Many happy returns... march of the centenarians

Because, just like Christmas, those ages are coming at us rapidly.

Barring a devastating meteor strike, in the next 20 years Australia's population aged 65 and over is projected to grow by more than two million - from 4.3 million to 6.7 million. That's an increase of 54 per cent.

But wait, there's more. Our population of those 85-plus is expected to increase a whopping 140 per cent - from 534,000 to 1.3 million.

Now that's a lot of birthday candles, birthday cakes and balloons.

We're riding an ageing wave thanks to a declining mortality rate and the frisky goings-on "back in the day".

From 2031 onwards, baby boomers will knock on the door of the 85-plus age group - and, bam, up we go.

Blows your mind? How about this: At the same time, like Roman centurions, centenarians will be on the march. It's predicted that those aged 100 and over will increase in number by a massive 200 per cent - from 5300 to 15,900 by 2041. That should keep the Queen, Governor-General and Prime Minister busy with congratulatory letter-writing!

The projections come from researchers at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research.

The figures supplied by demographers Dr Tom Wilson and Associate Professor Jeromey Temple from the University of Melbourne will provide valuable insights for planning and policy over the coming 20 years. Their working paper - New population projections for Australia and the States and Territories with a particular focus on population ageing - might be a mouthful, but it should be compulsory reading for politicians, medical, social and financial planners. The numbers are bobby-dazzling.

The implications of an ageing society are many. But let's not view this as a problem... it has been coming for a long time.

Yes, we're going to have a lot more older people - and with this comes an increased demand for health, care, social and financial services. But we must not lose sight of what our primary aim should be: to ensure all older Australians have the chance to live well and know there are supports available if they are needed.