare the Home and Community Care Program (HACC) target population defined on the basis of the ABS Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) with 2006 census data on need for assistance. Methods: The number of people with different levels of core activity limitation as defined in the SDAC was estimated for the 2006 population aged 65 and older and compared with the number reporting a need for assistance in the 2006 census. Results: The two target populations differ in size, age and disability levels, but the differences are reconciled when components within the total SDAC-defined target population are taken into account. Discussion: Assessment of different definitions of target populations in terms of validity in identifying program beneficiaries, accuracy in measurement and usefulness in monitoring program performance leads to the conclusion that the bigger SDAC-defined population is better aligned with the goals of the HACC program.

The 1997 conference of the International Association of Gerontology, to be held in Adelaide, Australia, is the first to be held in the southern hemisphere. If this issue of Ageing and Society is seen as a microcosm of the World Congress, this editorial provides an opportunity to bring an antipodean perspective to bear on our attempts to understand ageing and society.

User charges have been suggested as a means of limiting demand for subsidised community services, yet the practicalities and effectiveness of this strategy remain largely unknown. Discussion of user charges has also been stimulated recently with the development of Regional Geriatric Assessment Teams and the restructuring of community services under the Home and Community Care Program. The first part of this paper presents an empirical analysis of user charges practices and policies in twelve Local Government Areas in metropolitan Melbourne that are served by the same Regional Geriatric Assessment Team. The significance of user charges in the financing of community services relative to subsidies from Commonwealth and State Governments and contributions from Local Government are also examined, and relationships between levels of funding and provision are analysed. The second part of the paper discusses a number of implications of the findings from the perspectives of users, providers and Commonwealth and State Governments. User charges appear to have limited effectiveness in containing demand for services, and the considerable variation found in all aspects of user charges creates both vertical and horizontal inequities. These problems compound the uneven access to services arising from variability in levels of central government subsidies, with resultant constraints on the operation of Regional Geriatric Assessment Teams.

For a number of social and cultural reasons, labor force participation rates of Australian women are low. One reason not previously investigated is the problem of geographic accessibility to employment, especially for suburban women. Results from journey-to-work studies show that females either work locally or in the central-city area, whereas males travel to more dispersed locations. Further investigation of female travel patterns from each of fifty-five suburban local government areas shows that the socioeconomic status of an area, together with its job mix, explains much variety in female work travel and suggests that workforce participation rates depend in part on local job availability. The research contributes to an understanding of the nature of occupational and geographical disaggregation of the Melbourne metropolitan labor market.

This paper gives an account of the demographic trends that are bringing about changes in the population aged 80 years and older in Australia. The old old population of the future will differ in size and structure from earlier cohorts reaching advanced age: an examination is made of the contribution of the effects of past birth rates; recent changes in mortality at older ages; the impact of immigration especially on the cultural diversity of the old old; and changes in sex ratios and marriage patterns that result in changes in social circumstances. The indications are that a much more dynamic view of the old old is required. The present report is the first in a three-part study which mill cover social and health trends and discuss the implications of the newly emergent old old population for social policy.