You can be old and still innovate: PM

Malcolm Turnbull reckons you don't have to be young and hip to be at the cutting edge of innovation.

The prime minister cited as an example the 85-year-old Adelaide manufacturing firm Philmac, which is a world leader in plumbing and pipe fittings.

"Innovation does not have to be limited to two brilliant young people cooking up a new app in their parents' garage, Malcolm Turnbull told a social and economic conference in Melbourne on Thursday.