Australian Youth Affairs Coalition

AYAC welcomes the Australian Youth Forum

13 May, 2008

The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) today welcomed the announcement of funding for the Australian Youth Forum (AYF) of $8 million over four years.

The announcement of this funding delivers on one of the Government's key election commitments for young people to re-establish a peak body for young people and those who support them.

Alan Wu, AYAC spokesperson, said, "The announcement of $8 million for the AYF is a significant investment in Australia's young people. It recognises the importance of young people in planning for the future and the unique perspective they have on current issues and challenges in Australia. We strongly applaud this major investment to create a national peak body for youth affairs and re-open an important dialogue with young people and the sector.

"The funding announced by the Government tonight will provide for a sustainable peak body which is able to engage comprehensively with young people. The commitment of $8 million is to be applauded as an investment into higher quality advice and expended engagement with young people and the sector in Australia. For this, we congratulate the Government."

Announced by Tanya Plibersek on 3 May, 2007, the AYF will be a peak body for youth people and the sector which supports them. As stated in the consultation paper released by the Minister for Youth, the Hon. Kate Ellis MP, the AYF would establish a formal dialogue between young people and the Government; advise Government on youth affairs; engage with young people through consultations, forums and conferences; provide professional development to the sector; ensure the youth sector is sustainable and advocate the needs of the sector.

AYAC looks forward to working with the Government through their consultation process in establishing a fully independent peak body to represent young people and the sector which supports them.

AYAC 2007 Federal Election Survey

14 November, 2007

In the lead-up to the 2007 Federal Election on 24 November, the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition - Australia's youth affairs peak - has compiled a list of questions and answers from the major political parties on the crucial issues affecting young Australians and the youth sector. Spanning six key areas: Education & Training, Employment, Youth Participation, Health & Wellbeing, Housing & Homelessness and the Environment, AYAC's 2007 Federal Election Survey is an attempt to help inform voters of the parties' policies on the issues that affect the wellbeing of young Australians.

Questions include:

Does your party support the re-establishment of a federal Minister for Youth and, if so, what does your party see as being its focus?
What will your party do with Youth Allowance and other education income support programs that have consistently been identified as being inadequate to support young people?
How will your party increase the availability and accessibility of affordable housing for young people?
What steps will your party take to increase young people's ability to receive mental health services in a timely manner that is affordable and accessible?

The survey is free for download and distribution.

Download (in PDF format):

Entire AYAC 2007 Federal Election Survey (1.3 MB)

Or individual sections (in PDF format):

The Campaign for a National Youth Affairs Peak

1 May, 2007

Since 1998, Australia has been without a funded and functional national youth affairs peak.

That means that young Australians have been without a consistent, independent voice to help shape government and community perspectives on important issues.

A youth affairs peak would improve Australia's response to young people's issues and interests by:

Providing representative, informed and coordinated advice and assistance to government and the community on the development and implementation of policies, programmes and strategies affecting young people.
Representing the rights and diverse interests of young people at a national level by consulting directly with young people and those who work with young people.
Facilitating co-ordination, co-operation and development within the youth sector, and conducting research to improve its policies and programmes.
Undertaking collaborative projects as negotiated with government departments and other funding bodies.
Acting as a conduit for the exchange of information between the government, young people and the youth sector.

The important role of peaks is commonly recognised. Other communities - such as ethnic communities, the ageing, people with disabilities, and families - have government-funded and functional peaks.

Contributing and Changing, a policy document adopted by the Australian and State and Territory Ministers responsible for youth affairs in 2004, recognises that young people are entitled to be heard, and should be provided with a range of adequately-resourced participation mechanisms to facilitate and encourage their engagement.

Nonetheless, Australia's Minister for Youth Affairs position was abolished in 2004, and 2005 saw the abolition of the Australian Forum of Youth Organisations and the Youth Advisory and Consultative Forum. More recently, the memberships of the National Youth Roundtable and National Indigenous Youth Leadership Group have been cut. A national youth affairs peak is now more important than ever.

Issues affecting young Australians

Had a national youth affairs peak existed, the rights and interests of young Australians would have been better represented in a variety of recent discussions of issues affecting young Australians:

Electoral Roll changes
WorkChoices
The Access Card
Welfare to Work reforms
Higher education reform
The upcoming Australian Fair Pay Commission review of junior wage rates

The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition

The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) is a model developed in 2002 as a new youth affairs peak for Australia. It represents several years of work by state and territory youth affairs peaks and a number of national youth organisations.

AYAC aims to represent the rights and interests of young people at a national and international level, promote the well-being of young Australians, promote the fuller participation of young people in Australian society, and to provide policy advice to government and the broader community on issues affecting young people and the youth sector.

AYAC is governed at the highest level by a National Representative Council (NRC), composed of an independent chair, a young spokesperson, two individual representatives from among the general members, eight representatives of national youth organisations and a representative from each of the eight state and territory youth affairs peaks.

AYAC attempted to gain funding in 2004 but had its funding proposal rejected by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. A new, revised proposal is being finalised and will be presented to the Minister for Community Services this week.

Get Involved

The best way to demonstrate your support for a strong, independent national youth affairs peak is to join AYAC as a paid member or (unpaid) supporter. To join, complete the relevant form on our website at:

http://www.ayac.org.au/getinvolved/

To find out more, visit our website or attend one of our sessions at the National Youth Affairs Conference: Session 1 on Tuesday (Workers and Young People) or Session 4 on Wednesday (Young People Only).

Feel free to circulate this notice amongst your networks.