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 Dear friends, I am sure that many of you have been busy preparing for Youth Week. It’s always such an incredible time of year, and I am excited to see everyones hard work come together. Youth Action will be supporting Youth Week events across NSW, from Gomeroi Country in Tamworth to Dharug Country in the Blue Mountains where we will be chatting to young people about our Fair Go for Young People Campaign and asking them to tell us what a fair go looks like for them and their community. You may have seen we launched our Youth Justice Report: Fair go for young people last week. This comes after a few years of consultations and roundtables with the youth sector, young people and Government agencies. The young people we heard from who were in conflict with the law said that they wanted help earlier and proper supports after they left detention. The recent disappointing tightening of NSW bail legislation for 14 – 17 year olds demonstrates why it is more important now more than ever to highlight the need for investment in supports and services that reduce young people’s contact with the justice system. I am excited to share this important piece of advocacy work with you. You can read the Youth Justice Report here. Youth Action was invited to speak at Parliament House to the Law and Safety Committee about their inquiry into e-cigarette regulation and compliance in NSW to talk about our submission and share what young people have said they need. Our submission was grounded by the 72 young people and 62 youth sector workers in NSW that we heard from. Youth Action is grateful for the opportunity to share the voices and lived experiences of the young people around the supports they need around vaping. You can read our submission here. A few weeks ago, Youth Action and COTA NSW facilitated the Project Generation Gap Ageism Roundtable. The Roundtable was an incredible opportunity to bring together young people and people over 50 in NSW to address ageism, build understanding and work collaboratively to develop solutions about economic and social issues that benefit both generations. It was inspiring to see different generations work together to find solutions on common issues. We will keep you updated about the next steps of this project. Thank you to everyone who came along to our TEI Recommissioning session with Anthony Shannon and his DCJ team. Youth Action along with other Peaks is on the Early Intervention Central Council so we will be continuing to advocate on behalf of the youth sector throughout the recommissioning process. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions as the recommissioning process continues. In other sector news, Youth Action is looking forward to our involvement on the Secure Jobs and Funding Certainty Leadership Group which is overseeing the implemenetation of the NSW Government 2024 commitment to deliver longer term funding contracts for community services. We’ll keep you updated as this work progresses. And finally, I am excited to finally share that Youth Action will be hosting our first Regional Youth Work Conference and Awards this year. Thank you so much for everyone who responded to our callout for ideas about where to hold the conference. We were overwhelmed with replies from all over NSW. We are just finalising everything and will be announcing dates and location very soon.  Australian Youth Orchestra: Demon Ducks and Pandemonium discounted tickets This performance brings a rare and captivating program of musical satire and theatre. In just over just-over-60 minutes this performance brings a rare and captivating program of musical satire and theatre. At the heart of this performance is HK Gruber’s Frankenstein. By using the code AYO at checkout, you can avail a 20% discount on all ticket types. The performance will run on Friday 19 April at Cellblock Theatre on Gadigal Country in Sydney. Learn more Youth Homelessness Matters Day Youth Homelessness Matters Day (YHMD) is on 17 April. Youth Homelessness Matters Day (YHMD) is a national day that was started in 1990 to raise awareness and public discussion about child and youth homelessness. Take action by raising awareness about youth homelessness and put the issues and realities of young people experiencing and at risk of homelessness high on the public agenda. Yfoundations encourages everyone to organise and participate in YHMD2024 activities on 17 April. The Yfoundations team have prepared a YHMD campaign kit and resources on their website. Learn more  Young Artist in Residence Youth Action is excited to launch our NSW Young Artist in Residence Program 2024 in line with youth week! This is an open call out to NSW young artists 12 – 24 years of age. We are seeking concept sketch submissions on the theme of young people’s voice, with a focus on why it’s so important for young people’s voices to be included in decisions that directly impact them and their communities. Please submit a concept sketch by 3 May 2024 11:59AEST. Learn more Western Sydney Social Cohesion Summit – youth satellite event working group Western Sydney University is hosting a Strengthening Social Cohesion Conference from 3 – 5 July. Youth Action is excited to partner with them to host a satellite event for young people 12 – 24 years of age on Wednesday 3 July. Youth Action is accepting expression of interest application for young people who want to be involved in reviewing content for the summit and participate in training to carry out roles on the day of the event. There will be three online working group meetings members will be required to attend in June. Applications close Friday 31 May 2024. We are particularly encouraging young people from Western Sydney and South West Sydney to apply. This youth event will bring together over 100 young people from high schools and local youth services across Western Sydney to explore what they think needs to happen to create more cohesive communities in Western Sydney.Learn more The Future of Youth Leadership survey The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) is currently running a national survey for young people 12-25 years of age across Australia. Your feedback will help to shape a report about youth leadership and help to design future youth leadership training programs that young people find useful. AYAC may also use your insights to provide advice to other organisations on how best to engage with young leaders. Participants who complete the survey will have the chance to win one of five $100 gift vouchers. Learn more Survey: Your Voting Experience Voting is compulsory in Australia, but it can be hard to find helpful information for people voting for the first time. Democracy Matters is designing educational resources for early voters and teachers. They want to hear from young people 16-25 years of age about their voting experiences to make sure that these educational resources reflect the experiences of young voters. Learn more  April Sector Session Please join us for our NSW Youth Sector Session on Thursday 18 April at 10am on “Introducing the New Renters Kit” with guest speakers Charlie Wilde (she/her) and Liv Nielsen-Gurung (she/her) from the Tenants’ Union of NSW. Do you work with young people who want to start renting? Do they struggle to get their foot in the door? Is the world of landlords, leases, repairs, rent increases and terminations a bit overwhelming? This months sector session introduces the Tenants’ Union of NSW’s New Renters Kit, designed to share practical renting tips, help young people avoid problems, and support them to work through tricky renting situations. You can learn more about the New Renters Kit here and their Renting First Aid workshops here. Details What: Introducing the New Renters Kit When: Thursday 18 April at 10am Register here Expression of Interest: Western Sydney Social Cohesion Conference Western Sydney University is hosting a Strengthening Social Cohesion Conference from 3 – 5 July 2024. Youth Action has been invited to partner with them to host a satellite event for young people 12 – 24yrs on Wednesday 3 July from 9:30am – 2:30pm. Youth Action is taking expression of interest applications from youth services and councils who could bring groups of up to 10 young people to attend the Social Cohesion Conference. This youth event will bring together over 100 young people from high schools and local youth services across Western Sydney to explore what they think needs to happen to create more cohesive communities in Western Sydney. Applications close 29 April. Learn more Sticky Stuff Training As part of Youth Homelessness Matters Day, Yfoundations is offering a free Stick Stuff webinar on Wednesday 17 April from 10am – 1pm. Sticky Stuff aims to increase your confidence and knowledge about sexual health. The session will cover how to start a sexual health conversation, where to find resources to support the young people you work with, as well as information on prevention, testing and treatment of STIs and more. Learn more National Youth Settlement Framework Training Young people who arrive in Australia within humanitarian contexts have unique needs that require specialist support. Join MYAN NSW for a two day workshop exploring how to apply the National Youth Settlement Framework (NYSF) in your practice. Learn more Renting First Aid workshops The Tenants’ Union of NSW have announced a new workshop – Renting First Aid. The workshop builds confidence in community workers, helping them to support people new to renting or experiencing problems during their tenancy. The New Renters Kit is the main resource for the workshop, but they will also draw your attention to a wide range of other resources that can help you in your work. The Tenants Union of NSW will be running the workshop online and in-person. Register to the next workshops: 15 May 2024 (online) and 25 June 2024 (in-person). Learn more Have your say: Portable Long Service Leave Scheme The NSW Government is introducing a portable long service leave scheme for the community service sector. This means community sector workers would continue to accrue long service leave, no matter how often they change jobs within the sector. Public consultation is now open for feedback on the scheme’s design and proposed bill. Whether you’re a community service worker, employer, service recipient, or simply interested in the sector, your feedback is crucial. The survey closes 30 April 2024. Learn more  Youth Action submission to the Inquiry into children and young people with disability in NSW educational settings Our submission is grounded in the voices and lived experiences of young people with disability across NSW who we have heard from through our consultations. The young people we heard from have identified solutions including increased support for teaching staff to understand disability, responses that address the unique needs of students with disability and increased wellbeing supports in mainstream schools to ensure that the accommodations of young people with disability are always met. Learn more here. Youth Action Supplementary Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Cost of Living Youth Action first submitted to the inquiry in May 2023. Since entering this submission, we have continued to hear from young people and the youth sector about how cost of living is affecting all young people and especially young people doing it tough. Youth Action would like to see the committee hear from young people about their experiences regarding the cost-of-living crisis and soaring energy prices. Learn more here. Bachelor of Youth Work degree from March 2025 Western Sydney University will be offering a Bachelor of Youth degree from March 2025. The course will be available face to face and online, and on a full-time and part-time study load. People who have completed a Diploma of Youth Work can obtain advanced entry of up to one year. The Programme Lead Youth Work, Associate Professor Howard Sercombe is interested in setting up partnerships for field placements and feedback about the course plan. For more information about the degree and to set up a partnership, please contact Howard on h.sercombe@westernsydney.edu.au. Early Drug Diversion Initiative NSW Police can now issue an on-the-spot $400 fine for a first or second eligible low-level drug offence instead of a court attendance notice. The Early Drug Diversion Initiative is not drug decriminalisation. It is still an offence to possess and use illegal drugs in NSW. This new, evidence-based approach to low-level drug offences diverts people to health education services at an early stage, and away from the criminal justice system. You can learn more about the new initiative here. New approach to engaging young people in the development of government policy The Hon Dr Anne Aly MP, Federal Minster for Youth recently launched Engage! A strategy to include young people in the decisions we make. This new strategy was shaped by the Government’s Youth Steering Committee and informed by consultation with more than 4,600 young people from across Australia. Engage! sets out how young people will be able to have their say on issues and contribute to policies that impact them. Learn more about Engage! at the Office for Youth website. |
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