The Australian Government Office for Youth was established within the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
The Office for Youth coordinates the Australian Government’s significant investment and effort for young people across government. The Office for Youth leads the Australian Governments commitment to working for and with young people, acknowledging that young people are valuable participants in Australian society and are crucial to our nation’s economic and social prosperity.
The Office for Youth is one way the Australian Government intends to continue building on its commitment to young people. The Office ensures there is a coordinated approach to youth affairs across government.
Guiding principles
The guiding principles for the Australian Government Office for Youth are:
- Universality – every young person is important. Young people have diverse life experiences, circumstances and needs. To support all young people, government policies and services need to be complex and multi-faceted. The Office for Youth brings this whole-of-youth perspective and understanding of diversity to working with government.
- Engagement – in order to be effective, governments must stop talking to young people, and start engaging with young people. The Office for Youth respects and understands the value and contributions young people offer as citizens of today, not just the leaders of tomorrow.
- Inclusion – the Office for Youth acknowledges there are gaps in opportunity and achievement between young people doing well and those faced with disadvantage and social exclusion. The Australian Government is addressing broad social gaps in achievement through its productivity and social inclusion agendas. The Office supports these government agendas by considering the specific needs of young people. This will include young people facing disadvantage like Indigenous people, homeless people and those experiencing compromise to their mental health and wellbeing.