Submission to the NSW Youth Health Strategy
October 2016: This year the NSW government called for consultation on the next NSW Youth Health Strategy.
Youth Action provided a response, drawing from recent research and input from members.
‘Youth’ must be a key focus for government. Overall, while most young people in NSW are in good health, improvement is needed. Young people experience a key period of rapid and extensive psychological and biological growth, ‘second only to early childhood in the rate and breadth of developmental change’.
A young person’s good health, amongst other things, lays a strong foundation for social and economic development.
We further highlighted young people’s thoughts on health (link to agenda for action), the recent Australian Youth Development Index (link), as well as raised issues such as mental health, alcohol and other drugs, healthy sexual development and access.