Youth Action partnered with MYAN NSW to provide a response to the Inquiry into Migrant Settlement Outcomes. Our submission focussed on the youth settlement and multicultural sector in NSW, as well as addressing misrepresentations regarding young people and anti-social behaviour.
NSW has a talented and diverse population of young people with enormous potential. In NSW alone, almost 30% of young people are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds – that’s over 340,000.
Most young people are doing well in Australia, however some have contact with systems like youth justice. Our joint submission disputed perceptions regarding 'youth gangs', and challenged the disproportionate focus on the small number of young people from refugee and migrant communities engaging in anti-social behaviour.
We urged the inquiry to focus on youth justice principles that recognise the different capacity of young people. We encourage a focus on prevention and intervention while ensuring services to young people are timely and culturally intelligent to support positive outcomes for young people.