Annual Report 2022
Chairperson’s Report
There is so much to celebrate as we round off the year. For the first time in almost a decade, we have a funded national peak body. AYAC is here to stay, amplifying and uplifting the voices of young people.
This achievement is not ours alone. It is yours! Our members. If it was not for the consistent years of advocacy, meetings, social media campaigns, volunteering and direct funding to AYAC to keep the organisation going without other support, we would not be here today. So for that, we thank you.
In 2022, for the first time in our organisation's history, AYAC has been led completely by young people, with both of us as Co-Chairs and supported by our amazing Vice-Chair Isabelle.
Together with the operations team, we have worked tirelessly to inject youth voices, perspectives and vision into the organisation and our future. We are immensely proud of what we have achieved and we thank the board for their consistent support.
It is encouraging to reflect on the past year, regardless of the ongoing challenges Australia has faced and will continue to, young people have showcased incredibly powerful leadership and resilience. As the national peak body, we are excited to continue to host a variety of forums and reference groups to harness the views of young people, conduct research on topics of national importance, and operate the AYAC Fellowship Program which is increasing the representation of under-represented groups in the media and community. We commend AYAC and young people for achieving so much during difficult times and are grateful for the positive engagement with our work.
AYAC has identified barriers and challenges affecting young people and has progressed on providing solutions in these areas including publishing an Election Guide to educate and empower young people on voting in the Federal Election, advocating for better systems for young people, delivering our National Youth Policy Project and much more. We are also excited about what comes next and our work to help develop the Office of Youth and securing investment of almost $11 million in new opportunities for young people to be involved in decision-making.
We are honoured to have such supportive and passionate members, youth advocates and partners propelling us forward to achieve our vision of ensuring young people are respected and have the power to lead change for a better world.
Caitlin Figueiredo and Sarah Ramantanis, AYAC Chairpersons
Chief Executive Officer’s Report
Young people took action this year and made their voice heard. In 2021/22 young people led movements, changed the national conversation and registered to vote in record numbers.
We’re really proud of our work as the national voice and advocate for young people at Australian Youth Affairs Coalition. This was a significant year for our organisation and we supported more young people than ever to build their skills, meet with decision-makers and make change.
This year we continued to build our team, created new partnerships and delivered a new strategic plan to guide our work. We also secured long-term independent funding which has enabled us to continue our work with the support of The Myer Foundation and Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation.
We introduced new programs this year and directly supported more than 600 young people to take action. We delivered the AYAC Fellowship and the AYAC Policy Forum which enabled more than 130 young people to share their experiences, create policy and work with the government. We also provided advocacy and policy training to more than 340 young people and worked to share the experiences and demands of young people with government to ensure that legislation and government policy works for young people.
I want to thank our incredible team as well as our members who have provided ongoing support as we continue our work as the national voice and advocate for young people. We’re excited for what comes next and our work alongside young people and all of our members in 2023.
Luke Rycken, AYAC CEO
Our Impact
Advocacy
This year we began our work to advocate with young people and supported more than 65 young people to participate in government and parliamentary inquiries. We published research, appeared before parliament and supported young people to share their recommendations with government.
In 2021 we hosted the AYAC Policy Forum and supported 115 young people to work with experts, develop policy and connect with government. We partnered with Australian Council of Social Service, Australia Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, Children and Young People with Disability Australia, Climate Ready Initiative, Consumer Health Forum, Council to Homeless Persons, Grattan Institute, Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network, Orygen and Tomorrow Movement.
In 2022 we worked to increase the influence of young people at the federal election. We launched the AYAC Election Guide and supported young people and our members across the country to connect and meet with their local candidates. We also published our Election Poll and hosted the AYAC Election Forums and supported young people to ask questions and meet with candidates from the major parties.
AYAC Fellowship
We delivered the first cohort of the AYAC Fellowship to empower young people to lead and influence national policy. The first cohort of the AYAC Fellowship supported 17 young people to join training, develop policy and advocate to government to represent the experiences and interests of young people right across the country.
Training
We launched our new training program in 2021/22 and provided best-in-class advocacy, media and policy training to more than 340 young people across twelve workshops. We also partnered with our members to provide training including CANTEEN, Little Dreamers, Run for It, Tomorrow Movement and The Y Australia.
Partnerships
In 2022 we worked with the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to launch the Online Safety Youth Advisory Council. The group of twenty-five young people work directly with the eSafety Commissioner to provide advice and recommendations on online safety.
In 2021 we also worked with eight organisations including Children and Young People with Disability Australia, CREATE Foundation, Little Dreamers, Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network, Northern Territory Council of Social Service, The Y Australia and yourtown as part of the National Youth Policy Project. Together we delivered projects across the country with more than 5,180 young people and provided opportunities to share experiences, design policy and make recommendations to government.
We’re excited about what comes next and in the upcoming year we’re launching the AYAC Member Networks, the Australian Government Youth Steering Committee and Advisory Groups and new programs and opportunities for young people.
Acknowledgment
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We work on the lands of the Kulin nation and pay our respect to their Elders past and present. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.