A NSW for Young People: Beyond 2019 - presented by Youth Action NSW

1

Youth Action NSW

Suite 401, 52-58 William St

Woolloomooloo NSW, 2011 Australia

p (02) 8354 3700

e info@youthaction.org.au

ABN 17 209 492 539

Youth Action is the peak organisation representing young people and youth services in NSW. Our work helps build the capacity of young people, youth workers and youth services, and we advocate for positive change on issues affecting these groups.

It is the role of Youth Action to:

1. Respond to social and political agendas relating to young people and the youth service sector.

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2. Provide proactive leadership and advocacy to shape the agenda on issues affecting young people and youth services.

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3. Collaborate on issues that affect young people and youth workers.

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4. Promote a positive profile in the media and the community of young people and youth services.

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5. Build capacity for young people to speak out and take action on issues that affect them.

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6. Enhance the capacity of the youth services sector to provide high quality services.

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7. Ensure Youth Action’s organisational development, efficiency, effectiveness and good governance.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Youth Action acknowledges and pays respect to the traditional owners of the land, past, present and future, across NSW. We are committed to a positive future for Aboriginal young people and their communities. The Youth Action office is located upon the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, and we acknowledge their traditional custodianship.

Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. A call to action 4

3. Improve mental health outcomes for young people 6

4. Protect young people and care leavers in NSW to grow up healthily, happily and safely 10

5. Enable all young people to have a safe and affordable place to call home 15

6. Create an education system that equips young people for their future 20

7. Achieve excellent and affordable post school pathways 27

8. Change the story on youth unemployment 31

9. Make NSW a safe state for young people 35

10. Keep young people out of prison 39

11. Resource a joined-up NSW youth development sector to be accessible to all young people 46

A NSW for Young People: Beyond 2019

3

Introduction

This report outlines each of the key actions the NSW

Government needs to take across a range of issues

that impact young people.

Youth Action, as the peak body for young people and

youth services in NSW, has 30 years of expertise and

experience working with young people and the youth

support sector in NSW to ensure young people are

supported, engaged and valued in our society.

Youth Action advocates for change for young people

in NSW, particularly young people who are excluded

or experience disadvantage. With young people and

youth support services, we have identified a number

of changes that the NSW government must make

to improve the lives of young people. Our work is

informed by significant primary research, consultation

and engaging with thousands of young people and

hundreds of youth services.

Young people are experts in their own experience,

and their views are essential to solving the challenges

for young people and their communities. Their views

should not only be heard, but be influential – taken into

account on matters than impact their lives at all levels.

This principle underpins each of the key actions for the

NSW Government.

Young people are of critical

importance to the NSW community.

One third of Australia’s young people

live in NSW,1 constituting 1.4 million

young people 12–25 and they make up

18% of the population in the state.2

ENDNOTES

1 NSW Department of Health, 2017, NSW Youth Health Framework

2017, accessed via <https://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/pds/

ActivePDSDocuments/PD2017_019.pdf>, p. 4

2 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Table 51. Estimated Resident

Population by Single Year of Age, New South Wales, cat. no.

3101.0, ABS, Canberra, Mar 2018, accessed via: http://www.

abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3101.0Mar%20

2018?OpenDocument

Currently, there is no Minister for Young People in

Cabinet to represent the specific needs of young people

across portfolios. Renewing this portfolio is pivotal to

changing the story for young people and to ensure that

young people are part of central government decision

making mechanisms. We need bi-partisan commitment

from all sides of politics for a Minster for Young People

with a corresponding portfolio.

Youth Action is calling on all parties to commit to a

Minster for Young People with a corresponding portfolio,

to commit to the actions in this report, and to make NSW

a better place for young people.

Katie Acheson

CEO

4

A call to action

NSW can be a place where all young people are valued, engaged and supported. Right now, while many young people in NSW are doing well, there are many more who consistently do not get the support they need, or who do not have opportunity to reach their potential.

The experiences young people have at this stage of development will have life-long impact. It is imperative that young people thrive now, not only because of the impact this has on the communities of the future, because they are a valued part of the community today.

The NSW Government can choose to make NSW the best possible place for young people, particularly those who experience intersectional and compounding disadvantage and exclusion.

There are 10 fundamental changes young people need.

5

AS DETAILED IN ‘A NSW FOR YOUNG PEOPLE: BEYOND 2019’.  YOUTH ACTION IS CALLING ON ALL PARTIES TO:

REINTRODUCE REAL REPRESENTATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT

oo    Appoint a Minster for Young People

IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

oo    Ensure young people have appropriate mental health help and care that is timely and youth-specific.

oo    Take steps to prevent youth suicide.

PROTECT YOUNG PEOPLE AND CARE LEAVERS IN NSW TO GROW UP HEALTHILY, HAPPILY AND SAFELY

oo    Ensure young people at risk of harm get better protection and support.

oo    Invest in prevention and early intervention for young people to address issues before they become a crisis.

oo    Raise the age of leaving care to 21, for young people who wish to stay beyond 18.

oo    Give young people who are leaving care the support and skills they need to succeed.

ENABLE ALL YOUNG PEOPLE TO HAVE A SAFE AND AFFORDABLE PLACE TO CALL HOME

oo    Support first home buyers.

oo    Secure a better deal for young people who are renting.

oo    Plan to end homelessness.

CREATE AN EDUCATION SYSTEM THAT EQUIPS YOUNG PEOPLE FOR THEIR FUTURE

oo    Make sure all schools have a Student Support Officer.

oo    Improve the use of suspension so that it supports young people and their education outcomes.

oo    Ensure young people with disability educational equality.

ACHIEVE EXCELLENT AND AFFORDABLE POST SCHOOL PATHWAYS

oo    Improve school to work transitions through effective career guidance.

oo    Strengthen access to Vocational Education and Training.

CHANGE THE STORY ON YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

oo    Make a youth unemployment plan in the first 100 days of government.

oo    Lead the way on best youth employment practice.

oo    Help young people who need it to get and keep work.

oo    Make transport free for young jobseekers.

MAKE NSW A SAFE STATE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

oo    Make prevention of gender-based violence a key priority in NSW secondary schools.

oo    Ensure young people with experience of domestic and family violence can access the right support.

KEEP YOUNG PEOPLE OUT OF PRISON

oo    Support justice reinvestment via youth and community-led solutions.

oo   Use the whole range of diversionary options to their full extent.

oo    Raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility in NSW to at least 14 years.

oo    Implement immediate changes to make detention, as a last resort, safe for young people.

RESOURCE A JOINED-UP NSW YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SECTOR TO BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL YOUNG PEOPLE

oo    Fund the youth development sector to meet need across the continuum.

oo    Change the system to enable services to adapt and respond to local need, including through outcomes frameworks.

6

Young people should live happy, healthy and fulfilled lives that give them a strong foundation for their mental wellbeing. However, young people are particularly at risk of poor mental health and, at the moment, we are not responding quickly or effectively enough.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

oo  Fund a fully integrated youth-specific mental health service system that coordinates care from prevention to early intervention, through to clinical and specialist care. This should prioritise gaps experienced by young people from regional, rural and remote areas, who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or who are LGBTI young people.

oo    Develop and implement a youth specific suicide prevention plan in consultation with children and young people. This should include a culturally appropriate, community-led and targeted Aboriginal plan.

oo    Fund a youth-specific mental health service system that acts to eliminate or subsidise transport barriers that prevent young people getting help.

oo    Introduce compulsory mental health first aid for GPs, frontline workers, and people who have high contact with young people.

oo    Support programs, such as Friend2Friend, which recognise that young people often turn to friends first, and their friends should be equipped to help out.

Improve mental health outcomes for young people

75% of mental health problems first appear before the age of 25.1

1 in 4 young people aged 16–24 experience a mental illness.2

More than 70% of young women and 80% of young men who need help and support don’t get it.3

45% of all young people who died by suicide in 2016 were from NSW.

83% of young people turn to friends for help before others.4

7

Young people should live happy, healthy and fulfilled

lives that give them a strong foundation for their mental

wellbeing. However, young people are particularly at risk

of poor mental health and, at the moment, we are not

responding quickly or effectively enough.

Young people also live with mental illnesses every day.

Mental health issues are associated with social and

economic disadvantages, such as impaired academic

achievement and school attendance, hindered social

development, unemployment and housing instability.

Young people are particularly at risk:

1 in 4 young people aged 16–24 experience a

mental illness.5

14% of those aged 14–17 experience a mental

health condition each year.6

1 in 5 young people aged 15–19 have levels of

psychological stress that indicate a probable

serious mental illness.7

When young people are struggling with their mental

health, they are prone to self-isolation and behaviours

that risk their health, like substance abuse.8 Despite

the high risks they face, quality and access to services

for young people aged 12–24 is among the poorest.9

Only 9.9% of mental health expenditure by States and

Territories in the year 2010–2011 was directed at child

and adolescent mental health programs, and only 0.2%

at youth mental health services specifically.10

One of the most frightening aspects of youth mental

health is the growing rates of suicide. Suicide is the

primary cause of death among young people in Australia

and the number of young Australians who have died

by suicide as the result of a mental health condition

is the highest it has been in ten years.11 Occurrences

of intentional self-harm are estimated to be between

40–100 times greater than the number of young people

who die due to intentional self-harm.12

Suicide remains a critical issue. More young people die by suicide than in car accidents.13 In 2016, 391 young people aged 15–24 died by suicide, with 45% of those being in NSW.14 From 2011 to 2015, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–24 were around four times more likely than non-Indigenous Australians of the same age to die from intentional self-harm.15

Youth Action undertook significant primary research in 2017 consulting and engaging with young people, youth support services, and frontline workers providing mental health services in metropolitan, regional and remote areas. This research demonstrated that the current mental health system is segmented, outdated and adult-centric. This makes it difficult for young people to navigate, and the limited youth-focus is alienating.

The inaccessibility of services means young people

go without the support they need, and don’t develop

appropriate help-seeking behaviours.16

Young people living remotely are more likely to experience

isolation, poverty and a lack of services, and often have a

strong culture of self-reliance that discourages help-seeking

behaviour. Rates of suicide and self-harm increase for

young people who live outside of major cities and increase

further with their remoteness. Because of this, there

should be a specific focus on those in rural and regional

areas. Youth service workers, frontline staff and other

health professionals consistently report waits of up to three

months to see mental health specialists.17 Psychiatric beds

can take more than a year to access in critical situations.18

Because regional young people struggle with service

availability, youth mental health providers such as

headspace, ReachOut and Kids Helpline have successfully

introduced e-mental health solutions. While these

cannot substitute for in-person counselling, they are

extremely effective at providing information, support, and

assessment, and can assist prevention and management

of symptoms. They have the benefit of a high degree

of anonymity, meaning they are often useful early

identification and referral tools.

8

Stigma continues to be a concern for young people. Four

out of five young people in Australia think that people

their age will not seek support for anxiety or depression

because they are worried about what other people will

think of them.19 The provision of meaningful e-health

services helps young people overcome stigma and

reluctance to seek help.

But there is a lot that can be done to improve outcomes

for young people. Intervention can be particularly

potent in adolescence. It is well established that young

people experience a key period of rapid and extensive

psychological and biological growth, ‘second only to early

childhood in the rate and breadth of developmental

change’,20 coupled with an increase in vulnerability

to a range of risks. During such an important period

of growth, risks can become embedded or averted.

Interventions during adolescence can decrease the

adverse long-term impacts of, for example, violence and

abuse with the potential to change life trajectories.21

Many of the mental health and wellbeing challenges faced

by adults can be traced to adolescence or young adulthood

and intervening early in a person’s life and providing them

with support and capacity-building when mental health

concerns begin to emerge significantly decreases the

impact and intensity of those issues later in life.22 Growing

protective factors and access to services is essential. Early

intervention can achieve the best outcomes for young

people and can limit negative outcomes, such as the onset

of chronic mental illness and suicide.23

We commend the work of Government through successive

suicide prevention strategies, collaboration with federal

suicide prevention and mental health strategies and

programs and the establishment of youth health services

in Local Health Districts. However, improved coordination,

funding and targeted programming are required to make

sure we stem the increase of poor mental health among

young people and vulnerable groups in NSW, and ensure

they get the help they need when they need it.

The NSW can act to prevent poor youth mental health

and suicide. Improving access to youth-specific mental

health and suicide prevention services for young people,

to address the complex mental health needs that are

currently overlooked. Without significant funding and

attention, the rates will not decrease.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

oo    Fund a fully integrated youth-specific mental health service system that coordinates a spectrum of care from prevention to early intervention, through to clinical and specialist care. This should prioritise gaps experienced by regional, rural and remote young people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, as well as LGBTI young people.

oo    Develop and implement a youth-specific suicide prevention plan in consultation with children and young people. This should include a culturally appropriate, community-led and targeted Aboriginal plan.

ooFund a youth-specific mental health service system

that acts to eliminate or subsidise transport barriers

that prevent young people getting help.

ooIntroduce compulsory mental health first aid for GPs,

frontline workers, and people who have high contact

with young people.

ooSupport programs, such as Friend2Friend, which

recognise that young people often turn to friends first,

and their friends should be equipped to help out.

9

ENDNOTES

1 Mission Australia, 2015, Young People’s Mental Health Over the Years:

Youth Survey 2012–2014, p.21.

2 Slade J et al., 2009, The mental health of Australians 2: report

on the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing,

Department of Health and Ageing, access via: <http://www.

health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/

A24556C814804A99CA257BF0001CAC45/$File/mhaust2.pdf>

3 Hosie A et al., 2014, Crossroads: Rethinking the Australian mental

health system, ReachOut Australia, accessed via: <https://about.

au.reachout.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ReachOut.com-

Crossroads-Report-2014.pdf>, p. 8.

4 Ivancic L et al., 2018, Lifting the weight: Understanding young people’s

mental health and service needs in regional and remote Australia,

ReachOut Australia and Mission Australia, Sydney, p 7.

5 Slade J et al., 2009, The mental health of Australians 2: report

on the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing,

Department of Health and Ageing, access via: <http://www.

health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/

A24556C814804A99CA257BF0001CAC45/$File/mhaust2.pdf>

6 Lawrence D et al., 2015, The mental health of children and adolescents:

Report on the second Australian child and adolescent survey of mental

health and wellbeing, Department of Health, Canberra, accessed

via: <https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/

Content/9DA8CA21306FE6EDCA257E2700016945/%24File/child2.pdf>, p. 4.

7 Sawyer M et al, 2000, The Mental Health of Young People in

Australia, Department of Health and Ageing, Canberra, accessed

via: <https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/

Content/7E7B15F442156327CA257BF0001E4714/$File/young.

pdf> p. 43.

8 Costello L, Thomson M, Jones K, 2013, Mental Health and Homelessness:

Final Report, Mental Health Commission of NSW, accessed via:

<https://nswmentalhealthcommission.com.au/sites/default/files/

publication-documents/Final%20Report%20-%20AHURI%20-%20

Mental%20Health%20and%20Homelessness.pdf>, p. 1.

9 Mission Australia, 2015, Young People’s Mental Health Over the

Years: Youth Survey 2012–2014, p.21.

10 Department of Health and Ageing, 2013, National mental health

report 2013: Tacking progress of mental health reform in Australia

1993–2011, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, p.37.

11 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013, Causes of Death,

Australia, 2013, cat. no. 3303.0, ABS, accessed via: <http://

www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20

Subject/3303.0~2013~Media%20Release~Changes%20in%20

Australia’s%20leading%20causes%20of%20death%20(Media%20

Release)~10041>

12 Australian Human Rights Commission, 2014, Children’s Rights Report

2014, AHRC, Sydney, accessed via: <https://www.humanrights.gov.

au/sites/default/files/document/publication/Children%27s%20

Rights%20Report%202014_2.pdf>

13 beyondblue, ND, Stats and facts, accessed via: <https://www.

youthbeyondblue.com/footer/stats-and-facts>

14 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Mental Health Services in

Australia: Mental Health Workforce, accessed via <https://mhsa.aihw.

gov.au/resources/workforce/>

15 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013, Causes of Death,

Australia, 2013, cat. no. 3303.0, ABS, accessed via: <http://

www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20

Subject/3303.0~2013~Media%20Release~Changes%20in%20

Australia’s%20leading%20causes%20of%20death%20(Media%20

Release)~10041>

16 Youth Action, 2017, Submission: Inquiry into the prevention of

youth suicide, Youth Action, Sydney, accessed via: <http://www.

youthaction.org.au/youth_suicide_submission>

17 Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Radio National, Radio

National Afternoons, March 2 2015, ‘Landmark Study Reveals Rural

and Remote Communities Are Missing Out On Essential Mental

Health Services’, accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/

programs/rnafternoons/rural-mental-health/6274578

18 Radio National Afternoons, radio program, ABC Radio National,

2 March 2015, ‘Landmark Study Reveals Rural and Remote

Communities Are Missing Out On Essential Mental Health Services’,

accessed via: <http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/

rnafternoons/rural-mental-health/6274578>

19 MediaCom Melbourne, 2015, youthbeyondblue Anxiety and Depression

Ad Tracking Survey Post Campaign Research, Melbourne, p. 7.

20 ibid.

21 World Health Organisation, 2014, Health for the World’s Adolescents:

A second chance in the second decade, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland,

accessed via: <http://apps.who.int/adolescent/second-decade/

files/1612_MNCAH_HWA_Executive_Summary.pdf>, p. 3.

22 Fox S et al., 2015, Better Systems, Better Chances: A Review of Research

and Practice for Prevention and Early Intervention Australian Research

Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), Canberra, p. 21.

23 Patel et al., 2007, ‘Mental health of young people: a global public

health challenge’, The Lancet, v. 369, 9569, p. 1302-1313.

10

All young people have the right to be safe and to receive loving care and support. Young people also have a right to receive the services they need to enable them to succeed in life.

However, in NSW the number of children and young people entering care is increasing, which places more pressure on the system. As a result, young people who need help often don’t get it. The numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people entering care have increased and continue to be significantly overrepresented in the care population. Young people who leave care have significantly poor outcomes.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

oo    Develop a whole of government policy and practice framework, and a strategy that articulates a strong commitment specifically to at risk young people, including Aboriginal young people, with measures to track progress and provide accountability.

ooCommit to increase expenditure to prevention

and early intervention over a five-year period,

including programs for prevention and early

intervention for young people aged 12–25

in NSW.

ooRaise the age of leaving out-of-home care

to 21, for young people who wish to stay

beyond 18, as recommended by the Home

Stretch campaign.4 There should be adequate

supports attached in relation to housing,

education, employment, life skills, mental

health and peer support, and adequate

assistance for carers.

ooImplement policies to prepare young people

to transition to independence and invest in

quality monitoring of agencies’ compliance

with these policies.

Protect young people and care leavers in NSW to grow up

healthily, happily and safely

Out of a total 59,092 children in NSW receiving child protection services, 7,142 were aged 15–17 years, significantly less than the 16,003 aged 10–14 years.1

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are ten times more likely to be placed in out of home care (OOHC),2

Investigation by the NSW Ombudsman in 2014 reported that ‘a higher proportion of reports about adolescents were often receiving no response.’3

59,092

7,142

16,003

11

Young people have the right to a response when they

require care and protection, and intervention can

reap both personal and systemic rewards. Yet, as a

consequence of additional pressure on the system,

young people who are at risk and who need support

don’t get it. It is very clear from a range of systems

reviews, government policy statements, data sets, and

through evidence provided from youth support services

that young people at risk in NSW are not receiving a

sufficient systemic response.

Young people in NSW often are not receiving a statutory

child protection intervention when it is needed. Aside

from a statutory response, when a young person comes

into contact with the system – whether they are reported

as at Risk of Significant Harm (ROSH) or below ROSH

– there should be mechanisms in place that trigger a

response.5 Many young people at risk of harm do not get

the support they need.

As a result, the youth support sector is working with

an increasing number of complex clients without the

appropriate recognition or funding. This has flow-on

effects as to how well NSW can stop the escalation of

young people in crisis while early intervention services

are increasingly dealing with complex and crisis clients.

There is also tension between children and young

people the child protection system of NSW. There

is no shortage of evidence that demonstrates the

impact of the first years of life on lifelong health and

wellbeing outcomes.6 It is well established that young

people experience a key period of rapid and extensive

psychological and biological growth, ‘second only to early

childhood in the rate and breadth of developmental

change,’7 coupled with an increase in vulnerability

to a range of risks. During such an important period

of growth, risks can become embedded or averted.

Interventions during adolescence can decrease the

adverse long-term impacts of, for example, violence and

abuse.8 The intervention of the child protection system

can serve to protect vulnerable young people from the

worst of poor social outcomes, such as involvement in

justice systems, homelessness, unemployment and poor

mental health.

This tension is reflected, but not well addressed, in

NSW’s child protection systems. While NSW has provided

important investment in the early years of life, policy

and strategy has not kept pace with the evidence base

around adolescent intervention. This is also true of the

child protection system; when prioritisation is necessary,

very young children are considered a high priority

while young people are not. Despite strong evidence

on the importance of life cycles and the effectiveness

of intervention both in early childhood as well as

adolescence, it is clear from data, as well as reports from

those who work on the ground with young people that

are ‘older,’ young people such as those aged 14–17 are

not well supported across the child protection system.

The 2011 Child Rights report further highlights the

unmet need for young people, stating: ‘There is a lack of

government attention to older children and adolescents.

This is most evident in the “buck-passing” between

community services and youth justice authorities

when children in need of care come into contact

with the criminal justice system, the lack of adequate

accommodation options for older children, and the

abuse of children even after they have been the subject

of care orders.’9

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people are vastly over-represented in the child protection system. Multiple inquiries have reinforced the consistent and enduring issues of the child protection system in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. Many of the 54 recommendations outlined Bringing Them Home,10 directed at healing and reconciliation, as well as addressing the policies and practices around contemporary removals of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people from their families, remain unrealised almost 20 years later.

12

The asserted principle of self-determination for Indigenous peoples is the key to reversing the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the child welfare system and to eliminating unjustified removals of Indigenous children from their families.11

NSW has the highest rate of removals in Australia, with approximately one in ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in OOHC.12

While FaCS has made efforts to address this, such as developing the Aboriginal Cultural Inclusion Framework 2015–2018, aiming to embed Aboriginal cultural inclusion, accountability and monitoring processes into the work of FaCS,13 this has not been enough to reduce the disproportionate rate of removals. The facts of contemporary separation highlight a need for fundamental change in child protection legislation, policy and practice.

Young people should get timely and appropriate support services, even if it’s not a statutory response, when they’re reported at risk of harm.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooDevelop a whole of government policy and practice

framework, and a strategy that articulates a strong

commitment specifically to at risk young people,

including Aboriginal young people, with measures to

track progress and provide accountability.

We need to make sure that every preventative effort

has been made so that removing a child or young

person from a family is a last resort. Prevention and

early intervention is critical to reduce the increasing

numbers of children and young people in crisis. This is

a core strategy of the National Framework for Protecting

Australia’s Children: ‘Australia needs to move from seeing

“protecting children” merely as a response to abuse and

neglect to one of promoting the safety and wellbeing

of children.’14

It is well documented that prevention and early

intervention are both more effective in achieving

positive outcomes and a stronger investment. As put

by Allen and Smith, ‘The two public policy strengths of

Early Intervention are firstly that it is less expensive and

second it is more effective than late intervention. It is no

longer viable to take ever increasing amounts of taxation

from the public to deal with the ever-increasing impact

of failing to intervene early.’15 As highlighted by Australian

Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY),

‘expenditure on late intervention and crisis response is

becoming unsustainable – rising demand and increasing

complexity is creating significant long-term challenges

for government budgets.’16

It is clear that the tertiary intervention to protect

children and young people from harm is not adequately

resourced. Nor does this give basis for a reduction or

removal of funding from young people in crisis. It must,

however, be recognised that there is a very real risk of

the continual growth of young people in crisis, because

support to prevent, intervene early or mitigate crisis is

neglected. In NSW, while there are positive indications

about early intervention, the rhetoric fails to shift to real

financial commitment.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooCommit to increase expenditure to prevention and

early intervention over a five-year period, including

programs for prevention and early intervention for

young people aged 12–25 in NSW.

Young people leaving care are some of the most

vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in Australia.

In the first year of leaving care, 35% of young people

are homeless, only 35% complete Year 12, 29% are

unemployed, and 46% of males are involved in the youth

justice system.17

13

In the past six months, Tasmania, Victoria, South

Australia and Western Australia have all committed to

or started implementing policies to extend support for

young people in out-of-home care until the age of 21.18

Analysis from Deloitte found that compared with

18-year-old care leavers, those staying in care until 21

were half as likely to become homeless, 24% less likely

to suffer mental illness and 13% less likely to be drug

dependent.19 Every dollar invested in an extension of

OOHC support in NSW would see a return of $3.40.20

While extending out-of-home care is an excellent option

for many young people, the NSW government needs to

continue to improve its transition planning outcomes

so that young people not only have, are aware of, and

are happy with their leaving care plan, but that it goes

beyond a piece of paper and ensures that young people

have the skills and relationships in place to thrive

independent of care.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooRaise the age of leaving out-of-home care to 21,

for young people who wish to stay beyond 18, as

recommended by the Home Stretch campaign.21

There should be adequate supports attached

in relation to housing, education, employment,

life skills, mental health and peer support, and

adequate assistance for carers.

ooImplement policies to prepare young people

to transition to independence and invest in

quality monitoring of agencies’ compliance with

these policies.

14

ENDNOTES

1 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2016, ‘Child Protection

Australia 2014–15’, Child Welfare Series Number 63, AIHW, Canberra,

p. 71.

2 ibid, p. 33.

3 NSW Ombudsman, 2014, Review of the NSW Child Protection System:

Are things Improving?, accessed via: <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.

au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/15691/Review-of-the-NSW-childprotection-

system-Are-things-improving-SRP-April-2014.pdf>, pp.

2–5.

4 http://thehomestretch.org.au/

5 Youth Action, 2016, Submission: Inquiry into Child Protection, Youth

Action, Sydney, accessed via: <http://www.youthaction.org.au/

shaping_better_child_protection>

6 Fox S et al., 2015, Better Systems, Better Chances: A Review of Research

and Practice for Prevention and Early Intervention Australian Research

Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), Canberra, p. 21.

7 ibid.

8 World Health Organisation, 2014, Health for the World’s Adolescents:

A second chance in the second decade, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland,

accessed via: <http://apps.who.int/adolescent/second-decade/

files/1612_MNCAH_HWA_Executive_Summary.pdf>, p. 3.

9 ibid. p.15

10 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1997, Bringing

them home, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

11 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1997, Bringing

them home, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

12 Grandmothers Against Removals, 2015, Guiding principles for

strengthening the participation of local Aboriginal community in child

protection decision making, GMAR, 2015.

13 Department of Family and Community Services, 2014, Aboriginal

Inclusion Framework 2015–2018, NSW Government, Sydney.

14 Council of Australian Governments, 2012, Protecting Children is

Everyone’s Business: National Framework for Protecting Australia’s

Children 2009–2020, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, p. 7.

15 Allen G & Smith ID, 2008, Early intervention: Good parents, great

kids, better citizens, Centre for Social Justice and the Smith Institute,

London, UK, p.113.

16 Fox S et al., 2015, Better Systems, Better Chances: A Review of Research

and Practice for Prevention and Early Intervention Australian Research

Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), Canberra, p. 2.

17 ibid., p. 32.

18 Marchese D, 2018, ‘Supporting foster kids until 21 would slash

homelessness and teen pregnancies, study finds’, Triple J Hack,

ABC News, 24 October 2018, accessed via: <https://www.abc.net.

au/triplej/programs/hack/extending-state-care-to-21-to-slashhomelessness/

10422602>

19 Michael L, 2018, ‘Longer foster care would cut suffering and save

millions, study finds’ Probono Australia, 24 October 2018, accessed

via: <https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/10/longerfoster-

care-cut-suffering-save-millions-study-finds/>

20 Deloitte, 2018, Extending care to 21 years in New South Wales,

commissioned by Home Stretch Campaign NSW, Sydney, accessed

via: <https://www.anglicare.org.au/media/4351/home-stretchcampaign-

nsw-oct-2018.pdf>, p. 20

21 http://thehomestretch.org.au/

15

Enable all young people to

have a safe and affordable

place to call home

NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

Support first home buyers by:

ooInvesting in the social and affordable housing

that Australia needs.

ooPrioritising first home-buyers over property

speculators by resetting the tax system.

Secure a better deal for renters by:

ooProhibiting ‘no grounds’ evictions in the

NSW Rental Tenancies Act 2010

ooTightening regulations around applications

for rentals to stop discrimination.

Plan to end homelessness by:

ooAddressing all the drivers of homelessness,

including the lack of affordable housing,

poverty and family violence.

ooRapidly rehousing people who are homeless

and help them stay there.

ooAddressing the over-representation of Aboriginal people among the homeless.

ooCommitting to ending homelessness by 2030

in negotiation with federal, state and territory

governments by taking action to prevent

homelessness and delivering rapid access to

the housing and support people need if they

do lose their own home.

ooImproving access to early intervention

programs that identify young people at risk

before they reach crisis point.

ooExpanding funding for long-term transitional

services that include wrap-around support

based on models designed and proven to

work with young people

In the last ten years in

NSW, homelessness

amongst young

people aged 18–24 has

increased

by 92%.1

In 2016, there were

9,048 young

people experiencing

homelessness in NSW.2

More than

half of young

people under 24

continue to experience

housing

stress.3

92%

Every young person in NSW should have

an affordable and secure place to call

home. Housing impacts on all aspects of

a young person’s life such as health and

wellbeing, access to education and skill

development, and work opportunities.

For young people in NSW, high rental costs, low

incomes, insecure share housing, and the lack of

affordable housing and social housing stock all make

having a place to live a challenge. While some young

people are staying at home for longer, others don’t

have the option.

16

Stable, affordable and suitable housing is necessary to

ensure a young person’s economic, mental, physical

and social wellbeing early in life. It is also connected to

a positive sense of self, good health, social cohesion

and educational completion. However, in NSW it is

notoriously difficult for young people to attain stable

housing and they are increasingly becoming long-term

renters because rising housing prices lock them out of

the market. Young people in NSW should have access to

stable, affordable and appropriate housing options, and

rarely find themselves at risk of homelessness.

When it comes to accessing housing generally, young

people face barriers and discrimination. High rental

costs, low incomes, insecure share housing, and the lack

of affordable housing and social housing stock all make

independent living a challenge for many young people.

While some young people are staying at home for

longer, for others this simply is not an option.

MORE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE RENTING IN

AN INCREASINGLY UNAFFORDABLE AND

INSECURE MARKET

With homeownership falling for younger people,4 more

young people are renting. With a generation potentially

destined to be ‘permanent renters,’ renting needs to be

affordable, safe and secure. There was a 14.1% increase

in young households renting (aged between 15–24

years) from 2005–2012.5 Indeed, in 2012, 77.7% of

households headed by 15–24-year-olds in Australia were

renting in the private rental market.6

The rental market is also becoming increasingly

unviable for young people due to problems with the

affordability and stability of renting in NSW. According

to the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute

(AHURI), four out of five ‘very low-income’ households

pay an unaffordable rent.7 In 2018, only two out of

67,000 rental properties surveyed were ‘affordable’ to a

young person receiving Youth Allowance or Newstart.8

Young people also tend to be low income earners.

Young people are at a point in their lives in which they

are employed part-time or casually, in part to enable

flexibility for study commitments or to undertake

apprenticeships. On average, those in full-time

employment earn between $600–$900 per week, and

those in part-time employment earn around $180–

$380.9 A quarter of low-income households pay rent in

excess of 50% of their total income.10 More than half of

young people under 24 continue to experience housing

stress even after receiving government-funded rental

support.11 In 2017, young people were hit the hardest by

financial stress, with 50% of young people aged 18–29

having difficulty paying for the necessities – like food,

rent or bills.12

This lack of affordable housing has resulted in

concerning trends such as overcrowding, shared

accommodation and informal leases. Rental

accommodation is insecure in tenure, and young people

are seen by landlords as ‘risky.’ As a result, it becomes

increasingly difficult for young people to access what

little affordable rental accommodation there is.

Discrimination is real for young people in the

rental market. In a nationally representative survey,

young people were 14% more likely to experience

discrimination in relation to their age and were more

likely to say they were discriminated against (55%)

compared with those over the age of 35 – particularly

in regard to their age (22%).13

In NSW, the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 allows

landlords to evict tenants without requiring a reason.

While recent changes to NSW legislation has been

positive for renters, unfair ‘no grounds’ evictions and

room for discrimination still exist. Research shows that

8% of Australians have experienced a ‘no grounds’

eviction during their rental history.14 These kinds of

legal loopholes leave renters, especially young renters,

vulnerable to housing instability and discrimination.

17

Another significant issue is the short-term nature

of rental tenancies. Over two million people rent in

NSW, and it is estimated that 83% are on a no fixed

term lease.15

A NSW GOVERNMENT CAN (AS

RECOMMENDED BY EVERYBODY’S HOME):

Support first home buyers by:

ooInvesting in the social and affordable

housing that Australia needs.

ooPrioritising first home-buyers over property

speculators by resetting the tax system.

Secure a better deal for renters by:

ooProhibiting ‘no grounds’ evictions in the NSW

Rental Tenancies Act 2010.

ooTightening regulations around applications

for rentals to stop discrimination.

YOUTH HOMELESSNESS IS INCREASING

Housing and rental unaffordability and insecurity are

some of the factors that have increased the risk of

youth homelessness. Young people are particularly

vulnerable to homelessness.16 More young people

experience homelessness in NSW than in any other

state, and in 2016 there were 9,048 young people

12–24 experiencing homelessness in NSW.17

Young people are overrepresented in the homelessness

population, representing approximately 25% of the

homelessness population in NSW,18 despite only being

18% of the NSW population.19 Youth homelessness

figures are also generally accepted as vastly

underestimated, with ongoing difficulties in accounting

for those who are, for example, couch surfing or living

in overcrowded accommodation.

Homelessness does not affect every young person

equally and particular groups face higher risks. It is

therefore essential that housing and homelessness

services are culturally appropriate and aware of needs

that are specific to particular groups.

Homelessness amongst young people costs Australia

an estimated $747 million extra per year in costs to the

medical and criminal justice systems. This is in addition

to the costs of providing specialist housing services.20

Providing better pathways into safe and secure longterm

housing will not only benefit young people, it will

also benefit governments and community in the form of

significant cost savings.

Ensuring that all young people have access to safe, secure

housing requires a response from many areas, including

federal and state government, the education system and

employment providers. It will encompass working within

an early intervention model with families and schools,

addressing overall housing affordability, and ensuring

better transitions out of government institutions such as

juvenile justice, psychiatric hospital and OOHC.

Young people require a different model of support and

service than adults.21 Youth-specific services are best

placed to support the complex needs and vulnerability

of young people who do not have a safe and stable place

to live. Given the importance of adolescence and early

adulthood for development, it is vital that intervention

into homelessness occur as early as possible. Early

intervention, outreach, rapid rehousing and ongoing

support will greatly assist young people to transition

out of homelessness. This should involve partnering with

schools, other educational institutions, the community

and youth organisations, to identify young people who

are at risk of homelessness early.

Generalist youth services are essential services in relation

to preventing and intervening early for young people at

risk of homelessness. Their role is to form relationships

and provide service to enhance the protective assets in

young people’s lives, as well as support them intensively

in times of need. These services are different to the

specialist programs that provide housing and support

18

to attain housing. Despite this, young people approach

youth services for support for housing and homelessness.

Services also work with correlates of homelessness

including particularly family breakdown, family/household

violence and relationship breakdown or violence; but also

drug and alcohol support needs, mental health needs,

and needs associated with exclusion from education,

training and employment.22

Homeless young people, rental stress and poverty, as

well as the decrease in homeownership, are interrelated

products of poor housing affordability.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN (AS

RECOMMENDED BY EVERYBODY’S HOME):

ooAddress all the drivers of homelessness, including

the lack of affordable housing, poverty and

family violence.

ooRapidly rehouse people who are homeless and

help them stay there.

ooAddress the over-representation of

Aboriginal people.

ooCommit to ending homelessness by 203 in

negotiation with federal, state and territory

governments, by taking action to prevent

homelessness and delivering rapid access to the

housing and support people need if they do lose

their own home.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooImprove access to early intervention programs

that identify young people at risk before they reach

crisis point.

ooExpand funding for long-term transitional services

that include wrap-around support based on models

designed and proven to work with young people.

19

ENDNOTES

1 YFoundations, 2018, Census reveals rate of youth homelessness in NSW

has doubled, media release, Yfoundations, Sydney, 14 March 2018,

accessed via: <http://yfoundations.org.au/explore-and-learn/

news-and-media/media-releases/>

2 YFoundations, 2018, Census reveals rate of youth homelessness in

NSW has doubled, media release, Yfoundations, Sydney, 14 March

2018, accessed via: <http://yfoundations.org.au/explore-andlearn/

news-and-media/media-releases/>

3 Productivity Commission, 2016, Report on Government Services

2016, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, accessed via: <http://

www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-governmentservices/

2016/housing-and-homelessness/rogs-2016-volumeghousing-

and-homelessness.pdf>, section: G.6.

4 Chalkley-Rhoden S, 2017, ‘Home ownership in Australia in decline

for three decades: Grattan Institute’, ABC News, 17 July 2017,

accessed via: <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-17/

home-ownership-in-australia-declines-for-decades/8677190?f

bclid=IwAR3HJO28KL7lfdSU0HZ4f8npGBxCn99mlWGHnDUGouVfllahpFdfXOzpPM>

5 Lovering M, 2014, Evidence review 058: Marrying later, renting

longer, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI),

Melbourne.

6 ibid.

7 Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, 2015, ‘How great

is the shortage of affordable housing in Australia’s private rental

market?’, Research and Policy Bulletin, Issue 144, AHURI, Melbourne.

8 Anglicare Australia, 2018. Rental Affordability Snapshot 2018,

Anglicare Australia, Canberra.

9 ABS, 2012, ‘Average weekly earnings (a), By age group’, graph,

Year Book Australia, cat. no. 1301.0, accessed via: <http://

www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20

Subject/1301.0~2012~Main%20Features~Earnings~299>

10 AHRUI, 2015, op.cit.

11 Productivity Commission, 2016, Report on Government Services

2016, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, accessed via: <http://

www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-governmentservices/

2016/housing-and-homelessness/rogs-2016-volumeghousing-

and-homelessness.pdf>, section: G.6.

12 Scutt D, 2017, ‘More than half of young Australians have

problems paying bills or buying basic necessities’, Business Insider,

16 June 2017, accessed via: <https://www.businessinsider.

com.au/more-than-half-of-young-australians-haveproblems-

paying-bills-or-buying-basic-necessities-2017-

6?fbclid=IwAR0kqvTdWMxbs8cwNuq-Z_2jPlHb756hn0yCkWG0E_

eWtrrMrFuCIZrMe7I>

13 Choice, National Shelter & National Association of Tenant

Organisations (NATO), 2017, Unsettled: Life in Australia’s private rental

market, Sydney, accessed via: <https://www.choice.com.au/money/

property/renting/articles/choice-rental-market-report>

14 ibid., p. 18.

15 ibid., p.9

16 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2014, Housing

outcomes for groups vulnerable to homelessness, cat. no. HOU

274, AIHW, Canberra, accessed via: <http://www.aihw.gov.au/

WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129548949>, p. 4.

17 Power J, 2018, ‘’You can see it in their eyes’: The hardest thing about

being homeless’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 April 2018, accessed

via: <https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/you-can-see-it-intheir-

eyes-the-hardest-thing-about-being-homeless-20180417-

p4za5d.html>

18 ABS, 2013, Table 3: State and Territory of Usual Residence,

Number of homeless persons–by selected characteristics–2001,

2006 and 2011, data cube: Excel spreadsheet, cat. no. 2049.0,

accessed via: <http://abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/

DetailsPage/2049.02011?OpenDocument>

19 ABS, 2014, Table 8: Estimated resident population, by age and sex–

at 30 June 2014, data cube: Excel spreadsheet, cat. no. 3101.0,

accessed via: <http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/

DetailsPage/3101.0Dec%202014?OpenDocument>

20 Flatau P, Thielking M, MacKenzie D & Steen A, 2015, The Cost

Of Youth Homelessness In Australia Study: The Australian Youth

Homelessness Experience, Snapshot Salvation Army

21 AHURI, 2010, Evidence to inform NSW Homelessness Action Priorities

2009–10, AHURI, Melbourne.

22 Youth Work Snapshot 2011,

20

Create an education system

that equips young people

for their future

Young people in NSW should enjoy

full access to affordable and quality

education that meets their current

needs and prepares them for the future.

This means moving beyond a ‘bricks and

mortar’ approach to school investment,

and ensuring all young people are

engaged and supported to learn.

It’s clear that young people need additional support

to stay engaged in school, and we need to make sure

that those who need the most support aren’t excluded

from education entirely. Transitions from school

are a challenging time, and its vital that pathways

from school to higher education training or work are

excellent, affordable and the right fit for the future.

20%

of young people are

not attending

school,

and a further 20% do

not feel they belong in

their school.1

More than half

of Australian students

are studying in fields

where more than

two-thirds

of jobs will be

automated.2

27% or 26,535

of young people in NSW

did not reach Year 12 or

an equivalent by age 19.3

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooProvide committed and increased funding for

Student Support Officers across NSW, with

changes to the funding model to allow for

more equitable access for schools, particularly

in areas of high need and for regional, rural

and remote areas.

ooRequire NSW schools to publish data on their

school exclusion statistics and make their

disciplinary policies publicly available.

ooRequire NSW schools to review suspension

cases on a regular basis to ensure schools

are using suspension as a safeguard and

last resort.

ooForm an independent body with expertise

in both a school context and in working with

young people to review school suspensions

and ensure all young people have access to

supportive and quality education.

ooAs recommend by the NSW Ombudsman,

require NSW schools to systematically identify

the students who require individualised

intervention and support, and track practice,

progress, and outcomes in relation to

these students, including mechanisms for

identifying those who require escalation to

additional support.4

ooImplement a consistent definition of disability

in schools and appropriate funding for

students with a disability.

ooImprove inclusive training for teachers and

staff coupled with appropriate polices and

frameworks to ensure greater outcomes.

20%

20%

21

Education is a key determinant of a young person’s

economic, social and emotional development, and is

crucial for establishing a sense of identity and place in

the world. Young people have the right to an education

that effectively prepares them for the present and the

future, that is high-quality, affordable, safe and supportive

and meets their individual and diverse needs. Education

encompasses life-long learning that supports young

people to develop socially, intellectually, physically and

emotionally, as well as to engage in the labour market.

Across NSW there are over 3,000 government (public) and

non-government (Independent and Catholic systemic)

schools in NSW, supporting over 1.1 million primary and

secondary school students.5 Of these, there are over

540,000 young people aged 12–17,6 with around 507,000

(as at 2015) positively participating in education.7

However, some young people are neither engaged in

education or training. The school retention rate for NSW

is one of the lowest across Australia, and although young

people are increasingly at school, some are disengaging

and others are not achieving.8 Over 21% are still not

attaining a Year 12 qualification, and 25% are neither

engaged in education nor employment Australia wide.9

Other research estimates that 20% of young people

are not attending school, and a further 20% do not feel

they belong in their school.10 Australian rates of youth

participation in education are below those of many

other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development (OECD) countries.11

Inequalities in educational outcomes persist in NSW. Young

people from low SES, Aboriginal or from rural backgrounds

as well as young people with disabilities continue to be at a

disadvantage in our education system.12

Education systems in NSW need to address the barriers

that prevent some young people from education and

schooling that meets their needs. In addition, there

should be a particular focus on ensuring outcomes for

those experiencing disadvantage and those disengaging

from traditional delivery methods.

STUDENT SUPPORT OFFICERS

There is a significant body of research that shows links

between a school’s emphasis on wellbeing and positive

mental health and social outcomes for its students.13 In

NSW, the Supported Students, Successful Students program

provides schools with services such as psychologists,

school counsellors and Student Support Officers (SSO).

Supported Students, Successful Schools is flexible funding

for wellbeing services, and of 3,000 public schools

only 381 have access to funding. From 2018–2020

funding was allocated to the Student Wellbeing Support

Program, a three-year program of $7,000 annually to

assist schools to fund the employment of a student

wellbeing support officer.

Youth Action’s consultation with members showed that the

wellbeing programs in schools can be inconsistent, with:

School counsellor positions being unfilled for long

periods of time.

Process issues with access to school counsellors, such

as long wait lists or high rates of non-attendance at

counsellor sessions.

Stigma associated with being called out in the middle

of class to see a counsellor.

A lack of specialised psychologist capacity once issues

progress past what can be handled by a school

counsellor.

Wellbeing funding being allocated towards targeted

learning support in classrooms.

A resistance to working with outside agencies who

can support student wellbeing.

As part of the Supported Students, Successful Schools

program, schools in NSW have the discretion to

employ SSOs. The initiative aimed to provide support

to secondary students, with a particular focus on

reaching and engaging more vulnerable students to

enhance protective factors such as supporting positive

relationships, building resilience as well as providing

22

support with issues such as stress, mental health,

disengagement and bullying.14

An independent review of SSOs found that there is

overwhelming support for the SSO initiative from

principals, school staff, SSOs, students and external

organisations.15 The results found that:

Almost two-thirds of students in participating schools

reported having sought the help of the SSO.

80% of students said the SSO had made their school a

safer place.

88% of principals said it had reduced bullying,

including cyberbullying, 91% said it improved student

behaviour, and 77% said it had improved academic

performance.16

The review also found that SSOs complement (rather

than duplicate) the existing range of wellbeing provisions

in the schools and link the school with agencies and

communities. Other research has found resistance and

negative experiences amongst students to approaching

school counsellors for support.17 It is essential to ensure

young people reach out for help when they need it,

and the review of SSOs demonstrate they bridge a gap

between no support and crisis intervention.

Students saw their SSO neither as a teacher nor

as a counsellor, but as something in between.

This increased willingness to seek support and

allowed wellbeing programs to take a more

preventative approach.18

Since the end of the pilot period, the Department of

Education has provided $51 million for wellbeing, the

equivalent of 200 SSOs. However, the Department

no longer provides centralised support, training and

coordination of SSOs. As a decentralised group, this

leaves these positions subject to isolation, high stress

and turn-over, all of which compromise the effectiveness

and outcomes of the program, a serious threat

considering its proven success.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooProvide committed funding and an increase in

funding for Student Support Officers across NSW,

with changes to the funding model to allow for

more equitable access for schools, particularly

in areas of high need and for regional, rural and

remote areas.

SUSPENSION

School should also be a safe and happy place for

students, and they should only be excluded from this

learning environment as a last resort. Suspension is

a tool used by schools to manage behaviour but it

is exclusionary, ineffective and significantly disrupts

the learning of a young person. It can have significant

and negative impacts on young people. Suspension

disproportionately disrupts the education of students

with cognitive/learning impairments, students with

a child protection/OOHC history, and Aboriginal

students.19 While the use of short suspensions

decreased by 2.5% between 2013 and 2015, there

has been no significant change in long suspensions

or in the number of students receiving short and/or

long suspensions.20

One key driver for student disengagement is school

disciplinary practices such as suspension.21 Young

people often present with challenging behaviours,

and while it is increasingly understood that they are

a symptom of emotional or behavioural disorders

and experience, suspension is still commonly

used to manage such manifesting behaviours in a

school environment.

Generally, suspension is understood to have two

core purposes – to remove threats to the safety and

wellbeing of the school community and to punish

the offender. The end result is supposed to be

better behavior or a reversal of a trend. Normally

a ’zero tolerance’ policy towards disruptive behavior

warranting suspension is intended to have positive and

23

immediate effects, as well as act as a deterrent. Yet it is

clear that the negative impact on students outweighs

any benefits from this policy.

As stated by Department of Education Employment

and Work Relations (DEEWR): ‘Suspension is an

indication that something has gone grievously wrong.

It is a process of exclusion directly at odds with the

philosophy of inclusion which appears consistently in

national and Departmental statements of policy and

intent.’22 The NSW Ombudsman has most recently

confirmed that ‘there is no research evidence that

the use of suspensions reduces disruptive classroom

behaviour, and the research indicates that it can

have detrimental consequences, including increased

recurrence of the problem behaviour, lower scores

in academic achievement, lower school retention

rates, increased likelihood of involvement with the

youth justice system, and poor long-term health and

wellbeing outcomes.’23

Presently, students can be issued with a short

suspension of up to and including four days, or a

long suspension, up to and including 20 days at the

discretion of their school principal.24 Since 2005,

suspensions have been on the rise in NSW.

Suspension has been proven to be ineffective in

tackling problematic behaviour in students. For

example, 73% of students have said that suspensions

‘did little’ or ‘did not help at all’ to solve the problem

that led to their suspension.25 Instead, it lowers student

engagement, jeopardises relationships and academic

performance and is proven to increase the likelihood

of students being incarcerated later in life – a trend

known as the school-to-prison pipeline.

School suspension disproportionately affects

Indigenous students, students from rural areas,

students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and

students with disabilities. In 2015 alone, 47,622

short suspensions and 17,640 long suspensions

were issued.26 Of the long suspensions, 24% were for

Aboriginal students, despite only constituting 7% of

enrolments.27 Suspensions are unlikely to be isolated

instances, so students are often suspended multiple

times. The average long suspension is 11.5 days,

meaning students have their learning significantly

disrupted.28 Data after 2015 for NSW is not available.

The NSW Ombudsman found that to ‘identify and

develop appropriately targeted and intensive

individualised supports requires skills that would

be uncommon among many school staff.’ The NSW

Ombudsman also found that schools need ‘assistance

that both: a) delivers appropriate expertise, and

b) provides strategies that are practical for the

school environment.’29

Suspension should only be used when the behaviour

of a student puts other students or faculty members

at risk of harm. While there are plenty of examples

of good practice, the fact that Aboriginal young

people, young people with a history of trauma and

young people with disability are overrepresented

in suspension practices demonstrates that practice

and policy can be improved. In place of suspensions,

schools should implement alternative disciplinary

practices that prioritise inclusion for students who are

at risk. A suspension of a student should then, as a tool

of last resort, be used as a mechanism to give support

to the student.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooRequire NSW schools to publish data on their school

exclusion statistics and make their disciplinary

policies publicly available.

ooRequire NSW schools to review suspension cases

on a regular basis to ensure schools are using

suspension as a safeguard and last resort.

ooForm an independent body with expertise in both a

school context and in working with young people, to

review school suspensions to ensure all young people

have access to supportive and quality education.

24

ooAs recommend by the NSW Ombudsman, require

NSW schools to systematically identify the students

who require individualised intervention and support,

and track practice, progress, and outcomes in

relation to these students, including mechanisms

for identifying those who require escalation to

additional support.30

DISABILITY IN SCHOOLS

Nearly 12% of NSW students have disability, and 75%

of these students attend mainstreams schools and are

placed in regular classrooms.31 Despite legislation and

programs such as the Disability Discrimination Act 1992,

the Disability Education Standards 2005 and Every Student,

Every School, people with a disability are less likely to

complete Year 12 than their peers without disability.32

This is largely because the current system does not

meet the needs of students with disability or supply the

resources to encourage their full participation in the

school experience.

Youth Action supports the review of current student

training regarding inclusive classrooms. The Every

Student, Every School initiative should be also be reviewed

at a state-wide level to determine its effectiveness. It is

also vital that young people should be consulted and

involved in these reviews.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooImplement a consistent definition of disability in

schools and appropriate funding for students

with a disability.

ooImprove inclusive training for teachers and staff

coupled with appropriate polices and frameworks

to ensure greater outcomes.

25

ENDNOTES

1 Wierenga A & Taylor J, 2015, The Case for Inclusive Learning Systems:

Building More Inclusive Learning Systems in Australia, Dusseldorp

Forum, Sydney, accessed via: <http://dusseldorp.org.au/wpcontent/

uploads/2015/11/Dusseldorp_Forum_The_Case_for_

Inclusive_Learning1.pdf>

2 Foundation for Young Australians, 2017, The New Work Order:

Ensuring young Australians have skills and experience for the jobs of the

future, not the past, FYA, Melbourne, accessed via: <http://www.fya.

org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/fya-future-of-work-reportfinal-

lr.pdf>, p. 2.

3 Lamb S, Jackson J, Walstab A & Huo S, 2015, Educational opportunity

in Australia 2015: Who succeeds and who misses out, Centre for

International Research on Education Systems, Victoria University,

for the Mitchell Institute, Melbourne, accessewd via: <http://

www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/

Educational-opportunity-in-Australia-2015-Who-succeeds-andwho-

misses-out-19Nov15.pdf>.

4 NSW Ombudsman, 2017, NSW Ombudsman Inquiry into behaviour

management in schools, A Special Report to Parliament under s 31

of the Ombudsman Act 1974, State of New South Wales <https://

www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/47241/NSWOmbudsman-

Inquiry-into-behaviour-management-in-schools.

pdf> ,p. 88

5 Productivity Commission, 2017, ‘Chapter 4: School Education’,

Report on Government Services, Volume B, Commonwealth of

Australia, Canberra.

6 ABS, 2016, Table 8 Estimated resident population, by age and sex–

at 30 June 2016, data cube: Excel spreadsheet, cat. no. 3101.0,

accessed via: <http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/

Lookup/3101.0Main+Features1Sep%202016?OpenDocument>

7 Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation, 2016, Schools and

Students: 2015 Statistical Bulletin, Issue 5, NSW Department of

Education, Sydney, accessed via: <https://www.cese.nsw.gov.au/

images/stories/PDF/2015_Statistical_Bulletin_v8.pdf>

8 A Wierenga and J Taylor, op.cit., p. 11.

9 ibid., p. 4.

10 ibid.

11 Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), 2013,

Report Card: The Wellbeing of Young Australians, ARACY, Canberra,

accessed via <http://www.aracy.org.au/documents/item/126> ,

p. 20.

12 Foundation for Young Australians, 2011, How Young People Are

Faring, FYA, Melbourne, accessed via: <http://www.fya.org.au/wpcontent/

uploads/2015/08/HYPAF-2011-Full_Report.pdf>

13 California Department of Education, 2005. Getting Results: Update

5, Student Health, Supportive Schools and Academic Success, CDE,

CA, accessed via: <http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/at/documents/

getresultsupdate5.pdf>

14 NSW Department of Education, 2014, Schools endorse Student

Support Officers, media release, NSW Department of Education,

Sydney, 30 August 2014; Katz I, Griffiths A, Bullen J, & Nethery D,

2014, Review of the Student Support Officer Initiative: Final Report

for NSW Department of Education and Communities, Social Policy

Research Centre UNSW, Sydney.

15 Katz I, Griffiths A, Bullen J, & Nethery D, 2014, Review of the Student

Support Officer Initiative: Final Report for NSW Department of Education

and Communities, Social Policy Research Centre UNSW, Sydney.

16 NSW Department of Education, 2014, Schools endorse Student

Support Officers, media release, NSW Department of Education,

Sydney, 30 August 2014.

17 Pike B, 2017, ‘School counsellors failing our students, UNSW

research reveals’, The Daily Telegraph, 26 March 2017, accessed

via: <https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/schoolcounsellors-

failing-our-students-unsw-research-reveals/news-sto

ry/858968b8bb4b92e25321022418e5df80>

18 Katz I et al, 2014, Review of the Student Support Officer Initiative,

Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW, accessed via: <https://www.

cese.nsw.gov.au/images/stories/PDF/Eval_Rep/Schools/Student_

Support_Officer_Initiative_Final_Rpt_2014.pdf> p.37.

19 NSW Ombudsman, 2017, NSW Ombudsman Inquiry into

behaviour management in schools, NSW Ombudsman, Sydney,

accessed via: <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/

pdf_file/0018/47241/NSW-Ombudsman-Inquiry-into-behaviourmanagement-

in-schools.pdf> p. x.

20 ibid. p. 39.

21 Sullivan A, 2016, ‘Schools’ tough approach to bad behaviour isn’t

working – and may escalate problems’, The Conversation, 27 May

2016, accessed via: <https://theconversation.com/schools-toughapproach-

to-bad-behaviour-isnt-working-and-may-escalateproblems-

56737>

22 Department of Education, Employment and Workplace

(DEEWR), 2010, What Works, the Works Program: Core Issues

2, DEEWR, accessed via: <http://www.whatworks.edu.au/

upload/1284012446636_file_2Suspensions.pdf>

26

23 NSW Ombudsman, 2017, NSW Ombudsman Inquiry into

behaviour management in schools, NSW Ombudsman, Sydney,

accessed via: <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/

pdf_file/0018/47241/NSW-Ombudsman-Inquiry-into-behaviourmanagement-

in-schools.pdf> p. 37.

24 Department of Education and Communities, 2011, Suspension

and Expulsions of School Students – Procedures 2011, DEC, Sydney,

accessed via: <https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/

associated-documents/suspol_07.pdf>

25 Quin D, Hemphill SA, 2014, ‘Student Experiences of school

suspension’ Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 25, p. 56.

26 NSW Department of Education, n.d.,, ‘Suspensions and

Expulsions-2015’, accessed via: <https://data.cese.nsw.gov.au/

data/dataset/c0a90a6f-2509-45c5-ba77-cf5b00350043/resource/

a0ae2c7e-82ea-4d4e-8151-21c4c84fc7fa/download/2015-

suspensions-and-expulsions.pdf>

27 NSW Ombudsman, 2017, NSW Ombudsman Inquiry into

behaviour management in schools, NSW Ombudsman, Sydney,

accessed via: <https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/

pdf_file/0018/47241/NSW-Ombudsman-Inquiry-into-behaviourmanagement-

in-schools.pdf> , p.39.

28 ibid.

29 NSW Ombudsman, 2017, NSW Ombudsman Inquiry into behaviour

management in schools, NSW Ombudsman, Sydney, accessed via:

<https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/47241/

NSW-Ombudsman-Inquiry-into-behaviour-management-in-schools.

pdf> p. 21.

30 ibid. p. 88.

31 Children and Young People with a Disability Australia, 2016, Issues

Paper: National Education Evidence Base, submission to Productivity

Commission, CYDA, Canberra, pp. 4–6, accessed via: <http://www.

pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/200704/sub066-educationevidence.

pdf>

32 Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, 2013, Education

Policy Report and Recommendations, submission to Senate Select

Committee on School Funding, AFDO, Melbourne, pp. 1–97.

27

Achieve excellent and

affordable post school

pathways

After students finish school, post school

pathways are essential for young people

to find and sustain study or work. This

can include vocational education and

training, university, or apprenticeships

and traineeships. By considering a range

of options, young people are able to get

higher-skilled jobs, increased wages and

longer term employment.

But there are considerable barriers to post school

pathways. Accessibility, afforability, and a lack of

information about the options available are just some

of the barriers, and these issues are compounded

for young people experiencing various kinds

of disadvantage.

990,000 jobs

will be created by 2020.

Just 70,000 will

only require a senior

secondary level

education.1

Many schools spend less

than a cup of coffee on

career guidance

per student.2

By 24, only 58.9%

of young Australians

from disadvantaged

backgrounds are in

education, training or

work, compared with

83.1% of those from

higher socioeconomic

backgrounds.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooEstablish a school-to-work transitions taskforce

with the necessary expertise, authority and

resourcing to substantially improve transition

outcomes.

ooIncrease funding and full-time positions for

careers advisors in NSW Government secondary

and tertiary institutions.

ooInvest in career guidance programs and

establish minimum standards by writing a

dedicated career development policy within the

Department of Education and integrating career

development in tertiary institutions.

ooStrengthen supports for career advisers –

professional development and training, including

on labour trends, working with employers as

well as relationship and network development.

ooInvest in innovation brokerage programs that

bring together schools, employers, community

organisations and education providers to

improve employment outcomes.

ooDecrease fees and increase fees freescholarships

and literacy and numeracy

courses at TAFEs and vocational education and

training institutes.

ooImprove supports for disadvantaged students

undertaking courses at these institutes.

990,000 jobs created

70,000

28

Post-secondary education (PSE) is a vital pathway to

attain higher-skilled jobs, increased wages and longerterm

employment after exiting the school education

system. Young people are involved in PSE by studying

in vocational education and training, university or

undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship.

Due to the significant social, developmental and

economic benefits of participating in post-secondary

education, barriers that prevent young people from

engagement must be addressed.3 Accessibility,

affordability and a lack of comprehensive information

about their options are just some of the barriers that

impact and prevent young people from gaining access to

post-secondary education.4 Young people experiencing

disadvantage due to financial, situational, educational

or locational factors can find it particularly hard to enter

higher educational institutions, making further education

and training a less viable option. However, if the

education system addresses these barriers adequately,

post-secondary education can become increasingly

accessible to a diverse range of young people.

SCHOOLS TO WORK TRANSITIONS

The school to work transition can be a turbulent time

for young people. This is a period of time described as

‘coming of age events which all young people experience

as they leave school, consolidate skills, develop a sense

of job readiness and make decisions about life and

career’5 In an increasingly complex employment context,

all young people experience the increasing difficulty

of gaining employment, but some young people face

considerably more challenges. The reduction of entrylevel

job opportunities, increased competition, job

automation and the rising casualisation of the workforce

have all contributed to systemic barriers that stop young

people getting jobs.6 By age 24, only 58.9%of young

Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds are fully

engaged in education, training or work. This compares

to 83.1% of those from the highest socioeconomic

backgrounds.7 It is vital that young people have the

appropriate educational experiences to prepare them

for a changed employment context.

The transition between school and work is particularly

fraught because young people are especially transient

as they move between school and towards tertiary

study or a job and are likely to move out of a parent or

guardians’ home, move cities, work multiple short-term

jobs and change social circles. Similarly, this transition

is particularly difficult for young people from regional,

remote or rural areas because the existing challenges

are exacerbated by poor access to educational

infrastructure and employment opportunities.

Many young people feel that secondary school does

not equip them with the right skills for work, and that

comprehensive information about diverse career pathways

is not available to them. Students report not being effectively

informed, engaged and advised about their array of

career options outside of university streams.8 This lack of

information about alternate career options often makes

university the default choice and causes other streams to be

stigmatised due to a lack of exposure and understanding.

Career guidance is one of the missing links in the schoolto-

work transition. Careers guidance has been shown

to improve a young person’s chances of employment.

It keeps people in school, builds confidence and selfawareness

and connects pathways to education and

employment, which is particularly important for young

people who lack networks. Career guidance:

Has the potential to improve engagement and

increase completion rates by 10–20% when effectively.

Leads to young people being five times less likely to

be unemployed or disengaged from education or

training if they undertake structured career activities.

Yet career guidance is undermined in NSW:

Approximately 50% of schools in Australia (with

populations of over a 1,000 students) dedicate less

than $3 per student for career guidance.

29

More than half of career practitioners do their

work on a part-time basis and two-thirds of these

practitioners split their time between careers work

and classroom teaching, counselling, managing and

administration within a school environment.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooEstablish a school-to-work transitions taskforce with

the necessary expertise, authority and resourcing to

substantially improve transition outcomes.

ooIncrease funding and full-time positions for careers

advisors in NSW Government secondary and

tertiary institutions.

ooInvest in career guidance programs and establish

minimum standards by writing a dedicated career

development policy within the Department of

Education and integrating career development in

tertiary institutions.

ooStrengthen supports for career advisers –

professional development and training, including

on labour trends, working with employers as well

as relationship and network development.

ooInvest in innovation brokerage programs that

bring together schools, employers, community

organisations and education providers to improve

employment outcomes.

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Vocational Education and Training (VET) is important

for young people as a valued provider of a range of

high-quality, flexible and accessible courses delivered

consistently to all students, particularly young people

experiencing disadvantage. It is an important connection

to future employment – just over 30% of students

enrolled in VET in NSW are between the ages of

15 and 24.9

Ensuring recruitment and retention in the VET sector

has the capacity to reduce youth unemployment and

increase employment participation. Of the 20–24-yearolds

who completed a VET course in 2015, 75% were

employed six months after graduation.10

In the current system, too many young people in NSW

are confronted with significant barriers when entering

the VET sector, and this is especially the case for those

experiencing disadvantage. Challenges include financial

constraints, socioeconomic factors, geographical

remoteness and limited literacy and numeracy skills.

These barriers are often exacerbated by funding rules,

lack of information, and difficulties navigating the

complex service systems.11

These barriers should be addressed with a sense of

urgency, particularly given the prominence of early

school leavers in VET, with over 27,000 early school

leavers aged 15–19 in NSW enrolled in TAFE and 16,000

with private providers.12 This should include reviewing

the eligibility criteria for fee-free scholarships, expanding

these scholarships and improving access to VET FEEHELP

certificates.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooDecrease fees and increase fees free-scholarships

and literacy and numeracy courses at TAFEs and

vocational education and training institutes.

ooImprove supports for disadvantaged students

undertaking courses at these institutes.

30

ENDNOTES

1 Karp P, 2018, ‘Labor pledges inquiry into universities and Tafe

sector’, The Guardian, 23 February 2018, accessed via: <https://www.

theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/23/labor-pledges-inquiryinto-

universities-and-tafe-sector>

2 An approximately 50% of schools in Australia (with populations of

over a 1,000 students) who dedicate less than $3 per student for

career guidance.

3 Foundation of Young Australians, 2015, How are young people faring

in the transition from school to work?, FYA, Melbourne, accessible

via: <http://www.fya.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Howyoung-

people-are-faring-report-card-2015-FINAL.pdf>

4 Lamb S. & Huo S, 2017, Counting the costs of lost opportunity in

Australian education, Mitchell Institute Report No. 02/2017, Mitchell

Institute, Melbourne, accessible via: <http://www.mitchellinstitute.

org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Counting-the-costs-of-lostopportunity-

in-Australian-education.pdf>

5 The Smith Family, 2014, Young people’s successful transition to work:

What are the pre-conditions?, The Smith Family Research Report

September 2014, The Smith Family, Sydney, accessed via: <https://

www.thesmithfamily.com.au/~/media/files/research/reports/

young-people-transition-to-work-report.ashx?la=en>, p.17.

6 The Smith Family, 2017, Standing Committee on Employment,

Education and Training Inquiry Into School to Work Transition –

Submission, The Smith Family, Sydney, accessed via: <https://

www.thesmithfamily.com.au/~/media/files/research/

policysubmissions/School%20to%20Work%20Transition%20

Inquiry%20July%202017%20FINAL.ashx?la=en>

7 Lamb S. & Huo S, 2017, Counting the costs of lost opportunity in

Australian education, Mitchell Institute Report No. 02/2017, Mitchell

Institute, Melbourne, accessible via: <http://www.mitchellinstitute.

org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Counting-the-costs-of-lostopportunity-

in-Australian-education.pdf>

8 Lamb S, Jackson J, Walstab A & Huo S, 2015, Educational

opportunity in Australia 2015: Who succeeds and who misses

out, Centre for International Research on Education Systems,

Victoria University, for the Mitchell Institute, Melbourne,

accessewd via: <http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/wp-content/

uploads/2015/11/Educational-opportunity-in-Australia-2015-Whosucceeds-

and-who-misses-out-19Nov15.pdf>

9 National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), 2017,

Australian vocational education and training statistics: Total VET

students and courses 2017, NCVER, Adelaide, accessed via:

<https://www.ncver.edu.au/research-and-statistics/publications/

all-publications/total-vet-students-and-courses-2017>, p. 12.

10 NCVER, ND, VET student outcomes, NCVER, Adelaide, accessed via:

<https://www.ncver.edu.au/data/collection/student-outcomes>

11 Youth Action, 2018, Vocational Education and Training in NSW, Youth

Action, Uniting, & Mission Australia, Sydney, accessed via: <http://

www.youthaction.org.au/vet_in_nsw>

12 ibid.

31

Clear pathways into sustained

employment are necessary for young

people to attain financial security,

independence, wellbeing, a sense of

belonging and skill development. All

young people should be able to access

meaningful, long-term employment so

they can contribute to the Australian

economy and community.

However, youth unemployment rates have remained

stagnant, underemployment is increasing and finding

work is increasingly difficult for all young people.

Change the story on

youth unemployment

1 in 3

young people are

unemployed

or underemployed.1

Around 25% of

young people in NSW

are currently neither

engaged in full-time

work nor full-time

education.2

0.5%

of available positions

are entry-level.3

1/3

2255%%

0.5%

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooDevelop a government plan to tackle youth

unemployment in the first 100 days of

government. This plan should be created with

young people and the services that support

young people to ensure it is relevant to their

experiences, including those young people

who are at risk of disadvantage.

ooTake steps to broaden the minimum target of

government youth workforces, ensuring 8% of

total project workforces is aged 25 and under,

as in the Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program.

This could take place across the work of

government, including councils, departments,

ministerial offices and large-scale contracts.

ooProvide additional support to young people

who need it, so they can gain and keep

employment. Smart, Skilled and Hired should

be evaluated, including with young people

and, if found to be effective, expanded.

ooEnsure tailored employment support is given

to young people experiencing disadvantage

by improving cultural competency, addressing

language skills and provide networking

opportunities through mentoring within

the community.

ooReduce the cost barriers to young people

finding work, such as by proving free

transport to young jobseekers.

32

Young people have enormous potential and they

are a vital resource for the Australian economy and

community. Employment is important for young people

to attain financial security, independence, wellbeing,

a sense of belonging and achievement, as well as

skill development.

Yet youth unemployment and underemployment are

significant issues for Australia, with a fast changing

and challenging employment landscape. Youth

unemployment is twice that of the overall population, at

11.6% compared with 5.3%.4 Of the Australians who are

unemployed, 36% are young people.5 Currently, there

are more than 659,000 young Australians unemployed

or underemployed, which is 31.5% of the youth

population in Australia.6 This is the highest level in 40

years.7 The deterioration of the job market for young

people since the global financial crisis (GFC) is striking

and has had a lasting impact. For young people aged

15–19 the number of full-time jobs halved since 2008,

and the number of part-time jobs for the same group

has barely grown.

In NSW specifically, the figures are no better. In NSW,

84,900 young people are experiencing unemployment.

8 The youth unemployment rate is twice that of the

general population.9 These numbers are significantly

higher in the Hunter Valley Region and the Mid-North

Coast across NSW,10 and in the Central Coast and

Western Sydney across the Greater Sydney Area.11 In

specific sub-regions, like the Southern Highlands and

Shoalhaven, there are hotspots of youth unemployment

reaching up to 28%.12

Increasing rates of underemployment, the rise of

casual and insecure work, as well as automation and

globalisation have impacted young people significantly.

In many cases there is a mismatch between the jobs

available and the jobs that young people can fill. Young

people are competing with more experienced workers

for part-time or casual positions in jobs with low stability

in industries like hospitality, retail and construction.

These jobs are also highly vulnerable to automation and

change, and young people are often seeking roles after

completing less training or education than those who

have already entered the workforce.

This is coupled with a reduction in the number of entrylevel

positions and apprenticeships, with less than 1%

of jobs advertised with no experience necessary.13

Although young people are more educated than past

generations, youth unemployment trends cannot be

dismissed as the consequence of rising participation

in education and training, particularly when looking at

a local level.14

While this is the context for all young people seeking

work in Australia, evidence shows that employment

outcomes are worse for some young people with

specific life experiences.

The impact of youth unemployment for the broader

community is huge. The Foundation for Young

Australians reports that ‘having so many young people

out of the workforce costs our economy 790 million lost

hours of work each year, equating to up to $15.9 billion

in lost GDP to the Australian economy annually. The

social impact is equally compelling – loss of confidence,

hope and self-esteem has led to mental health issues

costing Australia $7.2 billion per annum.’15

In NSW there is no current cohesive plan that brings

together the expertise and responsibility of the public

and private sectors to combat youth unemployment

and tackle systemic barriers.

The NSW government can put the brakes on youth

unemployment and should take steps to mitigate some

of the employment challenges. Changes should make

it as easy as possible for young people to get and keep

rewarding employment, as there are benefits for young

people here and now, as well as communities into

the future.

33

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooDevelop a government plan to tackle youth

unemployment in the first 100 days of government.

This plan should be created with young people and

the services that support young people to ensure

it is relevant to their experiences, including those

young people who are at risk of disadvantage

ooTake steps to broaden the minimum target of

government youth workforces, ensuring 8% of total

project workforces is aged 25 or under, as in the

Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program. This could

take place across the work of government, including

councils, departments, ministerial offices and largescale

contracts.

ooProvide additional supports to young people who

need it, so they can gain and keep employment.

Smart, Skilled and Hired should be evaluated,

including with young people and, if found to be

effective, expanded.

ooEnsure tailored employment support is given

to young people experiencing disadvantage by

improving cultural competency, addressing language

skills and provide networking opportunities through

mentoring within the community.

ooReduce the cost barriers to young people finding

work, such as by proving free transport to

young jobseekers.

34

ENDNOTES

1 Davidson H, 2017, ‘Third of Australian youth have no job or are

underemployed, report finds’, The Guardian, 27 March 2017,

accessed via: <https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/

mar/27/third-of-australian-youth-have-no-job-or-areunderemployed-

report-finds>

2 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015, Education and Work,

Australia, May 2015, cat. no. 6227.0, ABS, Canberra accessed

via: <http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/

Lookup/6227.0Main+Features1May%202015>

3 Hennessy A, 2017, ‘Why finding a job in Sydney can be such hard

work’, The Daily Telegraph, 9 June 2017, accessed via: <https://

www.dailytelegraph.com.au/projectsydney/why-finding-a-job-insydney-

can-be-such-hard-work/news-story/91066b1fe8f3e2f9cc6

babfb5d72f19a>

4 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018, ‘Table 25b. Labour Force

status for 15–29 year olds by Age, Educational attendance

(detailed) and Sex’, Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly,

cat. no. 6291.0.55.003, ABS, Canberra, August 2018,

accessed via: <http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/

DetailsPage/6291.0.55.003Aug%202018?OpenDocument>

5 Brotherhood of St. Laurence, 2018, An Unfair Australia? Mapping

Youth Unemployment Hotspots, BSL, Fitzroy VIC, accessed via:

<http://library.bsl.org.au/jspui/bitstream/1/10573/1/BSL_Unfair_

Australia_Mapping_youth_unemployment_hotspots_Mar2018.

pdf>

6 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018, Labour Account Australia,

Experimental Estimates, July 2017, cat. no. 6150.0.55.001, ABS,

Canberra, accessed via: <http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/

abs@.nsf/Lookup/6150.0.55.001Main+Features1July%20

2017?OpenDocument>

7 Davidson H, 2017, ‘Third of Australian youth have no job or are

underemployed, report finds’, The Guardian, 27 March 2017,

accessed via: <https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/

mar/27/third-of-australian-youth-have-no-job-or-areunderemployed-

report-finds>

8 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017, ‘Table 16. Labour force status

for 15-24 year olds by State, Territory and Educational attendance

(full-time)‘, Labour force, Australia, Detailed Electronic Delivery, time

series spreadsheet, cat. no. 6202.0, accessed via: <http://www.

abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6202.0Feb%20

2017?OpenDocument>

9 Parliament of NSW, 2018, Regional labour force trends and NSW

electorates (October 2018), interactive map, NSW Parliament,

Sydney, accessed via: <https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/

researchpapers/Pages/NSW-regional-labour-force-data---

interactive-portal.aspx>

10 Brotherhood of St Laurence, 2016, Australia’s youth unemployment

hotspots snapshots, BSL, Fitzroy VIC, accessed via: <http://

library.bsl.org.au/jspui/bitstream/1/9004/1/BSL_Aust_youth_

unemployment_hotspots_Mar2016.pdf>, pg. 3.

11 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017, Labour Force, Australia, Detailed,

cat. no. 6291.0.55.001, ABS, Canberra, accessed via: <http://www.

abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6291.0.55.001>

12 Brotherhood of St. Laurence, 2018, An Unfair Australia? Mapping

Youth Unemployment Hotspots, BSL, Fitzroy VIC, accessed via: <http://

library.bsl.org.au/jspui/bitstream/1/10573/1/BSL_Unfair_Australia_

Mapping_youth_unemployment_hotspots_Mar2018.pdf>

13 Hennessy A, 2017, ‘Why finding a job in Sydney can be such hard

work’, The Daily Telegraph, 9 June 2017, accessed via: <https://

www.dailytelegraph.com.au/projectsydney/why-finding-a-job-insydney-

can-be-such-hard-work/news-story/91066b1fe8f3e2f9cc6

babfb5d72f19a>

14 O’Niell P, 2017, Youth Unemployment in Western Sydney, Centre for

Western Sydney, accessed via: <http://www.youthaction.org.au/

western_sydney_unemployment>

15 Foundation for Young Australians, 2018, The New Work Reality, FYA,

Melbourne, accessed via: <https://www.fya.org.au/wp-content/

uploads/2018/06/FYA_TheNewWorkReality_sml.pdf >

35

Young people should have every opportunity to be safe,

and to have secure and healthy relationships. Right now,

prevalence of violence against women is highest for young

women. Services are not funded to give support to young

people and as a result, young people are falling through the

gap. Negative attitudes about relationships and gender are

linked to domestic violence, and young people provide the

one of the best opportunities to break the cycle and effect

large scale change, but investment in this area is lacking.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN (AS

RECOMMENDED BY A SAFE STATE):

ooCommit $32 million over four years to embed

a specialist worker to provide child and young

people-centred, trauma-informed support for

children and young people in every refuge,

NSW Health sexual assault service, domestic

and family violence service and ‘Staying Home

Leaving Violence’ program location in NSW.

ooCommit $14.7 million over four years

to implement a long-term, coordinated,

best practice whole school respectful

relationships program for students, staff,

parents and community members in 100

secondary schools.

Make NSW a safe state

for young people

45% female sexual

assault survivors

(that were reported to

NSW police) were were

under the age of 18.1

Young women

aged 15–19 years are

seven times

more likely

to be sexually

assaulted.2

Approximately

one third

of adolescents

experience some type

of violence from

an intimate partner.3

45%

under 18

1/3

36

Many young people ‘witness’ domestic and family

violence taking place in their own families, and many

also experience it in their own intimate and domestic

relationships. Research shows that the prevalence of

violence against women is highest for young women.4

Young women are at a higher risk of intimate partner

violence than older women, with those aged 18–24

twice as likely to experience sexual assault, with some

estimates that those aged 15–19 are four times as

likely. The 2012 Personal Safety Survey identified that

13% of young women (aged–24) experienced at least

one incidence of violence in the 12 months prior, a rate

higher than for any other age group surveyed.

Despite this, young people are being left out of

the conversation and, consequentially, violence is

perpetuated for young people in NSW.

Young people have a very different experience from

adults and children of domestic violence. They are new

to relationships and unaware of what is acceptable

behaviour. They live in a heavily gendered context. This

makes it more difficult to spot domestic violence in their

own relationships or in others’.

Research indicates that factors driving domestic and

family violence for young people are unique and

different to the experience of adults. Factors such

as stronger peer group norms, inexperience and

misinterpretation of jealousy, for example, as a sign of

love, patterns of age differences in relationships, lack

of access to services, and a tendency towards passivity

in help seeking for self or peers, all contribute to

greater vulnerability.5

The negative impacts of domestic violence

on young people is distinct, due to age and

developmental factors.6

As was highlighted in the Victorian Royal Commission,

and as is true for NSW, there are massive service

gaps. Young people experiencing DFV either receive

no response by the child protection system or are too

young to access domestic and family violence services.

Young people who experience sexual, domestic and

family violence should be recognised as individual clients

in their own right.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN (AS

RECOMMENDATION BY A SAFE STATE):

ooCommit $32 million over four years to embed a

specialist worker to provide child and young peoplecentred,

trauma-informed support for children and

young people in every refuge, NSW Health sexual

assault service, domestic and family violence service

and ‘Staying Home Leaving Violence’ program

location in NSW.

There is ample research showing that negative attitudes

about relationships and gender are closely correlated

with domestic violence. But policies on this issue have

failed to grasp that age has one of the most significant

impacts on such attitudes.7

Youth Action’s research, conducted in partnership with

White Ribbon and UNSW, found that young men were

more likely to agree with statements such as Girls like

guys who are in charge of the relationship’ or ‘Men are

supposed to be the head of the household and take

control of the relationship.’8

This highlights the very real gaps between how young

men and women conceive of ‘normal’ in relationships.

This attitude gap is dangerous. It is also clear that

gender inequality increases girls and young women’s

risk of violence.9 Moreover, attitudes shape behaviours,

and violence in domestic settings is most common in

communities where violence-supportive attitudes are

prevalent.10 There is therefore a need to take action to

address attitudes in communities.

Whole school respectful relationships education

programs help students, staff, parents and community

members to understand the drivers of gender-based

violence and how they can change their attitudes and

37

behaviours to prevent violence. It involves working with

schools as an educational institution and workplace to

address the drivers of gender-based violence across

the school curriculum and through the school’s policies,

practices and activities.

The evaluation of a whole school respectful relationships

program in 19 Victorian schools found that it improved

the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of students and

school staff.11 The World Health Organisation (WHO) has

found that school-based programs that address gender

norms have prevented domestic and family violence in

the United States of America (USA) and Canada.12

Currently, community and health workers deliver

respectful relationships programs in NSW schools on

an ad hoc basis. A long-term, coordinated, best practice

whole school respectful relationships program is needed

across NSW schools so that we can end gender-based

violence within this generation.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN (AS

RECOMMENDED BY A SAFE STATE):

ooCommit $14.7 million over four years to implement

a long-term, coordinated, best practice whole school

respectful relationships program for students,

staff, parents and community members in 100

secondary schools.

38

ENDNOTES

1 NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2018, ‘Victims:

Age and gender of victims of domestic violence related offences

recorded by the NSW Police Force’, Domestic Violence Excel Table, July

2017 to June 2018 accessed via: <https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/

Pages/bocsar_pages/Domestic-Violence.aspx>

2 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016, Reports of sexual assault reach

six-year high, media release, ABS, Canberra, 13 July 2016 accessed

via: <http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20

Subject/4510.0~2015~Media%20Release~Reports%20of%20

sexual%20assault%20reach%20six-year%20high%20(Media%20

Release)~19>

3 Halpern C et al., 2000, ‘Partner Violence Among Adolescents in

Opposite-Sex Romantic Relationships: Findings from the national

longitudinal study of adolescent health’, American Journal of Public

Health, Vol. 91, No. 10, p. 1682.

4 A Harris et al., 2015, Young Australians’ attitudes to violence against

women: Findings from the 2013 National Community Attitudes towards

Violence Against Women Survey for respondents 16–24 years, Victorian

Health Promotion Foundation’, Melbourne, p. 11

5 Flood M & Fergus L, 2008, An Assault on Our Future: The impact

of violence on young people and their relationships, White Ribbon

Foundation, Sydney, accessible via: <https://www.whiteribbon.

org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/An_assault_on_our_future_

FULL_Flood__Fergus_2010.pdf>, p. 26.

6 ibid., p. 21.

7 See, for example, European Commission, 2010, Factors at play in

the perpetration of violence against women, violence against children

and sexual orientation violence: A multi-level interactive model; World

Health Organisation, 2010, Preventing intimate partner and sexual

violence against women: Taking action and generating evidence; UN

Partners for Prevention, 2013, Why Do Some Men Use Violence

Against Women and How Can We Prevent It? Quantitative Findings from

the UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific;

VicHealth, 2007, Preventing violence before it occurs: A framework and

background paper to guide the primary prevention of violence against

women in Victoria.

8 Cale J & Breckenridge J, 2015, Gender, Age and the Perceived Causes,

Nature and Extent of Domestic and Dating Violence in Australian

Society, Gendered Violence Research Network, UNSW Australia,

accessed via: <http://www.youthaction.org.au/dv-attitudes-2015>

9 ibid.

10 Flood M & Pease B, ‘Factors influencing attitudes to violence against

women’, Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2009, p. 125.

11 Our Watch, 2016, Respectful Relationships, Education in Schools:

The Beginnings of Change - Final Evaluation Report, prepared for

the Department of the Premier and Cabinet and Department

of Education and Training, Victoria, accessed via: <https://www.

education.vic.gov.au/Documents/ about/programs/health/

ourwatchrespectfulrelationships.pdf>

12 World Health Organisation, 2009, Violence prevention, the evidence:

Promoting gender equality to prevent violence against women, WHO,

accessed via: <http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/

violence/ gender.pdf>

39

Young people should not come into contact with the youth

justice system, but when they do, they should only be

detained as a last resort, and detention should be safe

for them.

More can be done to address the root causes of contact with the justice

system in NSW, to intervene early, and to utislise diversion to its full extent.

A review of the youth justice system has found the health and wellbeing of

young people has been put at risk. This must change.

Keep young people out of prison

In 2016–2017, 1,500 young people were being supervised either in the community or in a youth detention centre.1

48% of children and young people in custody in NSW are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.2

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people are 21 times more likely to be detained than non-Indigenous children and young people in NSW.

87% of young people in NSW prisons have a mental health condition (including alcohol or drug related problems).3

$1,344 is the daily cost of detaining one child or young person in NSW.

$490,560 is the cost of detaining one child or young person in NSW for one year.

66% of young people released from prison reoffend within 12 months.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooExpand and support justice reinvestment via

community-led solutions to break the cycle of

offending, with specific focus on the potential of

young people.

ooAllocate $15 million over five years from the

corrections budget for three new community led

justice reinvestment initiatives across NSW.

ooProvide $5 million over five years from the

corrections budget for the establishment of an

independent NSW justice reinvestment body

overseen by a board with Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander leadership.

ooExpand diversionary approaches that keep

young people away from contact with the

justice system.

ooEnsure the availability of age appropriate,

strengthening and evidence-based programs to

prevent and address identifiable risk factors for

young people in NSW.

ooPrevent exit into homelessness through

better planning and through pre- and postrelease

programs.

ooImprove early intervention outcomes through:

Implementing a comprehensive training

program and policy changes so that teachers

and school staff can identify risk factors and

supports for adolescents

Strengthening programs to build formal

linkages with schools, youth services and

local diversionary programs and the local

community

Increasing the number of student support

officers in schools and support their activities

Take a centralised commissioning approach

to contracts.

ooPrevent the criminalisation of young people

by raising the minimum age of criminal

responsibility in NSW to at least 14 years.

ooImmediately respond to and implement the

recommendations of the NSW Inspector of

Custodial Services review, Use of force, separation,

segregation and confinement in NSW juvenile

justice centres.4

ooConsider the application of the

recommendations from the Royal Commission

into the Protection and Detention of Children

in the Northern Territory, as per the 2018 Child

Rights report.5

ooReview and amend youth justice legislation,

policy and practice to ensure that children

are treated consistently with the Children’s

Convention and the Standard Minimum Rules

for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the

Beijing Rules).

ooEnsure enforceable minimum standards

in places of youth detention in line with

international human rights standards, including

to prohibit:

the use of solitary confinement other than as

a last resort

the use of restraints against children, except

where all other control measures have been

exhausted and have failed, and

routine strip searches, unless other less

invasive search options have been exhausted.

41

Both international human rights instruments6 and NSW

law7 recognise that young people who come into contact

with the youth justice system should only be detained

as a last resort, and the evidence is clear that the most

effective approaches to juvenile justice are firmly based

on diversion.

There remains a need for a substantial shift to evidencebased

early intervention strategies to address the

underlying causes and risk factors that lead young people

to have contact with the justice system and keep some

young people churning through the system. It is well

established that young people experience a key period

of rapid and extensive psychological and biological

growth, ‘second only to early childhood in the rate and

breadth of developmental change.’8 Interventions during

adolescence can decrease the adverse long-term impacts

of, for example, violence and abuse.9 Intervention at this

point is pivotal and a sound investment.

Evidence shows that young people in contact with

the NSW youth justice system experience frequent,

intersectional and compounding disadvantage. We know

that young people who are over represented in the

justice system include:

Aboriginal young people

Young people from remote areas, very remote areas

or areas of socioeconomic disadvantage

Young people with experience of homelessness

Those in contact with the child protection system,

including children who have experienced family

violence or maltreatment, particularly when placed in

out-of-home care settings, and

Young people reporting substance misuse, mental

health issues and mental and cognitive disabilities.10

The trajectories that lead to young people’s contact

with the law need to be addressed. By focusing on the

underlying causes of crime, young people have life

chances rather than a life in detention. For example, in

Bourke NSW an initiative enabled 236 people to obtain

a driver’s license and the community saw a reduction of

72% in the number of young people proceeded against

for driving without a licence.11

One key approach is justice reinvestment. An impact

assessment of the first major pilot site in Australia to

adapt and implement an Aboriginal-led and place-based

justice reinvestment approach, the Maranguka JR Project,

showed a $3.1 million in benefit to the community. There

was significant impact for young people, including a

31% increase in the retention rate for Year 12 students

in 2017, an 84% increase in the completion rate of VET

courses by Bourke High School students and a 38%

reduction last year in the number of juvenile charges in

the top five offence categories.12

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN

(AS RECOMMENDED BY JUST REINVEST):

ooExpand and support justice reinvestment via community-led solutions to break the cycle of offending, with specific focus on the potential of young people.

ooAllocate $15 million over five years from the

corrections budget for three new community-led

justice reinvestment initiatives across NSW.

oo    Provide $5 million over five years from the corrections budget for the establishment of an independent NSW justice reinvestment body overseen by a board with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership.

Diverting young people away from criminality is not

only positive for their lifetime outcomes, but positive for

society as a whole. It costs approximately $1,500 per

day (over $500,000 per year)13 to hold a young person

in juvenile detention. Not only is this expensive, but it

has been well established that early interaction with

courts and incarceration leads to poorer lifelong criminal

outcomes, rather than preventing them.14

42

Child rights reports suggest that diversion is not being

utilised to its full extent.15 Diversion includes early

intervention, pre-court options utilised by policy and

courts, pre-sentence diversion and post-conviction and

detention diversion.16 In NSW, the non-government

youth sector delivers programs that provide positive

outcomes, through services that ‘wrap around’ young

people who come in contact with the juvenile justice

system or are at risk of coming into future contact. These

diversionary measures avoid criminalising young people

while they are at a critical stage of their development.

Youth services need to be able to work strategically,

focusing on outcomes for young people at the centre

of their work, planning for the long term and working

collaboratively with other agencies. Despite the best

intentions, consultations show that youth services face

departments that operate in silos and systems that

do not promote collaboration. There are also gaps in

community knowledge about the impacts of outcomes

on vulnerable young clients, and service contracts often

expire very quickly.17 Positively, however, much of the

infrastructure to support young people is already in

place. Schools, youth services and successful programs

executed effectively for diversionary efforts exist already.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooExpand diversionary approaches that keep young

people away from contact with the justice system.

ooEnsure the availability of age appropriate,

strengthening and evidence-based programs to

prevent and address identifiable risk factors for

young people in NSW.

ooPrevent exit into homelessness through better

planning and through pre- and post-release programs.

ooImprove early intervention outcomes through:

implementing comprehensive training program

and policy changes so that teachers and school

staff can identify risk factors and supports

for adolescents

strengthening programs to build formal linkages

with schools, youth services and local diversionary

programs and the local community

increasing the number of student support officers

in schools and support their activities, and

taking a centralised commissioning approach

to contracts.

The minimum age at which children can be held

criminally responsible in NSW is ten years of age.18 The

international child rights community, as well as national

and community organisations, and various inquiries and

royal commissions continue to advise governments to

raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to an

internationally acceptable level.

In NSW, 66% of young people released from prison

reoffend within 12 months.19 Evidence shows that the

chances of future offending increase the younger a child

has their first contact with the criminal justice system. In

2014–2015, 100% of those aged ten to twelve years at

the start of their first supervised sentence returned to

some form of sentenced supervision before they turned

18. This decreased slightly with successive age groups.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooPrevent the criminalisation of young people by

raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility in

NSW to at least 14 years.

There are widespread and systematic failings in youth

detention facilities across Australia, including in NSW.20

Young people’s health, safety and wellbeing have been

put at risk. A 2018 review into the NSW juvenile justice

system found that young people under the care of

the government had been subjected to inappropriate

routine strip searches, excessive use of force and

overreliance on solitary confinement as a punishment.21

43

There are also continued and repeated reports of

children being held in adult detention facilities.22 In NSW,

children 16 years and above can legally be held in adult

detentions.23 It is positive to see the NSW government

has already begun implementing changes from a review

of its services,24 however, over the period of the two

years it took to review NSW’s facilities and practices,

harm to young people continued while they were in

the care and protection of the NSW Government. It is

imperative that the NSW government take urgent action

to implement changes and ensure some of NSW’s most

vulnerable young people are safe.

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooImmediately respond to and implement the

recommendations of the NSW Inspector of Custodial

Services review, Use of force, separation, segregation

and confinement in NSW juvenile justice centres.25

ooConsider the application of the recommendations

from the Royal Commission into the Protection and

Detention of Children in the Northern Territory, as

per the 2018 Child Rights report.26

ooReview and amend youth justice legislation, policy

and practice to ensure that children are treated

consistently with the Children’s Convention and the

Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of

Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules).

ooEnsure enforceable minimum standards in places

of youth detention in line with international human

rights standards, including to prohibit:

the use of solitary confinement other than as a

last resort

the use of restraints against children, except

where all other control measures have been

exhausted and have failed, and

routine strip searches, unless other less invasive

search options have been exhausted.

44

ENDNOTES

1 NSW Department of Justice, 2018, Inquiry into youth diversionary

programs in NSW, Parliament of NSW, Sydney, accessed via:

<https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/ladocs/submissions/60335/

Submission%2027.pdf>

2 Just Reinvest NSW, 2018, Police Platform – NSW Election 2019, Just

Reinvest NSW, accessed via: <http://www.justreinvest.org.au/wpcontent/

uploads/2018/10/Policy-Platform-2019-.pdf>

3 Davidson H, 2013, ‘Report reveals 87% of young people in NSW

prisons have mental health issues’, The Guardian, 8 August 2013,

accessed via: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/08/

youth-nsw-prisons-mental-health>

4 Inspector of Custodial Services, 2018, Use of force, separation, segregation

and confinement in NSW juvenile justice centres, Department of Justice,

accessed via: <http://www.custodialinspector.justice.nsw.gov.au/

Documents/use-of-force-seperation-segregation-confinementnsw-

juvenile-justice-centre.pdf>

5 Australian Child Rights Taskforce, 2018, ‘Chapter 9’, The Children’s

Report: Australia’s NGO coalition report to the United Nations

Committee on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF Australia, Sydney,

accessed via: <https://www.unicef.org.au/Upload/UNICEF/Media/

Documents/Child-Rights-Taskforce-NGO-Coalition-Report-For-

UNCRC-LR.pdf>

6 United Nations, 1989, Convention on the Rights of the Child, art 37(b).

7 Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987, s. 6; Young Offenders Act 1997 s. 7.

8 World Health Organisation, 2014, Health for the World’s Adolescents:

A second chance in the second decade, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland,

accessed via: <http://apps.who.int/adolescent/second-decade/

files/1612_MNCAH_HWA_Executive_Summary.pdf>, p. 3

9 ibid.

10 Australian Child Rights Taskforce, 2018, The Children’s Report:

Australia’s NGO coalition report to the United Nations Committee on the

Rights of the Child, UNICEF Australia, Sydney, accessed via: <https://

www.unicef.org.au/Upload/UNICEF/Media/Documents/Child-

Rights-Taskforce-NGO-Coalition-Report-For-UNCRC-LR.pdf>

11 Just Reinvest NSW, 2018, Police Platform – NSW Election 2019, Just

Reinvest NSW, accessed via: <http://www.justreinvest.org.au/wpcontent/

uploads/2018/10/Policy-Platform-2019-.pdf>, p. 8.

12 Berkovic N, 2018, ‘Tackling crime differently pays off for outback

town’, The Australian, 27 November 2018, accessed via: <https://

www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/tacklingcrime-

differently-pays-off-for-outback-town/news-story/832e5efb

56430eb8abac11f7951b3659>

13 Productivity Commission, 2016, Youth Justice Services, 16.31,

Commonwealth of Australia, Melbourne, accessed via: <https://

www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-governmentservices/

2016/community-services/youth-justice/rogs-2016-

volumef-chapter16.pdf>

14 Sheehan P et al., 2017, ‘Building the foundations for sustainable

development: a case for global investment in the capabilities of

adolescents’, The Lancet, 390(10104).

15 Australian Child Rights Taskforce, 2018, ‘The Children’s Report:

Australia’s NGO coalition report to the United Nations Committee on the

Rights of the Child, UNICEF Australia, Sydney, accessed via: <https://

www.unicef.org.au/Upload/UNICEF/Media/Documents/Child-

Rights-Taskforce-NGO-Coalition-Report-For-UNCRC-LR.pdf>

16 Legislative Assembly of NSW, 2018, The Adequacy of Youth Diversionary

Programs in NSW, Law and Safety Committee Report 2/56, NSW

Parliament, Sydney, accessed via: <https://www.parliament.nsw.

gov.au/ladocs/inquiries/2464/Report%20Adequacy%20of%20

Youth%20Diversionary%20Programs%20in%20NSW.PDF>

17 Youth Action, 2018, Inquiry into youth diversionary programs in NSW,

Youth Action, Sydney, accessible via: <http://www.youthaction.org.

au/youth_diversionary_programs_inquiry>

18 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018, Youth Justice in

Australia 2016–17, cat. no. JUV 116, AIHW, Canberra.

19 Just Reinvest NSW, 2018, Police Platform – NSW Election 2019, Just

Reinvest NSW, accessed via: http://www.justreinvest.org.au/wpcontent/

uploads/2018/10/Policy-Platform-2019-.pdf>, p. 6.

20 Gerathy S, 2016, ‘Juvenile Justice: NSW to review youth detention

centres amid detainee isolation claims’, ABC News, 27 October 2016,

accessed via: <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-27/nswto-

review-juvenile-detention-centres/7970194>; Office of the

Inspector of Custodial Services, 2016, How use of force against detainees

in Juvenile Justice Centres in NSW is managed, NSW Parliament, Sydney;

Australian Child Rights Taskforce, 2018, ‘Chapter 9’, The Children’s

Report: Australia’s NGO coalition report to the United Nations

Committee on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF Australia, Sydney,

accessed via: <https://www.unicef.org.au/Upload/UNICEF/Media/

Documents/Child-Rights-Taskforce-NGO-Coalition-Report-For-

UNCRC-LR.pdf>

21 Nguyen K & Lu A, 2018, ‘NSW youth detainees subjected to

inappropriate strip searches and isolation, report finds’ ANC News,

24 November 2018, accessed via: <https://mobile.abc.net.au/

news/2018-11-24/nsw-youth-detainees-strip-search-excessiveforce-

isolation/10551528?pfmredir=sm>

45

22 Australian Human Rights Commission, 2016, Children’s Rights

Report 2016, HRC, Sydney, pp. 335, 341; Cunneen C, Goldson B, &

Russell S, 2016, ‘Juvenile Justice, Young People and Human Rights in

Australia’, Current Issues in Criminal Justice, vol. 28, pp. 173, 182–183.

23 Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987 (NSW), ss. 3, 28 & 28B; Crimes

(Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 (NSW), ss. 3 & 41C.

24 Nguyen K & Lu A, 2018, ‘NSW youth detainees subjected to

inappropriate strip searches and isolation, report finds’ ANC News,

24 November 2018, accessed via: <https://mobile.abc.net.au/

news/2018-11-24/nsw-youth-detainees-strip-search-excessiveforce-

isolation/10551528?pfmredir=sm>

25 Inspector of Custodial Services, 2018, Use of force, separation,

segregation and confinement in NSW juvenile justice centres,

Department of Justice, accessed via: <http://www.

custodialinspector.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/use-of-forceseperation-

segregation-confinement-nsw-juvenile-justice-centre.

pdf>

26 Australian Child Rights Taskforce, 2018, The Children’s Report:

Australia’s NGO coalition report to the United Nations Committee on the

Rights of the Child, UNICEF Australia, Sydney, accessed via: <https://

www.unicef.org.au/Upload/UNICEF/Media/Documents/Child-

Rights-Taskforce-NGO-Coalition-Report-For-UNCRC-LR.pdf>

46

The youth sector is essential to building the connection of

young people to family, peers, community, and caring and

safe adults. It supports young people’s healthy development

and operates across a wide range of areas for the benefit of

young people.

Many young people in NSW need additional support to reach their full potential.

Young people present to youth services in NSW with issues most predominantly,

of homelessness, employment, education and training, and family relationships

or breakdown respectively.1 The youth support sector provides services to

enhance the protective assets in young people's lives and support them

intensively in times of need. But the majority of youth services report working

at capacity and not being able to meet demand.2 The continuum of service

provision in NSW is broken, and despite broad support for change, reforms

haven’t harnessed the expertise in the sector.

Resource a joined-up NSW

youth development sector to be

accessible to all young people

A NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooEnsure appropriate levels of funding to

meet need across the youth work service

continuum.

ooFacilitate tailoring of outcomes frameworks

to serve local contexts and which respond to

the needs of communities and the services

supporting them.

ooEnable reform processes to shift from

prescriptive to flexible commissioning to

enable local service sectors to adapt and

respond to emergent local need.

ooIncrease contract length to five years, allowing

youth services to plan for the long-term and

work more collaboratively with other agencies.

47

Youth services do essential work that places young people

and their interests first in order to establish a trusted

and caring professional relationship within which healthy

development can thrive. Youth workers are in a unique

profession that facilitates independence, connectedness,

and participation in society among young people

participating in youth services.3

Youth work is commonly understood to be a tool for

personal development with youth workers working

alongside young people to support them in making

informed choices on matters that impact their lives

and which supports change at both an individual and

structural level. Youth work links young people to a range

of positive activities of a ‘social, cultural, educational

and political nature’ and sits within the domain of nonformal

education.4 Youth workers build connection to

family, peers, community and caring and safe adults and

supports young people’s healthy development.5

Yet in NSW, many young people may not be getting

the support they need. Young people present to youth

services in NSW with issues most predominantly of

homelessness, employment, education and training,

and family relationships or breakdown respectively.6 The

youth support sector provides services to enhance the

protective assets in young people’s lives and supports

them intensively in times of need. But the majority of youth

services report working at capacity and not being able to

meet demand.7

Better outcomes are achieved when young people get

support early in the life of an issue, not just earlier in life.

Adolescence is a period of rapid developmental change,

during which personal and environmental change can

take place, and is an opportunity to provide the supports

that lead to positive outcomes for young people. A rational

early intervention approach targets critical periods of rapid

development, both very early childhood and adolescence.8

It is clear that quality, evidence-based and developmentally

appropriate prevention and early intervention programs

result in better outcomes than those applied in crisis.9

Despite quality services to young people, there is a

fragmentation of the NSW service system that impedes

services from achieving greater and better outcomes

for young people. It is necessary to build an overarching

vision for services or the children and young people they

support, providing direction and unity across the sector.

Rigid and siloed approaches to contracting across the

continuum of youth work service provision is problematic.

Contracted delivery models and terms remain prescriptive

(e.g. emphasis on case work), and of insufficient durations.

Prescriptive contracting, which specify delivery models

and activities to be undertaken, frequently fails to fit

meet presenting need. Additionally, short-term funding

cycles of up to three years, fail to allow services to engage

in strategic long-term planning, including collaborative

activities within local service system. These approaches to

contracting fail to recognise ‘on-the-ground’ experience and

expertise and reduce effective operational environments.10

The implications of these approaches are profound and

result in ineffective work, creation of service gaps, and

compromised outcomes for young people.

There is support from the sector for real and lasting

change. Effective change requires co-design with the

sector.11 This co-design must be inclusive of young

people and youth workers and must be implemented

and evaluated in partnership. Additionally, youth services

need to be able to work strategically, to plan for the longterm

and to be able to work without fear of short-term

competitive tendering.

For young people at risk and who experience exclusion

and disadvantage in NSW to thrive, a shared vision for

young people is required and must be inclusive of a

well-connected and appropriately resourced continuum

of youth work services from prevention and early

intervention to targeted intensive supports.

48

THE NSW GOVERNMENT CAN:

ooEnsure appropriate levels of funding to meet need

across the youth work service continuum.

ooFacilitate tailoring of outcomes frameworks to serve

local contexts and which respond to the needs of

communities and the services supporting them.

ooEnable change processes to shift from prescriptive to

flexible commissioning to enable local service sectors

to adapt and respond to emergent local need.

ooIncrease contract length to five years, allowing youth

services to plan for the long-term and work more

collaboratively with other agencies.

49

ENDNOTES

1 Youth Action, 2011, Youth Work Snapshot 2011, Youth Action,

Sydney, accessed via: <https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/

youthaction/pages/193/attachments/original/1446290668/YAPA_

SNAPSHOT_2011.pdf?1446290668>

2 Australian Council of Social Services, 2013, Australian Community

Sector Survey 2013 National Report, ACOSS, Sydney, accessed

via: <https://acoss.wpengine.com/images/uploads/Australian_

Community_Sector_Survey_2013_ACOSS.pdf>; Youth Action,

2011, Youth Work Snapshot 2011, Youth Action, Sydney, accessed

via: <https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/youthaction/

pages/193/attachments/original/1446290668/YAPA_

SNAPSHOT_2011.pdf?1446290668>

3 Australian Youth Affairs Coalition, 2013, The AYAC Definition of Youth

Work in Australia, AYAC, Sydney accessed via: <https://ayac.org.au/

uploads/131219%20Youth%20Work%20Definition%20FINAL.pdf>

4 Council of Europe, 2015, Youth Work Portfolio: A tool for the

assessment and development of Youth Work Competence, COE,

Strausberg, accessed via: <http://www.coe.int/en/web/youthportfolio/

youth-work-competence>

5 Youth Action, 2018, Youth Development in NSW; a review of evidence to

support youth services, Youth Action, Sydney.

6 Youth Action, 2011, Youth Work Snapshot 2011, Youth Action,

Sydney, accessed via: <https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/

youthaction/pages/193/attachments/original/1446290668/YAPA_

SNAPSHOT_2011.pdf?1446290668>

7 Australian Council of Social Services, 2013, Australian Community

Sector Survey 2013 National Report, ACOSS, Sydney, accessed

via: <https://acoss.wpengine.com/images/uploads/Australian_

Community_Sector_Survey_2013_ACOSS.pdf>; Youth Action,

2011, Youth Work Snapshot 2011, Youth Action, Sydney, accessed

via: <https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/youthaction/

pages/193/attachments/original/1446290668/YAPA_

SNAPSHOT_2011.pdf?1446290668>

8 Viner R, 2013, ‘Life stage: Adolescence’, Annual Report of the

Chief Medical Officer, Our Children Deserve Better: Prevention Pays,

HMSO, London.

9 Sammut, 2011, Do Not Damage and Disturb: On Child Protection

Failures and the Pressure on Out of Home Care in Australia, Policy

Monograph, Centre for Independent Studies, NSW; Washington

State Institute for Public Policy, ’Benefit Cost Results’ accessed via

<http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/BenefitCost?topicld=3>

10 Youth Action, 2015, Targeted Early Intervention Programs, response to

sector consultation paper, Youth Action, Sydney.

11 NSW Council of Social Services, 2015, A Fair Deal For Our

Community Services, NCOSS, Sydney, accessed via: <https://www.

ncoss.org.au/sites/default/files/public/campaign/A%20Fair%20

Deal_%20Final.pdf>

 

 

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