A Place for Sectoral Advocacy and Knowledge Sharing at a National Level
Dr Dean Farquhar | AYAC | National Youth Engagement Lead
Background
The National Youth Practitioners’ Network (NYPN) was established by AYAC in 2024 to provide practitioners with additional opportunities to collaborate, share ideas and build sector capacity at a national level. Through the NYPN, AYAC facilitates roundtables and workshops on pressing issues within the youth sector. NYPN Briefing aims to complement this work by providing another channel for sectoral advocacy and knowledge sharing across the national space.
NYPN Briefing will be a platform committed to capturing a diversity of voices and the variety of interests and concerns within the youth sector. It will aim to publish high-quality work on emerging and neglected issues concerning youth policy, as well as open space for critical reflection on the values and approaches that enhance youth work practice. Ultimately, AYAC hopes that NYPN Briefing becomes a valuable learning resource that showcases the critical insights and interventions provided by the youth sector.
In launching NYPN Briefing, AYAC would like to take the opportunity to restate its commitment to enhancing sector capacity and collaboration and explain some avenues it is pursuing through its election advocacy. We hope that you lend your support to our election asks and get in touch to share how we can support your organisation at this important time.
AYAC’s Mission within the Youth Sector
AYAC is Australia’s national peak body representing the needs and interests of young people aged 12-25 years and the wider youth sector. AYAC is committed to Australia being a nation where young people are respected and have the power to lead change for a better world.
AYAC’s work involves youth engagement, policy development, advocacy, research, consultation, information dissemination and capacity building. Our approach is informed by the insights of our members – including young people, academics, state and territory youth peaks, and youth-led organisations – ensuring that policymakers and the community understand the impacts of policies and decision-making on young people and the youth sector.
AYAC is committed to collaborative working and strengthening capacity across the youth sector. By channelling our collective energies, we can improve outcomes for young people. However, to do this effectively we must join together in insisting on sustainable funding streams and the development of appropriate channels for including youth sector insight in the formation of public policy. The pursuit of these objectives forms the basis of AYAC’s sectoral election advocacy.
Sectoral Election Ask 1 – Sustainable Funding for AYAC
While AYAC is the national peak body representing young people and the youth sector, it does not receive specific funding to achieve peak body activities. As such, AYAC acts as an advocate and representative for more than 4 million young people, as well as the Australian youth sector, in a largely unfunded capacity.
AYAC receives limited funding through the Australian Government that enables project, policy and youth engagement work on key deliverables through a grant deed with the Office of Youth. Considering the size of the Australian youth population, this investment by the Federal Government equates to 10c per young Australian that AYAC represents. In terms of Federal Government funding, AYAC receives around 8 times less than some other national peak bodies.
Owing to financial constraint AYAC is not able to operate at full capacity, with its strong relationships across the youth sector, academia and government going underutilised in efforts to improve outcomes for young people. AYAC are therefore calling for cross-government funding of $2.5 million per annum over five years to support with:
Delivering professional youth engagement work that enhances young people’s life skills, social connectedness and confidence to participate fully in social life.
Building capacity in the youth sector through targeted professional development activities, support and resources. This would include facilitating a national youth and sector conference.
Increasing knowledge brokering activities, including mapping national youth studies capability, expanding research translation initiatives, and investigating emerging international approaches to youth policy and their potential application to the Australian context.
Working across Government departments on the intersection of issues impacting young people to strengthening policy development through advocacy, stakeholder engagement and support.
In short, AYAC would use the additional funds to better promote a collaborative approach to improving opportunities and outcomes for young people.
Sectoral Election Ask 2 – A National Youth Policy Expert Forum
Although the Australian Government consults regularly with young people through their Youth Steering Committee, Youth Advisory Groups and holds annual national youth forums, it does not currently have a national youth issues strategy.
The youth sector workforce and youth issue researchers have considerable knowledge and expertise to contribute and respond to this policy development process. However, there is not a mechanism for this expert group to contribute to this work in a coordinated and strategic approach. An annual policy forum for youth sector workforce, researchers and policy experts would boost capacity in youth research and improve outcomes for young people.
With its record of partnership working with the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and contacts across the youth sector, AYAC is well-place to play a leading co-ordinating role in delivering the annual forum. AYAC estimates that the cost of the forum would be $60,000 per annum.
Sectoral Election Ask 3 – Maintaining the Australian Government Youth Steering Committee and Youth Advisory Groups
AYAC works alongside the Australian Government deliver its Youth Steering Committee and provides administrative support to ease the running of its Youth Advisory Groups. AYAC also attends the national youth forum every year with the Youth Steering Committee. We believe that this important infrastructure that enables young people to advocate directly to government should be maintained after the election. This would mark a significant investment young people and send a clear signal that the Australian Government is serious about young people providing leadership today.
How to Support Us
In the weeks ahead, AYAC will be broadcasting its elections asks across its social media channels and advocating directly to government. It would be great if you would help maximize our efforts by sharing our content and lending your voice to ours if you get an opportunity to advocate directly to decision-makers.
We are very grateful to all our member organisations for signposting young people to opportunities with AYAC and sharing our policy work with their networks. Securing sustainable funding will enable AYAC to continue to act reciprocally and amplify the work of the sector as a whole.
If you are not yet an AYAC member, you can sign-up and keep track of our work at https://www.ayac.org.au/join
Upcoming Briefing Papers
In the coming weeks, AYAC is looking forward to publishing the following articles on NYPN Briefing Papers:
A summary report of AYAC inaugural NYPN roundtable on social cohesion, with contributions from Professor Robyn Broadbent (Youth Workers Australia), Andrew Johnson (Youth Action NSW) and Kano Rivalji (Third Culture).
An introduction to a new mental health toolkit developed in partnership by Youth Affairs Network Queensland and Adelaide University’s Critical and Ethical Mental Health.
Get In Touch
If you would like to get in touch to speak to an issue concerning the youth sector or explain the value of a model or practice – please reach out to our National Youth Engagement Lead, Dean Farquhar, at dean@ayac.org.au