To date, most evidence about how people prepare or do not prepare for later life comes from Europe or North America but the structures, systems and social norms that determine ageing-related preparation are often country-specific. It is important therefore to further investigate ageing-related preparation in an Australian context. To this end, National Seniors Australia included a question in their National Social Survey about how prepared older people felt for ageing and respondents also had the opportunity to add free-text responses elaborating on their answer.