To mark 150 years since the first Australian life tables were published, the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) and the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health (Global Burden of Disease Group and Centre for Health Policy) held a symposium in Melbourne on 13 November 2017. This fact sheet summarises key insights from the event, including the trends and drivers of mortality change, inequalities in life expectancy, and the potential for future improvements (names of presenters are shown under each heading).