[2021] Job Security
Youth Action welcomes this opportunity to make a submission to the Select Committee on Job Security Inquiry. We are calling on the government to mitigate the impact of insecure and precarious employment upon young people. While young people see opportunity within the tech-driven on-demand and gig economies, they also expect job opportunities that are reliable and provide decent working conditions. Security is increasingly important as Australia recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Young people's voices and lived experience should be central to government approaches to job security and young people are eager to participate in decision-making processes impacting them. Youth Action encourages the government to consult young people in an ongoing and meaningful manner on these issues.
Download the Submission
[2021] Coercive Control
Youth Action welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the Joint Select Committee on Coercive Control for their inquiry into coercive control in domestic relationships. Youth Action refers the Committee to the submissions of Women’s Safety NSW and Domestic Violence NSW, whom we support, regarding the introduction of a Coercive Control offence here in NSW. In making recommendations for change on behalf of young people, Youth Action’s submission focuses upon young people’s experience of Coercive Control and the non-legislative responses which should occur prior to, oralongside, the creation of a Coercive Control offence.
Download the Submission
[2021] Inquiry into Child Protection and Social Services
Youth Action welcomes the invitation to provide a submission to the inquiry into the child protection and social services system (the System). We have welcomed the changes made as a result of various government’s increased focus on evidence based and trauma informed approaches to marginalised young people at risk of, or in contact with the System. However, too many young people still find themselves at a disadvantage.
There are continued calls for greater participation of young people in policy development and service provision. This is despite many reports, inquiries and commissions into the failings of the System recommending significant, system level changes. Youth Action is advocating for a NSW where every young person is valued, engaged and supported. The cornerstone of this objective is improving the decision-making processes in NSW through utilising the diverse range of expertise of both young people and the youth sector as experts in their own lives.
Download the Submission
[2020] Inquiry into Assaults on Members of the NSW Police
Youth Action welcomes the invitation to make a submission to the Inquiry into Assaults on Members of the NSW Police Force by the Committee on Law and Safety. NSW Police play an integral role in community safety and have the right to conduct their work without fear of violence. While the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research indicates instances of police assault from young people is low, we believe this inquiry has the potential to strengthen police practices and programs to support positive relations with young people and limit any potential violent behaviour.
Download the Submission
[2020] A New Student Behaviour Strategy
This document provides a joint comment on NSW Government's draft Student Behaviour Strategy from Youth Action and Yfoundations. We believe there is a real opportunity to embed young people's voice in the decision-making process, and support further consultation and engagement with students and youth organisations regarding school policies.
Download the Submission
[2021] Strengthening Income Support
Youth Action welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Income Support) Bill 2021. We are calling on the Government to reconsider its announced minimal increased with a meaningful increase that lifts young people out of poverty. The ramifications of a social service system that continues to entrench poverty from a young age will lead to poorer educational, employment and social outcomes for all communities. A meaningful increase in Youth Allowance and JobSeeker will not only support Individuals but lead to stronger communities and empowered young people. This submission is informed by our ongoing advocacy in equity and poverty reduction, joint campaigning efforts with the Raise the Rate for Good campaign, and most significantly by the voices of young people and the services that support them.
Download the Submission
Snapshot 2020: NSW Youth Sector
In partnership with the Intergener8 Living Lab at Western Sydney University in late 2019, Youth Action conducted the largest survey of the NSW Youth Sector in a decade. In just around 4 weeks we received responses from 488 respondents. CEOs, executive and regional service managers, team leaders, coordinators, administrators, youth workers and other frontline workers shared their experiences, highlights and challenges working in the youth sector.
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It has been almost 10 years since Youth Action collected this level of data from youth services about demand, activities, and priorities, and from people who work with young people in NSW about their experiences, attitudes, and backgrounds. Findings provide crucial information to inform sector reform and policy making, as well as to identify ways to build on the strengths of the youth services sector. We want to thank everyone who completed the survey, which was created for the sector and made possible only by the sector's support.
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Snapshot 2020: The State the of NSW Youth Sector launched April 17
Youth Action officially launched the report on April 17, 2020 during a webinar event via Zoom. The findings from Snapshot 2020 highlight a vibrant, diverse and active NSW youth sector. They show it’s a sector driven by expertise, with a strengths based focus and a commitment to support and make positive changes in the lives of young people aged 12 to 25. Data shows that this is a workforce motivated to put young people first.
SNAPSHOT 2020
The largest survey of the NSW youth sector in a decade
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Download the report here ▼
Stories of the Sector - What is Youth Work?
Last year during the biennial NSW Youth Work Conference we started a storytelling project interviewing youth workers to create a conversation with the sector talking about the challenges, highlights and misconceptions of youth work. Knowing the survey was to be released later in 2019, we intentionally added questions from the survey to our interviews to add to the data and link the findings to visual tangible evidence of lived experience. This is a short preview of many stories of the sector, for the sector. In this video, three case studies from the report, Darrel, Kane and Monique share their experiences to help us understand better what youth work is. Keep an eye on this space.
Publication and Findings
The youth sector workforce is dedicated, skilled and effective at responding to and engaging with young people in crisis on a regular basis. There is scope to significantly leverage digital technologies to enhance youth services and their benefits for young people and their communities. There is also a growing diversity of young people that seek out youth services and a diverse workforce that is well placed to support them.
The youth sector is the greatest untapped resource for the government and the community to understand how best to meet the needs of young people and better address the complex social problems that affect them.
The youth sector puts young people’s needs, views, and experience at the heart of what it does and we call on the government and wider community to do the same.
We have developed a pack for your use, which includes the Key Findings from the report as a printable A3 PDF that you can use as a poster or document for meetings, as well as various tiles of the key findings to use for you social channels and communications to help with your advocacy.
Download the pack here ▼
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Thank you
Youth Action would like to thank everyone who participated in the survey.
Also a big thank you to our advisory group who helped guide the study; Siobhan Bryson – Weave Youth and Community Services, Natalie Chiappazzo – BYSA, Maddy Forwood – MYST, Katie Kapp – Wollongong Youth Services, Nada Nasser – Mission Australia and Darrel Smith – Miyay Birray Youth Services.
Our study included case studies of services under the topic areas of Youth Participation, Meeting Community Demand, importance of Diversity within the Workforce, and adapting to digital technology. Thank you to all involved; Darrel Smith, Natalie Chiappazzo, Blake Tatafu, Alex Long, Monique Ready, Kane Alkoraghooli and all involved in the storytelling project who shared their stories with us.
[2020] Raise the Age of Criminal Responsibility
Joint Submission to Review of Age of Criminal Responsibility
The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) together with Youth Action and the other state and territory youth sector peak bodies across Australia created a joint submission calling on the Council of Attorneys-General (COAG) and the Australian Government to raise the age of legal criminal responsibility from 10 years to 14.
Children as young as 10 years old in Australia are being arrested, prosecuted and detained in prisons. They are being torn away from their families, communities and culture. They are being incarcerated in facilities that increase the likelihood of reoffending when compared to suitable alternatives, such as youth work programs and community supports. In Australia, there are around 600 children below the age of 14 who are locked up in prison each year.
Children and young people deserve supports that enable them to succeed. This is particularly important for children between the ages of 10–14. The earlier children have contact with the criminal justice system, the more likely they are to have long term involvement in crime. Raising the age of criminal responsibility will reduce long term offending and increase community safety.
The Australian community, including state and territory governments, is collectively responsible for supporting children and young people to reach their potential and become positive and productive citizens. Raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 is an appropriate first step toward reducing overrepresentation of particular cohorts of young people, and better supporting children and young people in Australia.
[2019] Prevention and Early Intervention Paper
The research is clear, prevention and early intervention is better for young people, better for communities and better for the government's hip pocket.
Yet even after decades of government reports, reviews and reforms calling for greater investment, there has been little movement and funding continues to be crisis oriented rather than focusing on preventing the issue in the first case and intervening much earlier when an issue starts to arise.
The failure to grow investment in true prevention or early intervention only serves to increase children, young people and families who require intensive support, while at the same time undermines effective work already happening on the ground.
Youth Action in partnership with Fams and LSCA have done the groundwork to prepare the 2019 early intervention review paper 'The case for an effective prevention and early intervention approach' which fills the definitional gap and proposes a model for investment.
To read the 2019 review download the PDF.
[2018] Inquiry into jobactive
Employment is essential to a young person’s wellbeing and future success. Having a job gives a young person the opportunity to attain financial security, independence, skill development and a sense of belonging. However, youth unemployment is very high across NSW and this has long-term detriments for those young people, the economy and the wider community. Youth Action made a submission to the Senate Inquiry into jobactive, to represent the voices of young jobseekers. We recommended that the government do more to tackle youth unemployment, especially for marginalised young people.