Advocacy

yourtown responded to the Australian Government’s consultation on reforms to strengthen the National Mental Health Commission (NMHC) and National Suicide Prevention Office (NSPO). The NMHC and NSPO have critical roles within the mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention and must be positioned for success.

Some of the key points we raised:

• Both the NMHC and NSPO need to be separate independent statutory offices to fulfill their objectives and functions, provide robust advice and keep the government accountable.
• In order to deliver whole-of-government policy the NSPO should sit within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
• The NMHC and NSPO must have a focus on prevention and early intervention and address the social determinants of mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention.
• The NMHC and NSPO need to engage with a range of stakeholders including those with lived and living experience and particularly those who have high risks of mental ill health and suicide and/or have less access to services and support.

yourtown and headspace have developed a joint submission on the draft advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy (the Strategy). Finalising a national strategy will be a significant step in the right direction to ensuring a holistic, Australian-wide approach to suicide prevention and the factors that contribute to suicide.

yourtown and headspace are both concerned about escalating rates of distress among, children, young people and families and are dedicated to suicide prevention. It is well-known that suicide is the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 in Australia. It was also the leading cause of child death in Australia in 2023. Furthermore, suicides among young people are more likely than adults to be associated with suicide clusters.

In our submission, we advocated that the Strategy should:

• Detail tailored actions to support specific youth cohorts that are disproportionately affected by suicide
• Explore how to address suicide prevention and support for young people experiencing multiple, complex and severe barriers
• Detail actions on how to develop the capacity of friends and peers to support children and young people to access support
• Target the whole community to overcome stigma alongside creating a culture that encourages help-seeking and help-offering
• Include postvention responses in actions that address youth suicide prevention
• Set priorities, outcomes, targets and measures of impact to assist in its implementation and evaluation
• Be accompanied by an implementation plan so various governments are allocated their specific roles and responsibilities for each action and the sector can prepare to support action
• Discuss how governments can consider and address suicide risk in relevant legislation
• Explore the implementation of legislation requiring suicide prevention plans in all relevant government agencies

yourtown responded to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee on their inquiry into Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system. The inquiry has a focus on child rights, the impact of youth incarceration, the over representation of First Nations children and national minimum standards. yourtown advocates that national reform is needed to uphold child rights within the youth justice system and ensure Australia’s commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Some of the key points we raised:

• Including young people in reviewing and co-designing the system
• Prioritising prevention and early intervention to change the trajectory of young people at risk of contact with the youth justice system
• Raising the age of criminal responsibility nationally to 14 years minimum and implementing national minimum standards to enable a national unified approach
• Providing alternative options to incarceration including increased fund ing of evidenced based community-based programs
• Supporting young people’s transition back into the community following incarceration, including through the provision of adequate support and services and assistance into employment, training or education pathways
• Prioritising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander solutions, including Indigenous Sentencing Courts.

yourtown responded to the South Australia Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.

The Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence is inquiring into how government, non-government organisations and communities can better integrate and coordinate efforts across all elements of the domestic, family and sexual violence systems in South Australia. The Commission will direct recommendations at designing a domestic, family and sexual violence system to better meet the needs of those who interact with it, and which is capable of delivering the generational change required to bring an end to domestic, family and sexual violence.

Some of the key points we raised:

• Children who have experienced or witnessed domestic, family and sexual violence should be supported in their own right and provided with tailored age-appropriate support and interventions
• More resourcing and funding is required for domestic, family and sexual violence support services, particularly in regional and remote areas
• Services and systems need to use a trauma-transformative approach to supporting victim-survivors in their recovery and healing and be responsive to the impact of trauma on children’s development, functioning, and ability to engage with support
• Victim-survivors require social support over extended periods of time, tailored treatments and psychological therapies, and advocacy/case management in their recovery and healing, and
• Universally delivered, school-based violence prevention programs can equip students with the skills to form healthy relationships.

yourtown responded to the Australian Government’s statutory review into the operation of the Online Safety Act 2021. The Government has brought forward the review by one year so that the Act can keep pace with today’s dynamic online environment. There has been widespread media attention on restricting social media use for young people under 16 years; however, the voices of young people have been missing in recent discussions. Young people have told us that their experiences with social media are not all negative. The main positives include connecting and socialising, keeping informed and learning new things, finding entertainment, and using social media as a distraction from life’s stresses. However, young people also stated that want some regulation of the online environment so that they can be safe.

Some of the key points we advocated for include:

• applying a child rights approach reflecting international best practice in supporting children and their rights, including their right to guide and support their online experiences 
• implementing Safety by Design principles (placing user safety and rights at the centre of the development and use of online services) and a statutory duty of care framework (where providers of online platforms are responsible for harm prevention)
• educating children, young people, and parents about online safety rather than regulating young people’s online behaviour, and 
• involving young people in any proposed policy and legislation amendments that impact them.
   

yourtown responded to the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justices’ (DCJ) Family Preservation system redesign. The NSW Government is redesigning the system to improve the outcomes, experiences, suitability and accessibility for families. DCJ is hoping that this redesign will create a system that is evidence-based and more responsive to the diverse needs of families. In our submission we advocate for the inclusion of a residential model, particularly for vulnerable families experiencing high levels of trauma and persistent disadvantage. 

Some of our key points

• The NSW Family Preservation system must recognise the importance of housing in supporting families with children experiencing or at risk of harm 
• The NSW Family Preservation system must prioritise the service gap and inter-relationships between homelessness and child protection, particularly for young parents who are a highly vulnerable group. 
• A residential component needs to be included within the Family Preservation system and appropriate funding allocated.
• We highlight the success of San Miguel, our child-centred residential service for young parents and their children. Providing safe residential accommodation and long-term intensive support.   
   

yourtown responded to the Queensland Government’s Putting Queensland Kids First strategy which has been developed to drive better outcomes for Queensland children through targeted prevention and early intervention.  

Some of the key points we raised:

• The strategy should align with the Federal Government and other jurisdiction strategies for greater collaboration and shared funding agreements
• The strategy needs to prioritise the voices of children and young people, particularly through undertaking genuine co-design and human-centred design
• A data strategy is needed to ensure the wealth of data held across government and community organisations is accessible, connected and used efficiently
• Services and supports should ‘meet’ children, young people, families and parents where they are, using technology and methods that are agile and relevant in the 21st Century
• Investment should be directed towards place-based approaches tailored to the needs of the community, alongside facilitating self-determination and leadership from these communities
• A partnership model with the community organisation sector should be adopted that recognises the sector’s important role in the ecosystem and works to address current power imbalances

yourtown responded to the Youth Justice Reform Select Committee’s priority areas for Phase 2 of the Inquiry into Youth Justice Reform in Queensland. We support the priority areas of the inquiry; however, the voices of children, young people and their families are currently missing from the priority areas and we strongly believe that these must be represented in the development of the Youth Justice Strategy and resulting programs. 

Some of the key points we raised:

• Including children and young people alongside government agencies and community organisations in the development of the 10-year Youth Justice Strategy
• Using human-centred and co-design approaches to design services and increase the likelihood of children and young people’s engagement
• Tailoring solutions to specific vulnerable groups
• Prioritising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander solutions
• Providing support to reduce disengagement from the education system
• Developing a trauma responsive youth justice system
• Delivering therapeutic early intervention programs
• Funding community-based programs
• Building an evidence base of what works
• Implementing frameworks and practices for supporting children and young people’s transition back into the community
• Developing media guidelines for the responsible reporting of youth related crime

yourtown responded to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into philanthropy. The Commission has released their draft Future Foundations for Giving report with findings and recommendations relating to motivations for philanthropic giving in Australia and opportunities to grow it further. In our submission, we examine the impact of proposed reforms aimed at increasing philanthropic giving, while advocating for ways to ensure the community receive maximum benefit from this giving.

Some of the key points we raised:

• There needs to be national harmonisation of fundraising legislation 
• Changes to the threshold for tax-deductible donations should not increase administrative burden
• Learnings from a review of national and international tax mechanisms can inform strategies to increase corporate giving in Australia
• Regulation and compliance activities for volunteering should be minimised 

yourtown responded to the Queensland Government’s inquiry into youth justice reforms. yourtown supports the inquiry’s goals to examine ongoing reforms to the youth justice system and support for victims of crime.

Some of the key points we raised:

• children and young people should have both recognition of, and access to their rights, in particular the right to participate, be heard and taken seriously
• the system should listen to and facilitate self-determination and leadership from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to ensure culturally safe solutions
• there needs to be a shift from a punitive crisis driven model towards a therapeutic, trauma informed, support-based model of early intervention and prevention
• the system should address the root causes and social drivers of youth offending through a whole of government response and appropriately funded, timely, holistic, community-based support
• children and young people at risk of offending are not a homogenous group and should have tailored support to meet individual needs
• children and young people from all backgrounds should be able to participate in policy decision-making that affects them, and in the development of supports and systems so services and programs are informed by their experiences and circumstances, and
• the system must raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years at a minimum.
   

yourtown responded to The Blueprint Expert Reference Group (BERG) on the principles and priorities of a Blueprint for Australia’s not-for-profit (NFP) sector. The Blueprint will be provided to the Australian Government on what is needed for a sustainable NFP and charities sector through a 10-year vision and priorities for action. yourtown welcomes the Government’s work on progressing its election commitment to support a Blueprint to provide a roadmap for government reforms and sector-led initiatives to boost the sector’s capacity to support and reconnect Australian communities. However, we also acknowledge the existing strength of the NFP.

Some of the key points we raised:

• It is important that the Blueprint clarify the difference between general NFPs and charities that meet ongoing and emerging needs of the community and that the 10 year vision focus specifically on the charity component of the sector.
• Funding for organisations must reflect the true cost of delivering high quality and effective services to cover cybersecurity, technology, outcomes measurement, administration, compliance, and staffing
• Regulations and requirements need to be streamlined to ease the administrative, time and cost burden on the sector
• The Government must prioritise and engage in true co-design with the sector during policy, tendering, and service design cycles
• The sector needs support to increase its cyber security and digital capability

yourtown responded to the Australian Government’s consultation on its election commitment to develop ‘A stronger, more diverse and independent community sector’. While we support policy and processes that seek to strengthen the sector, it is also important to acknowledge there exists great strength already. However, the sector faces increasing demand particularly from clients with complex needs, all within the context of a steep escalation in the costs of doing business and significant workforce shortages.

Some of the key points we raised:

• grants processes should support the true cost of tendering for, and delivering quality services, with options for longer-term contracts so workers have certainty and community service organisations can plan for the future, apply continuous improvements based on learnings, and be integrated within the communities they serve, and 
• governments should treat community service organisations as respected partners, with meaningful engagement processes in place to ensure the sector (and those they serve) have a genuine voice in attempting to meet the needs of communities and populations.

yourtown responded to the National Office for Child Safety’s draft document Understanding sexual behaviours displayed by children and young people: National principles and terminology (the national principles). yourtown supports the development of foundational principles to underpin a national policy approach in preventing, identifying, and responding to harmful sexual behaviours displayed by children and welcomes the right-based approach that underpins the draft principles. We welcome the approach of ensuring that children who have displayed concerning or harmful sexual behaviours should obtain a proportionate and supportive response, including therapeutic support. We also concur with the intent of the national principles to not minimise the impact of harmful sexual behaviours, nor negate the need for criminal justice, support for survivors of sexual abuse, child protection, and other statutory interventions.

Some of the key points we raised:

• the national principles will need to be accompanied by future specific work (e.g. national workforce, sector and population specific guidelines/standards for preventing, intervening early and responding to concerning and harmful sexual behaviours; and a National Clinical and Therapeutic Framework for responding to children and young people who have displayed concerning and harmful sexual behaviours) for organisations to effectively implement the principles
• it is important to recognise the diversity of cultures in Australia by adding a principle that focuses on culturally accessible and safe support, and
• given the detrimental immediate and long-term impacts of harmful sexual behaviours upon a young person’s physical and mental health, the principles should also include reference to the physical and psychological health of the young person, as well as to their safety and wellbeing.

yourtown responded to the Australian Government’s consultation on the development of a National Housing and Homelessness Plan. The Plan will be a 10-year strategy and will set out a shared vision to inform future housing and homelessness policy in Australia. 

Some of the key points we raised:

• The Plan needs to set a true agenda for national reform, which is mirrored in state and territory plans and the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement 
• Lived experience should drive the design of the plan, ensuring those who have lived experience of housing instability or homelessness are involved in human-centred design and co-design approaches. 
• The Plan must address the needs of all children and young people, who are not adequately addressed in other national strategies
• The Plan should take a holistic approach to address housing and homelessness that ensures updating and maintenance of current social housing stock; investment in and development of new housing stock for current unmet demand across the system; and planning for meeting future demand.
   

yourtown responded to the Queensland Government’s Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement on options for the implementation of child safe standards and a reportable conduct scheme in Queensland. 

Some of the key points we raised:

• The Queensland Government needs to act with urgency and not delay their work, to increase the safety and wellbeing of children. 
• Queensland needs a strong legislative scheme with sufficient power to compel reporting, obtaining of evidence, investigation and prosecution. 
• yourtown supports the creation of a legislative scheme in Queensland that provides for an integrated child safe organisation system to implement the child safe standards
• yourtown supports a legislative scheme that aligns with the recommendations of the Royal commission for a nationally consistent reportable conduct  scheme

yourtown responded to the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations’ consultation on a proposed new voluntary parent support service model for parents with young children. 

yourtown is currently a ParentsNext provider in South Australia, having worked with more than 1,200 young parents since the service commenced in 2018, and we are very supportive of moving to are more effective voluntary parent support service, that parents want to engage with.

Some of the key points we raised:

• it is vital the new service addresses unmet needs for the target cohort, and does not replicate services/s offered elsewhere
• for a voluntary model to be successful, the service offering has to be utterly compelling in order for people to want to voluntarily use it
• the model must prioritise and advance the long-term economic security of parents as its core policy objective.  
• the service must emphasise education goals alongside employment goals. Higher educational attainment is linked to better employment prospects and job attainment as well as lower use of income support
• providers’ practice should be strengths-based, person centred, trauma informed, and culturally sensitive
   

yourtown responded to the Australian Government’s Office for Youth who are developing a youth engagement strategy to improve how they work with young people. They asked for feedback from young people, advocates and organisations that work with young people on how young people can be engaged by the Government now and into the future.

yourtown’s submission included an organisational response and a response from young people in our Youth Advisory Group. 

Some of the key points we raised:

• young people currently feel systematically excluded from meaningful discussion and solution making processes
• of foremost concern to young people – is that their voice is heard and taken seriously
• there needs to be prioritisation of a human centred design approach to embedding youth engagement
• youth engagement needs to meet young people where they are at 
• adequate funding to both the Office for Youth and youth based organisations is needed to support meaningful engagement with young people. 

yourtown responded to the Treasury’s (Australian Government) consultation on Measuring What Matters in relation to their development and release of a new Measuring What Matters Statement in 2023. This is the second round of consultation following on from initial consultation in January 2023 (which yourtown did not respond too).

This Statement will be Australia’s first national framework on wellbeing and will evolve over time. yourtown engaged with a group of young people aged 18 to 26 to hear their thoughts and ideas on what wellbeing means to them, and what they think should be included in the Wellbeing Statement.

Some of the key points we raised:

• we need to consider the diverse experiences and wellbeing of all young people and not lump them into a homogenous group
• we recommended that the Treasury further work with yourtown to conduct a national survey, through our Kids Helpline website to better understand what wellbeing means to young people, especially those in rural and remote locations
• we conveyed the feedback from our consultation with young people including what issues where most important for themselves and their community’s wellbeing; how their priorities aligned with the policy themes; and additional information they wanted to see in the Measuring What Matters statement

yourtown responded to the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) on the the effectiveness of the establishment of the Workforce Australia Services panel. The ANAO proposes to examine procurement processes and if evaluation process appropriately informed the establishment of the panel. yourtown strongly supports ANAO’s review of the effectiveness of the establishment of the Workforce Australia Services panel; especially given that the 2021 Workforce Australia tender process drastically de-stabilised the employment market for service providers, job seekers and employers. 

Some of the key points we raised:

• the Request for Tender for Transition to Work 2022–27 should have included a specific and dedicated criterion that evaluated the current performance of providers
• the flawed procurement process has compromised job seeker outcomes
• the ‘wild results’, high turnover of existing providers, and lack of clear consideration for the past performance of providers, all suggest that the quality of reviewers and their knowledge of the employment services sector and system should also be subject to audit by the ANAO

yourtown responded to the second round of consultation on the Revised Industry Codes under the Online Safety Act. This round of consultation followed eSafety providing a preliminary assessment of each of the draft codes on 9 February, and requesting the Industry Associations responsible for drafting the Codes seek additional feedback to better address community expectations.  

Some of the key points we raised:

• the approach taken by Industry Associations is in direct contradiction to the Government’s commitment to their new youth engagement mode
• it is critical that large digital counselling, and support services such as yourtown’s Kids Helpline are directly engaged in the consultation process prior to finalisation of the Codes to fully understand the impact they will have
• the final versions of the Codes should be accompanied by plain language versions that are easily understood and clear to the sector and community impacted by them, both in relation to what they mean; and what is required for compliance
• given the feedback received through the public consultation process including from yourtown, the Industry Associations should advise the Office of the eSafety Commissioner and the Department administering the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) of the feedback provided in this and other submissions

yourtown responded to the Parliament of Australia, House of Representatives, House Select Committee Inquiry into Workforce Australia Employment Services in relation to the Consideration of broader Workforce Australia employment services system, including complementary programs.

For almost 20 years yourtown has been helping young people find and keep jobs throughout Australia. In 2022 alone, we supported more than 14,500 young people through various employment programs at yourtown. As a provider of employment programs to young people, we strongly support the Committee’s review of the system.

Some of the key points we raised:

• the employment services model should be overhauled and re-designed, adopting a human-centred design approach. All changes should be informed by the direct views and aspirations of young people with the support of the Office for Youth, and employers
• that employment services models incorporate a strong focus on mental health and wellbeing to address critical barriers to employment for young people
• that the Australian Government revise the architecture of the employment services model, using its own data sets to determine the types of specialist providers required for each employment region and fund a position to facilitate connections between providers and schools
• the Australian Government commit to developing and applying robust eligibility criteria as a fundamental part of the tender process for specialist providers
• the Australian Government consider the adoption of place-based approaches within the employment services model to support the development of localised employment and training opportunities and pathways

yourtown responded to the Australian Government Department of Social Services consultation on Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program – Inclusion Round consultation. The Inclusion Round consultation seeks feedback and asks questions about the design of the Inclusion Round tender process.

Funding for the Inclusion Round will be delivered via an open and competitive grants process, to increase access to emergency accommodation for First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women and children, and women and children with disability under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 (National Plan).

Some of the key points we raised:

• it is critical that this process is informed by the direct views and aspirations of young people from these backgrounds, as well as the Office for Youth in keeping with the Government’s commitment to the new youth engagement model
• to better support applicants the Australian Government Department of Social Services should provide a more comprehensive set of definitions and guidance around how applicants can demonstrate evidence of ‘rights-based’, client-centred’, ‘trauma-informed’ ‘culturally appropriate’ and ‘having gender expertise’ in the form of a rubric assessment tool
• the Australian Government Department of Social Services should encourage providers to work with a broad range of stakeholders including the Police, DV Connect and other providers to better support women and children escaping domestic violence, especially First Nations women and children, CALD women and children and women and children with a disability

yourtown responded to the South Australian Royal Commission consultation on Early Childhood Education and Care. The South Australian Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care will hear expert evidence and the experiences and views of families to provide advice to the government on delivering a high-quality early years system that is fit for the future. Some of the key points we raised were:

• to strengthen the early years’ system, the government should fund virtual counselling services and supports specifically directed towards supporting parents and carers 
• the early years’ system adopt a whole of systems approach to supporting child development to ensure South Australian children have the opportunity to set positive life trajectories
• that the early years’ system is grounded in trauma-informed practices and guided by human rights
• the South Australian education system have greater consideration for, and be responsive to, children’s development needs especially complex needs
• the early years’ system be expanded and funded
• that increased support is provided to parents/carers to improve parental/carer efficacy and family functioning

yourtown responded to the Australian Government, Treasury Consultation on the Employment White Paper. The Employment White Paper will build on the outcomes of the Jobs and Skills Summit and will have an overarching focus on the objectives of full employment and productivity growth for the benefit of all Australians. 

The Employment White Paper represents a significant opportunity to set the national agenda for employment related issues in the 21st Century. Development of a consistent, comprehensive, and actionable plan should support all Australians, especially young people equipped with the skills and knowledge needed for a 21st Century workforce.
 
Some of the key points we raised:

• design a fairer, consistent, and stable employment services model 
• support young people by ensuring every young person seeking employment can have access to youth specialist services including Transition to Work (TtW) services 
• ensure education strategies align with and complement employment strategies 
• incorporate strategies to address mental health and wellbeing barriers to employment
• commit to an ongoing and broad-based incentives scheme for employers to support the uptake of apprenticeships/traineeships

yourtown responded to the Parliament of Australia, House of Representatives, House Select Committee Inquiry into Workforce Australia Employment Services in relation to the ParentsNext program. 

yourtown, as a provider of ParentsNext, strongly supports the continuation of the program but recommends that the program be re-designed to adopt a human-centred approach. We have observed firsthand the value and opportunities that the ParentsNext program brings to disadvantaged parents who would otherwise not have access to critical study or employment supports. 

Some of the key points we raised:

• providing targeted training and support to Centrelink and provider staff to better understand and engage with ParentsNext clients, and equip them with the essential and specialist skills needed to engage participants in the ParentsNext program 
• adopting a client-centred focus to ensure that client safety and wellbeing is foundational in the delivery of the program 
• providing access to place-based funding and resources to support clients to overcome activity cost access issues (particularly in rural and remote locations) 
• amending the key performance indicator for accredited learning
• ensuring flexibility in the program design to support tailored client plans, expanded exemptions and encourage voluntary participation as far as possible

yourtown responded to the Queensland Government’s Youth Strategy (the Strategy) consultation. The Strategy will guide how young people, stakeholders and government can work together to ensure Queensland’s youth have the support they need to achieve a brighter future.
 
yourtown strongly supports the development of a new Strategy that reflects the needs of young Queenslanders today.
 
Some of the key points we raised:

• adopting a whole-of-government human centred design approach to addressing issues within services and systems as a key principle of youth participation under the new Youth Strategy 
• facilitating the independent, fearless, and unmediated voice of young people to be heard
• conducting regular pulse checks to determine what’s happening ‘now’ with young people on the ground 
• commitment to long term investment in relationships of trust within the community and with young people, to deliver effective co-designed solutions that work 
• embedding the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations across all portfolios, as a key priority under the Strategy
• committing under the Strategy to updating the Human Services Quality Framework to include a dedicated standard for the delivery of services to young people

yourtown responded to the University of Canberra News and Media Research Centre consultation being conducted on behalf of the National Office for Child Safety (NoCS) regarding the development of guidelines for journalists to refer to when reporting on child sexual abuse.

yourtown strongly supports resources that will assist media to raise awareness of child sexual abuse, while encouraging responsible reporting.

Some of the key points we raised: 

• Using the right language to talk about child sexual abuse is essential to reduce stigma and empower those who have experienced abuse
• Current media depictions tend to focus on/create a narrative around outsiders ‘hunting for children to abuse’. Media accounts often fail to identify that child sexual abuse often happens within the context of families and its trusted circle of acquaintances.
• There is a lack of guidance for those who use social channels in both a professional and non-professional setting
• There should be a stronger focus on empowering those who have experienced child sexual abuse to tell their stories if, and when they are ready to do so, without pressure and in a way, they feel ‘safe’
• Child sexual exploitation is often misidentified/grouped together as child sexual abuse, domestic and family violence or harmful sexual behaviours between children. The guidelines should have clear definitions of child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation

yourtown responded to the National Suicide Prevention Office on their draft scoping paper to guide the process for the creation of a National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Developing a national strategy will be a significant step in the right direction to ensuring a holistic Australian approach to suicide prevention, and the drivers contributing to suicide.

Some of the key points we raised: 

• The principles should be underpinned by a human rights-based approach to suicide prevention; doing so gives greater credence to and recognition of the complexity of issues that can impact suicide
• The Strategy should also recognise the critical role of virtual mental health services as an enabler of the focus area ‘Supporting long-term mental health and wellbeing’ and as part of a broad continuum of support
• Social media can also be valuable in learning about young people’s knowledge and attitudes regarding mental health and suicide prevention and their help-seeking preferences 
• Youth suicide prevention intervention approaches under the Strategy be informed by, and tailored to, different groups of children and young people
   

yourtown responded to the Australian Government’s review of Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). The Australian Government is undertaking a statutory review of the Act’s operation and compliance over the first three years since commencement.  

yourtown strongly supports a whole of society approach to ending modern slavery, including the use of laws to combat contemporary forms of slavery, and forced labour.

Some of the key points we raised: 

• The definition of modern slavery should not be broadened and should remain unchanged
• Any proposed due diligence process should be flexible and aligned to the nature of the business and its operations, and be set out in administrative ‘guidance’ material, rather than legislation
• The review of the Act include a complaints process, and investigations mechanism that is empowered, and able to prosecute allegations of modern slavery
• Review of the Act considers inclusion of civil penalties or sanctions, as part of a stepped approach to regulatory compliance

yourtown responded to the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department on the Consultation Draft- National Principles to Address Coercive Control.

The National Principles have been designed to be used by government and non-government organisations involved in addressing coercive control as a tool to support greater community awareness of coercive control.

Some of the key points we raised:

• The proposed definition of coercive control should be revised and broadened to capture coercive control in other contexts and age groups
• National Principle 2 should be revised to better represent the impact on children and young people, including the risk of repeating behaviours modelled in familial settings
• Coordinated approaches under National Principle 6 should include strengthening integration of local, area and state-wide services across mental health, health, child protection, education, employment, and other social systems to recognise and respond to coercive control
• Gender neutral language is used throughout the National Principles
• That significant caution should be exercised by State and Territory Governments in developing and implementing a specific coercive control offence

yourtown responded to the public consultation on Health Services in South Australia. We recommended the following issues needed to be addressed within the current health, mental health and connected systems to improve the quality, accessibility and affordability of health services in South Australia:  

• Driving a holistic systems approach to achieving health equity 
• Prioritising the health needs of children and young people 
• Developing a whole of government approach to health that includes collaboration with key stakeholders, and  
• Building the digital capability of the health workforce

The Queensland Housing Summit was held on 20 October 2022 to explore ways that governments, businesses, and communities can work together to address the critical housing crisis in Queensland. yourtown provided suggestions as to what the Summit should consider when seeking to address the housing crisis.

Some of the key points we raised included that the Queensland Government:

• Develop a cohesive, measurable action plan for collaborative investment in social housing by government, industry, and community
• Invest in more purpose built accommodation and services for women and children escaping domestic and family violence and young people experiencing housing instability and/or homelessness
• Work with National Cabinet to increase and regularly review the rate of income support and supplementary allowances, and consider other measures that address cost of living pressures for young people
• Procure Social Enterprises to deliver social housing to provide jobs and apprenticeships for young people experiencing unemployment

yourtown responded to the public consultation on the draft Industry Codes being developed under the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cwth). The purpose of the Codes is to regulate certain types of harmful online material such as child sexual exploitation and pro-terror material (Class 1A and Class 1B Material).
 
The key point we raised in our submission is that broader community consultation must be undertaken with digital service providers in the community, and children and young people directly impacted by the draft Codes, to ensure critical services are not negatively or inadvertently impacted.
 
Some of the other points we raised:

• Online counselling and health services including helplines, or professional counselling services, such as Kids Helpline and Parentline, should be expressly excluded from the Codes where storage, descriptions, or expressions of Class 1A or Class 1B material are used for the purpose of seeking, or receiving counselling, or support
• The Codes should also exclude Helplines, and online support, or counselling services from requirements to obtain a user to register with a phone number, email address or other identifier
• Consultation should be supported by accessible and easy to understand versions and supporting information

yourtown responded to the National Office for Child Safety on the Monitoring & Evaluation Framework for the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse; development of which fell under the First National Action Plan Measure 25. The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework will assess the progress of the National Strategy’s measures and objectives.
 
Some of the key points we raised:

• To support progress towards the objective and mission of the National Strategy there should be a stronger focus on empowering and engaging all children and young people through a child rights approach and all outcomes be drafted in a manner which allows victim/survivors a greater voice and role
• To ensure quality data is collective it should be representative, derived from a sufficient sample size and ethically obtained, stored and ultilised, and;
• Accessible versions of public reports should be made available for children and young people as a mandatory principle; versions of the report should also be accessible for people with visual and auditory impairments and be available across multiple media channels

yourtown responded to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Division in the Victorian Department of Health on the Victorian Suicide Prevention and Response Strategy discussion paper. We highlighted key priority areas by drawing upon Kids Helpline data, experience in service delivery, and consultation with young people.
 
Some of the key points we raised include:

• consideration within the Strategy on children and young people who are at higher risk of suicide
• focused attention on how different groups of children and young people have varying experiences of suicidality 
• approaches are needed that meet the needs, experiences, and preferences of different groups of young people, and
• a focus on early intervention that provides holistic and coordinated support with other relevant systems (e.g. mental health, substance use, child protection, juvenile justice, family and domestic violence, or trauma)

In 2021, yourtown conducted a survey as part of our research work with Swinburne University students, to explore how young males (aged 12-18) seek support for their mental health and wellbeing. We received just over 2,500 responses. Some of the key insights include: 

• The most common issues young males raised were: coping with stress (92%); depression (85%); school or study problems (90%); body issues (80%)
• Before reaching out to a mental health professional, more than 50% of young males spoke to a friend or their parent, and 36% to a partner
• 83% of young men listened to music when they were not feeling their best

yourtown was recently invited to appear at the Victorian Government's public hearing on the review of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown orders. Kathryn Mandla, Head of Advocacy and Research, appeared at the public hearing on Friday 29 April 2022. Some of the issues we raised include:

• The pandemic and lockdown orders have had a significant impact on Victorian children and young people 
• In 2021, close to 123,000 attempts were made to connect to our Kids Helpline counsellors from children and young people in Victoria 
• Kids Helpline experienced a 264% increase in immediate emergency responses in Victoria during 2021, compared to pre-COVID levels

Throughout the Your Voice project, we heard from thousands of young people from throughout Australia who are informed and passionate about their communities, peers, and future. 

In our Issues Summaries document, read what young people across Australia had to say about the particular issues of:

• education
• employment
• environment
• mental health
• safety
• LGBTQIA+ issues
• cost of living

And check out the State and National Summaries document to see what young people in each of the Australian states and territories had to say.

yourtown responded to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on their inquiry into Social Media (Anti-Trolling) Bill 2022 [Provisions]. 

Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include: 

• Ensuring social media platforms, operated for therapeutic, counselling or mental health support purposes, do not have to unmask anonymous users for online trolling or defamatory comments, but instead can continue to educate and provide guidance to these children and young people, to learn from and correct any harmful behaviours
• Removing reference to ‘anti-trolling’ in the title and replacing it with a more appropriate title that reflects the intent and purpose of the Bill

yourtown responded to the Queensland Parliament Mental Health Select Committee on their inquiry into the opportunities to improve mental health outcomes for Queenslanders.

Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include:

• The shortage of accessible and child- and youth- appropriate mental health services 
• The inequitable access to mental health services, particularly in rural and remote communities
• The lack of digital skills within the current and emerging mental health workforce

yourtown responded to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. This submission was based on the views of young people with lived experience of disability as expressed in the Your Voice project.

Some of the issues that they raised included:

• The barriers that young people experienced when accessing diagnosis and support
• Limitations placed on their ability to participate socially and economically due to accessibility and stigma
• The impact that these issues has on their mental health

yourtown responded to the Select Committee on Social Media and Online Safety on reforms aimed at strengthening protections for children and young people on social media and other online platforms.

Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include: 

• Adopting a child rights approach and application of the ‘best interests’ principle when regulating online platforms
• Being based upon what children and young people have to say and safety by design principles 
• Prioritising and funding prevention and education activities regarding online safety

yourtown responded to the Australian Government on developing the National Initial Assessment and Referral (IAR) for Mental Healthcare Guidance for children and adolescents, and the Decision Support Tool.

Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include:

• Consulting and co-designing with children, young people, and their families, particularly those who identify as being from First Nations, or culturally and linguistically diverse communities to ensure tools are culturally safe and appropriate 
• Recognising the applicability of the Support Tool in face-to-face settings rather than in virtual service settings
   

yourtown responded to the Australian Government’s discussion paper on its review of the Privacy Act 1988. Some of the key issues we raised that need to be addressed include:

• Involving children, young people and other vulnerable persons in the design, maintenance, and regulation of safe online environments; and,
• Regulating online platforms through a child rights approach and application of the ‘best interests’ principle

yourtown responded to the Australian Government’s exposure draft on the Privacy Legislation amendment. A key issue we raised that needs to be addressed includes:

• Ensuring online privacy enhancements do not negatively impact on children and young people’s ability to use online platforms to reach out for help and support.

Throughout the Your Voice project, we have heard from thousands of young people from throughout Australia who are informed and passionate about their communities, peers and future. 

Hear what young people had to say and the recommendations to the Federal Government.

yourtown responded to the Queensland Parliament Community Support and Services Committee on the Raising the Age of Responsibility Amendment Bill 2021 introduced by Mr Berkman MP.

An issue we raised that needs to be addressed includes: 

• Not holding children under the age of 14 criminally culpable for offending behaviours, as their behaviours are often the result of developmental immaturity, experiences of trauma, and intergenerational, social, and environmental disadvantage beyond their control

yourtown responded to the Queensland Government on their consultation paper for a new Queensland Women’s Strategy. Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include: 

• Developing one comprehensive and unified national framework on women’s social, cultural, political, and economic participation
• Recognising the specific needs of key cohorts of women, particularly refugee and immigrant women and girls, those who are gender diverse and identify with the LGBTQIA+ community
• Identifying the vulnerability factors that women and girls face across their life course at different stages

yourtown responded to the Australian Government on the Development of the National Mental Health Workforce Strategy. 

Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include: 

• Recognising the digital mental health workforce and the specific skill sets required to provide mental health support virtually
• Recognising the specific skills and strategies to attract, train and retain a specialist mental health workforce to respond to key cohorts of youth, LGBTQIA+ and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders 
• Consulting with youth mental health organisations on the taskforce, as well as co-designing the Strategy with children, young people and those with lived experience

yourtown responded to the National Indigenous Australians Agency, Australian Government on the Indigenous skills, engagement, and employment program. Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include: 

• Addressing COVID-19 and its impact upon Indigenous peoples
• Investment in the program that is appropriate and proportionate to outcomes sought

yourtown responded to the Australian Government, Department of Social Services on their National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children. Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include: 

• Understanding the impacts crises, such as COVID-19, have on violence against women and children, now and into the future  
• Involving all children and young people from all backgrounds, minorities, diverse groups, and women on temporary visas, to direct and inform the Strategy
• Developing clear, tangible and measurable commitments to demonstrate what success will look like

yourtown responded to the proposal to amend Queensland’s gambling Acts to implement harm and minimisation measures. An issue we raised that needs to be addressed includes: 

• Distinguishing art unions and charitable lotteries as different to forms of problematic gambling

yourtown responded to the Australian Department of Social Services on implementing the successor plan to the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020. Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include: 

• Recognising that all children have a right to be safe and receive loving care
• Developing clear and measurable targets of what success looks like for child safety and wellbeing 
• Holding states and territories to account in their funding agreements to adopt and implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations

yourtown responded to the South Australian Government, Consumer and Business Services on their review of lotteries regulations in South Australia. An issue we raised that needs to be addressed includes: 

• Recognising the increasingly complex regulatory requirements that are being placed on charitable lotteries

yourtown responded to the Australian Government on the New Employment Services Model complement Transition to Work.

Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include:

• Providing specialist and tailored youth services for young people in the New Employment Service Model

yourtown responded to the Australian Government on key issues raised in the Consultation Paper on the revised Transition to Work (TtW) model. 

Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include:

• Incorporating key risk factors that contribute to young people disengaging from work or education
• Embedding youth participation in TtW programs to inform delivery of their services
• TtW providers working collaboratively with a range of support services

yourtown responded to the Inquiry of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services on the Regulation of the use of financial services, such as credit cards and digital wallets for online gambling in Australia. An issue we raised that needs to be addressed includes: 

• Excluding charities and not-for-profit organisations in the legislation

yourtown strongly supports the work that the Commissioner for Children and Young People Tasmania is doing to advocate for the raising of the age of criminal responsibility, and exploring the practical implications of this change should it occur.

yourtown strongly advocates that any services developed to address the offending needs of children and young people, be developed in keeping with the principle of human-centred design.

The COVID-19 pandemic and increasing number of global and national crises have demonstrably impacted the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, and highlighted the urgency of addressing the mental health needs of Australia’s communities and the systems needed to support their needs.

yourtown welcomes the establishment of the Select Committee’s Inquiry into Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (the Inquiry) with a view to elevating these critical issues and examining how to design and fund services, and build the capacity of Australia’s future mental health workforce to respond to this increased demand.

Overall, yourtown welcomes the direction of the reforms identified in the Discussion Paper (the Paper). We support the Department’s enhanced focus on the development of meaningful, evidence-based services that are underpinned by robust theories of change, program logics, evaluations and an outcomes performance reporting framework. 

However, we would urge the Department to consider how to best make use of the existing outcomes tools that organisations like ours employ currently, in addition to ensuring that an outcomes framework includes the foundational or smaller outcomes and time needed to make progress with children and families with highly complex needs. 

yourtown responded to the National Mental Health Commission on the National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. 

Some of the issues we raised that need to be addressed include: 

• Delivering support to families that focus on how they meet children’s needs
• Developing a holistic and universal needs assessment of a child and their family at key stages of a child’s life

yourtown responded to the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications on their online safety bill consultation. An issue we raised that needs to be addressed includes: 

• Continuing to work with governments across the world and international organisations to agree on, and embed best practice policy

In collaboration with the National Mental Health Commission, yourtown, alongside other consumers, carers, professionals, and organisations, shared their experience with the project to develop a long-term blueprint for a successful, connected, and well-functioning mental health and suicide prevention system meeting the needs of all Australians.

yourtown welcomes the work of the Department of Health in collaboration with partner organisations on the development of a National Digital Mental Health Framework and we are delighted to have the opportunity to provide out thoughts and feedback on it.

COVID has proven the appetite service users have for digital mental health services and the significant service gap and community need they can uniquely fill. It is an opportune time to ensure the processes, infrastructure and workforce are in place to enable improved visibility and access of evidence-based digital mental health services. 

We welcome the inquiry of the Committee on Children and Young People into the NSW child protection and social services system, and the opportunity to provide feedback. yourtown has long worked with the NSW child protection and social services through providing Kids Helpline, our nationally recognised helpline for young people in Australia, with a NSW Kids Helpline centre set up this year with funding from the NSW Government.

Given the range and complexity of issues that confront the children and young people with whom we work, our staff well-placed to reflect on the NSW child protection and social service system. Using their insight, we identify recommendations in our submission.

yourtown welcomes the work being undertaken by the Office for Child Safety in relation to national child safety and wellbeing information sharing. Too often children have been let down by the services designed to keep them safe as information  identifying they were at high risk could not be, or was not, shared between government organisations and non-government organisations. 

The development of a national information sharing scheme is a challenging task, and will require considerable investment, time and resilience. yourtown is committed to working with all stakeholders to make a national scheme a reality.

yourtown welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment's Discussion Paper on its Proposed Licensing System for the New Employment Services Model.

In our submission, we draw on our extensive experience in delivering employment services to advocate for young people requiring specialist providers, long-term unemployed young people needing intensive support, and a more comprehensive assessment process to better identify the barriers of disadvantaged job seekers.

yourtown strongly welcomes this review into Australia’s age of criminal responsibility and urges all Australian governments to meet world standards by raising the age of criminal responsibility.

In addition, we call for a child safe approach to youth justice and believe that a minimum age of detention should be set given the harm that detention has on children, whilst early intervention and community-based correctional services are systematically provided to children under this age.

yourtown strongly welcomes the work being undertaken by the Charitable Fund raising National Working Group. As the Discussion Paper notes, there have been numerous reviews on this issue over many years and we are hopeful that progress looks finally set to be made to reduce fundraising regulation. 

yourtown considers the Discussion Paper is a significant step in the development of a legislative framework fit for contemporary fundraising but, as we set out in our submission, there is further scope for increased national harmonisation and centralisation of regulatory responsibility coupled with significant reductions in red tape and associated costs. 

The Australian Government has, and continues to, provide critical investment into essential support services, increased welfare support and new initiatives to support individuals, families and communities weather the challenging impacts of COVID-19.

The challenge moving forward will be to mitigate any medium to longer term social or economic impacts, particularly for children and young people

In our submission, we set our three priority areas for the Government in the 2020-21 budget, and present our supporting recommendations.

yourtown welcomes the Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee's inquiry into the Queensland Government's health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The scale of the effects of the pandemic and the pandemic's unknown duration require rigorous scrutiny and debate to ensure that an appropriate public health response is taken and that Queensland's health services are well equipped to respond to future waves or pandemics.

In our submission, we present our insight into the challenges that the pandemic and the lockdown has had on our clients in relation to mental health. alongside the Queensland and Australian Governments' responses and our recommendations for future policy directions and investment. 

yourtown welcomes the Economic and Governance Committee's inquiry into the Queensland Government's economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In our submission, we acknowledge and commend the Queensland and Australian Government's significant efforts to minimise the economic effects on Queenslanders. We also recognise how government approaches to unemployment, such as Queensland's government's long-standing social procurement contracts with our social enterprises, so effectively give disadvantaged young people the opportunity to succeed.

However, as a youth specialist provider of employment services, we also share our insight into how the pandemic and lockdown has affected our clients and, in view of this impact, ask that the Queensland Government urgently prioritises the needs of young people in the economic policies it develops and works with the Australian Government to ensure that it does the same.

yourtown welcomes the Senate’s inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic and the Australian Government’s response.

The scale of the effects of the pandemic, the pandemic’s unknown duration and the nature of the response to it require robust and rigorous national scrutiny and debate to ensure that Australia is best prepared to overcome the expected long-term impacts and to respond to similar, future disasters.

In our submission, we present our insight into the challenges that the pandemic and the lockdown has had on our clients in relation to mental health, unemployment, family and domestic violence and the digital divide, alongside the Government’s response and our recommendations for future policy directions and investment. 

yourtown greatly welcomes the Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Youth Affairs inquiry into 'Youth Mental Health in ACT'.

Given the nature of our work, and the number of children and young people we work and have worked with, we have significant insight in relation to young people and their mental health to share with the Committee.

In our submission, we identify some of the key areas on which we believe the ACT should focus if we are to effectively support the mental health needs of children and young people, and help prevent and reduce the unmet and escalating mental health needs over the life course. 

Everyday, yourtown sees the breadth and scale of online harms on children and young people in Australia. Our Kids Helpline (KHL) counsellors in particular provide considerable support, advice and referral to young people distressed by online interactions.

The cyber safety concerns that children and young people present with to KHL are wide-ranging and most typically involve cyberbullying, unsafe online relationships and grooming, sexting and image-based abuse, blackmail and manipulation, gaming addiction, and addiction to or exposure to pornography.

We therefore strongly welcome the Federal Government’s continued focus on seeking to develop policy solutions in this area, building on the Online Safety Charter and the Safety by Design principles.

The Draft Report on mental health is a significant and insightful piece of work and we are greatly encouraged by the holistic approach that the Productivity Commission (the Commission) has taken to understanding mental health and how mental ill-health can best be prevented and supported.

However, there are several areas that we would encourage the Commission to explore in more detail.

yourtown strongly welcomes the NSW Government's consideration of the application of a mandatory reporting regime to NSW public sector agencies. The effective collection and management of data is a critical issue for both public and private organisations who have an ethical responsibility, and for many a legal responsibility, to maintain and protect the privacy of their service users.

Given the nature of the work we undertake at yourtown and the vulnerability of the clients with whom we work, we take this responsibility very seriously.

We therefore support efforts - whether legislation, policy or guidelines -  that Australian and international governments are making to improve data security, prevent data breaches and minimise harm when data breaches do occur.

yourtown is delighted to have the opportunity to provide our feedback on suggestions for further possible changes to strengthen and modernise Queensland's child protection legislative framework and strongly support many of the proposed legislative changes. 

We are greatly encouraged by the Queensland's Government's continued efforts to strengthen the rights, agency and independence of children and young people who have contact with the child protection system and look forward to seeing new legislation be well resourced and promoted.

yourtown strongly welcomes the Senate's inquiry into 'the adequacy of Newstart and related payments and alternative mechanisms to determine the level of income support payments in Australia'.

As a provider of a range of services to disadvantaged children, young people and families, we understand the transformational power of employment on young people's lives and, conversely, the long-lasting, detrimental effects that unemployment, underemployment, and particularly long-term unemployment, has on a wide range of life outcomes. 

We strongly believe, therefore, that supporting people who can work into employment should be a key policy focus of all governments. At the same time, we see that care has to be taken to ensure that policies relating to income support empower people to find work rather than trap them through creating dependence.

In our experience, the current levels of income payments are so low that rather than providing a safety net which enables those in receipt to support themselves, their family and find work, they are contributing to the often many complex challenges welfare recipients face and are increasing their vulnerability. 

yourtown welcomes this Review of 'Senior Secondary Pathways into Work, Further Education and Training', which as recognised in the Discussion Paper, focuses on a policy issue that has been the centre of many other recent inquiries, research and policy developments, and that is multi-faceted and has a wide range of stakeholders.

In our submission, we explore what can be done to address the issues that affect students so that they may be better equipped when leaving school to follow a suitable option.

Our recommendations are in part based on the insight that we gain in delivering services to these young people - such as education engagement and employment support services 
- and in part based on the direct views of our clients that we surveyed for this submission.

In this response, yourtown welcomes the Economy and Infrastructure Committee's inquiry into 'Sustainable Employment for Disadvantaged Jobseekers' and its recognition of the importance of employment and unemployment on social and economic outcomes for individuals, families and communities in Victoria. 

Through our work with young people, we know that employment has the power to provide every young person with the opportunity to reach their potential in life and, like many others, we believe that employment is critically important to an individual's wellbeing. 

We therefore share our insight and research with the Committee in our submission in the hope that, in addition to recognising the need for further government action in the development of more secure and meaningful jobs for young people, the Committee will fully understand the complexity of the issues that young disadvantaged jobseekers must overcome to secure work, so 'sustainable employment' not only includes the achievement of stable and meaningful work but also a raft of support measures both pre and post employment.

In 2018, 2,70l counselling contacts to Kids Helpline were made relating to an online safety issue. We therefore welcome the opportunity to provide our insight in relation to the development of an Australian Online Safety Charter. 

Although they may be experts in the use of the internet and social media a pps, it is clear from our Kids Helpline contacts that many children and young people are highly vulnerable to internet harm, and - given their developmental immaturity - are not equipped to effectively manage the complexities and repercussions of online interactions and content. 

We therefore strongly welcome the development of an Online Safety Charter, and its intention to act as community-led standards for industry to protect citizens. The lack of regulation of social media and internet providers is a notable gap and we welcome acknowledgement that, as providers of the platforms for user interaction and access of information, they have a key role to play in controlling what is available on the internet and who can access it. 

Although not funded by the Victorian government, Kids Helpline plays important and distinct roles in its mental health infrastructure. In 2018, 57 per cent (9,158 contacts) of all counselling sessions (16,034 contacts) known to be from Victoria to Kids Helpline were related to concerns about mental health, emotional wellbeing, self-harm and suicide.

Clearly, Victoria’s younger generations are in need of help and our experience in service delivery and increasing research shows that communities are not sufficiently able to support their needs.

By targeting children and young people with effective policies and interventions, there are significant opportunities to prevent and reduce the escalation of mental health issues and the considerable, detrimental, social and economic effects that they have on individuals over the life course, as well as on their families and communities.

We greatly welcome the Productivity Commission's inquiry into 'The Social and Economic Benefits of Improving Mental Health'. 

Given the nature of our work, and the number of children and young people we work with and have worked with, we have significant insight in relation to disadvantaged children and young people and their mental health to share.

In our submission, we identify the key areas on which we believe Australia needs to focus if we are to effectively support the mental health needs of children and young people, and help prevent and reduce the social and economic costs of unmet and escalating mental health needs over the life course. 

We welcome the opportunity to provide feedback to the Government's proposed amendments to existing legislation covering children and young people involved in the youth justice system in Queensland in this new bill.

yourtown has a history of providing youth offending support programs in Queensland, and we currently provide a group counselling program to assist young offenders regarding drug and alcohol use. 

The Bill covers many important areas, which if effectively implemented, should help to ensure that the youth justice system itself does not heighten the risk of children and young people reoffending and/or having lifelong involvement in the justice system. However there are also areas of the Bill about which we seek further detail.

In this response, yourtown strongly welcomes the NSW Government’s plan to comprehensively redesign the child safety, child wellbeing intake, assessment and referral system (the Access System). We fully support every effort to reframe the system so that it moves away from being crisis-focused and reactive to become an early intervention and prevention system.

Through our own work, we know that given the complexity of these challenges, there is no quick fix and no one intervention, approach or principle will alone alleviate them. However, thanks to emerging research and our own experience and research, yourtown has identified a number of broad approaches and principles to working with children, families and communities that produce positive results and provide a starting point for policy, service and system development.

In this submission, we present an overview of these approaches and principles using some examples of our programs that apply them, which cover deep and persistent areas of disadvantage such as family violence, unemployment, homelessness and youth offending.

At yourtown we are committed to providing services that protect and keep children and young people free from harm at all times. We support children and young people to have their say, seek justice and access counselling and other support services to overcome the impacts of abuse.

We therefore welcome the draft legislation, Combatting Child Sexual Exploitation Legislation Amendment Bill 2019, which seeks to further strengthen the Australian Government's legal response to the sexual exploitation of children.

In this submission we highlight some areas we would like to see further strengthened including:

• The Australian Government seeking to play a leadership role in putting this issue at the top of the international agenda as well as in proactively educating children about the dangers of the digital world
• Ensuring that minors are not unduly criminalised by the Bill’s measures
• Developing guidelines in relation to the Attorney General’s discretionary approach to the endorsement of criminal proceedings against a minor with child and youth development experts

As both a provider of ParentsNext in Elizabeth during the trial period and as a current provider of targeted ParentsNext in Mid-North South Australia, yourtown welcomes the inquiry into ParentsNext.

We have rich insight to contribute in relation to its implementation, design and delivery as a result of this experience. In addition, as we continue to deliver services to disadvantaged groups in Elizabeth, we have a unique perspective on the rollout of the intensive scheme in that area.

In this submission, we outline the changes we believe are required to make ParentsNext effective, including:

• The alignment of the two programs in terms of the provision of an employment fund in both
• Increasing the age of the parent’s youngest child to one year old for compulsory attendance
• Changing the focus of activities for parents with children aged one to three years old to the provision of support to help them parent and provide stability at home and for themselves

We are encouraged by the Government's commitment to reform the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 (Government Bill). The current system is in need of some critical changes to ensure the timely and appropriate review of the background and history checks of people working with children. 

In this submission we outline our support for the Bill’s changes and implementation of the ‘No Card, No Start’ regulation for employees working with children. We also emphasise the importance of ensuring government processing of blue cards does not unnecessarily delay the start of vital frontline service staff.

At yourtown, we welcome this historical Bill. It includes many rights that are of notable importance to children and young people. In this submission we cover:

• The importance of consulting with children and young people to ensure the Bill appropriately meets their needs and expectations
• The need to treat children and young people differently and separately from adults in the justice system
• The Bill's recognition of the distinct cultural rights of First Australians
• The implications on organisations and the need for clear guidelines about their status, rights and responsibilities

Many of yourtown's clients are deeply affected by family separation and as such they come into contact with the legal system. 

In this response to the Australian Law Reform Commission's review of the family law court system, we broadly welcome the approach suggested, including a public health approach and children and young people being appropriately recognised as clients of the system.

However, we also acknowledge that the proposed changes require significant political will and resources if they are to be effective in their implementation and intended outcomes. 

The non-educational use of mobile phones at school is an issue which divides many people. At yourtown, we are aware of how beneficial mobile phones are to children and young people in terms of social connections, communicating with parents, and accessing educational resources and information. However, we also know from Kids Helpline contacts the damaging effect mobile phones can have on young lives through cyberbullying, image-based abuse and online harm at school.

In this submission to the New South Wales Government review into non-educational use of mobile devices in schools, we advocate a whole school approach where schools work with parents, families and the wider community to develop local strategies to help educate all parties concerned about the healthy and appropriate use of mobile phones.

Given the complexity of issues behind youth offending, together with the fact that children's brains are still developing and hence they are vulnerable to making poor or risky choices - yourtown strongly advocates for a justice system that is driven by a focus on holistic, early intervention and supported by acute services that deliver effective and comprehensive rehabilitation options.

As a result, we strongly welcome the Queensland Productivity Commission's inquiry into imprisonment and recidivism in Queensland.

In this submission, we acknowledge the complexity and range of causes behind youth offending and that there is no one single thing that can be done to reduce offending. We also present a number of different key intervention areas that, from our experience of delivering youth offending support services, we believe require greater attention to reduce youth offending.

As a youth specialist employment provider, yourtown sees firsthand the transformational power of employment on young people's lives. Securing a stable and fulfilling job has the potential to improve a range of life outcomes, including health, wellbeing, social and economic outcomes.

Yet youth unemployment has historically been higher than the overall unemployment rate, with increasing numbers of young people experiencing long-term unemployment.

Given the number of young people requiring assistance and the nature of their needs, our jobactive support is thinly stretched and we often cannot provide the intensive and holistic support that young people need. Over time, we have realised that the jobactive model, as it currently stands, does not address the growing number of jobseekers, especially young people, moving into long-term unemployment.

In this submission we share how our own pilot program - your job, your way, has been developed to address this challenge and demonstrate how it can be incorporated into jobactive.

Increasingly, research is looking at intergenerational disadvantage and ways to break its cycle and improve life outcomes for those affected by it. 

At yourtown, we work with many children and families for whom intergenerational disadvantage is a reality. Many of our clients accessing our employment support programs have parents who have never worked or who are unemployed, whilst many of our clients accessing our parenting support programs were born to teenage or young adult parents themselves. 

In this submission we present the principles and approaches that yourtown takes in the delivery of its support services to children and young people with the aim of disrupting intergenerational disadvantage.

The Gold Coast Domestic Violence Integrated Response (GCDVIR) working party members, endorsed agencies and peak bodies across Australia have deep concerns about the privacy and security of My Health Record system's potential to compromise the safety of women and children who are subjected to family violence.

These concerns are derived from real life examples that we have encountered in our work with vulnerable families.

This submission to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee, coordinated by yourtown on behalf of the GCDVIR , highlights the heightened risks to women and children vulnerable to domestic violence if the My Health Record system is introduced in its current form. 

The vast majority of children and young people who commit offences are among Queensland's most disadvantaged. 

At yourtown, our work and experience providing support to the nation's most disadvantaged children and young people equips us with rich insight about the challenges, barriers and facilitators to preventing youth offending.

In this submission, we support many of the recommendations for reform of the youth justice system as presented in the Government’s review of the system. There is clear alignment between the assessment of government and non-government organisations about what steps need to be taken. 

However, there are a number of areas we would like to see further attention in any future reform. Despite broad agreement on reform, the path to successful implementation will require integrated working, significant resourcing and sustained and long-term political commitment.

As a national youth services provider, yourtown is very concerned about the number of young people experiencing unemployment. In June 2018 the youth unemployment rate stood at 11.6% compared with the rate recorded for all persons of 5.4%.

What is even more worrying is that increasing numbers of young people are experiencing long-term unemployment. There is evidence that this cohort is falling through gaps in federally-funded employment programs, putting them at risk of permanent detachment from the labour market.

This issue is a major focus of this submission, which is based on the insights gained from our extensive experience in service delivery and the research we have undertaken specifically with young people in unemployment for more than 52 weeks and with our staff.

At yourtown, we believe that donors want to give to causes which they are emotionally engaged/aligned with. In doing so, donors want to be assured that their donation ultimately makes a difference.

However, for charities that operate across the nine separate jurisdiction in Australia, there is a mountain of legislative red tape to administer - which comes at a cost.

This submission to the Senate Select Committee looks at these legislations and regulations. It makes a recommendation that Commonwealth, State and Territory governments need to partner and co-design with charities a new legislative framework for the 21st Century.

There are over 52,000 young people in Australia experiencing long-term unemployment. Long-term unemployed young people deal with a range of highly complex, multifaceted and often very different issues but all are at risk of social exclusion and permanent unemployment. This set of documents is part of yourtown’s advocacy platform in response to this issue.

The Position Statement outlines what we know about long-term unemployed young people and proposes a new model of support that highlights the need for tailored, individualised and intensive assistance to help them transition into work.

The Advocacy Paper details yourtown’s research with young people in long-term unemployment by highlighting their experiences and describing strategies for finding and remaining in employment.

The Discussion Paper provides a review of Australian and international literature on the issues associated with long-term youth unemployment.

The your job your way information sheet provides a brief overview of the trial program yourtown has designed as a solution to youth long-term employment. The program complements the Federal Government’s jobactive service and offer strength based individualised client support, targeted employer engagement strategies and intensive ‘in work’ mentoring.

In this submission to the Senate's inquiry into mental health services in rural and remote Australia, yourtown shares learnings from our current research projects which seek to ensure that all young Australians - regardless of where the live - can access timely and high quality support.

A long overdue and wholesale review of the family law court system is being undertaken. In this comprehensive submission, yourtown sets out the challenges, hurdles and emotional distress that the current system presents to our clients when confronted with issues such as family separation and family violence.

 yourtown has undertaken significant pieces of research into the experiences of young people and their parents in relation to cyberbullying.

In this submission to the Queensland Anti-cyberbullying Taskforce - of which yourtown is a member - we present our research findings and recommendations for a long-term public health approach to addressing this public health issue.   

In February 2018, the Queensland Family and Child Commission hosted their bi-annual Research in the Round on the topic of Reducing Youth Suicide. yourtown Senior Researcher Samantha Batchelor was one of three researchers invited to present to an audience of policy makers, practitioners and researchers. Other presenters were Associate Professor James Scott of University of Queensland and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, and Ms Leda Barnett, a psychologist with many years of experience in Indigenous research. The presentations of all three researchers, and summaries of their research, are available on the QFCC website.

For young parents, and in particular for teenage parents, parenthood often presents a range of different and complex challenges compared to those experienced by older parents. These include challenges relating specifically to their age and inexperience, and to higher correlations between young parenthood and a range of complex and often interrelated issues. Young parents therefore need and benefit from support services designed to meet their specific needs so they too can positively experience parenthood.  

This submission is yourtown’s response to the NSW inquiry into support for new parents and babies.

Educational outcomes have long-lasting consequences for young people, with increased school participation and completion rates linked to improved employment, income and other social and economic outcomes over the life course. With statistics continuing to show marked differences in outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, it is right that governments across Australia continue to focus on and heavily invest in policy and interventions designed to address this gap.

Cyberbullying is a complex social issue that is affecting increasing numbers of children and young people, and there is still a lot to learn about its prevalence and its impact on victims, perpetrators and bystanders. In this submission, yourtown responds to a Senate Committee inquiry into the adequacy of current legislation to address cyberbullying.

yourtown’s confidential counselling service, Kids Helpline, provides us with significant insight into the impact of sexting on children and young people. In this submission we use data, analysis and case studies from contacts from Kids Helpline in 2016 to respond to the recommendations of the 2013 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and issues raised by the 2017 Child Sexual Offences Review conducted by the NSW Department of Justice, focusing solely on Chapter 12 'Decriminalising consensual sexting'.

The Queensland government is driving a program of long-needed and significant reform of Queensland’s child protection system with the aim of improving the experiences and outcomes of the children, young people and families who come into contact with or live their lives supported by child protection services.

yourtown has responded to the Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee’s Inquiry into a step in this reform agenda – the Child Protection Reform Amendment Bill 2017.  

This Bill introduces a number of key legislative changes that aim to support positive long-term outcomes for children in the child protection system, the safe care and connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with their families, communities and cultures and a contemporary information sharing regime for the child protection and family support system.

Suicide is the leading cause of death of young people in Australia. Through delivery of Kids Helpline and through our research, yourtown hears from young people thinking about, planning and attempting suicide first hand. In this response to the NSW Parliament Committee on Children and Young People’s Inquiry into the Prevention of Youth Suicide, we draw upon our experience in service delivery and our consultation with young people to highlight key elements of effective services and other issues we believe should be prioritised by policymakers and service providers.

Presentation at the National Suicide Prevention Conference, Brisbane, July 2017

Between 2011 and 2015, 89 children aged 14 years or younger died by suicide and Kids Helpline data show that many more think about suicide. Concerningly, ABS data suggest that suicide rates in this age group are increasing, but very little research about the help-seeking experiences of this group exists.

In this presentation we reported analysis of two sources of data about help-seeking by this age group: Kids Helpline contact data from the past five years, and yourtown’s survey of children and young people with lived experience of suicide, which included 139 (29.4%) respondents aged 14 years or younger.

Our survey data showed that younger people were significantly less likely to have sought and received help than older age groups, and that they often seek help from parents, many of whom do not know how to respond effectively. The presentation highlighted the need for more data about suicidality in children, more education and support for families, a critical need to reduce stigma and encourage help-seeking, as well as greater access to early intervention and outreach services for children.

Each year Kids Helpline (KHL) receives, on average, approximately 500 contacts related to pregnancy, and about 520 related to sexual activity, contraception or parenting from kids and young people (aged from 13 to 17 years). As well, yourtown runs several programs in various locations throughout Australia that assist pregnant teens or young parents with parenting, employment, and educational opportunities. In 2017 yourtown made a submission to the National Children’s Commissioner’s inquiry into teen pregnancy and young parenthood. That submission drew on a literature review, KHL data on contacts from young people (13-17) related to pregnancy, sexual behaviour, contraception and young parenthood, and on an interview study with yourtown staff who work with young people in services that support pregnant teens and young parents.

Pornography consumption makes up approximately 30% of all internet traffic, and whether intentional or accidental, children's exposure to pornography has dramatically increased as a result of the internet. Furthermore, the nature of pornography has been changing; popular mainstream pornography contains aggression and violence (mostly directed towards women) and teaches poor messages about consent. This response to the 2016 Environment and Communications References Committee senate inquiry presents data from Kids Helpline and Parentline summarising our clients' experiences of harm relating to exposure to pornography on the internet and presents our recommendations to government for how to reduce the harm caused by exposure to pornography.

Discourse about suicide often fails to recognise the lived experience of young people. This paper aims to: commence a conversation with policy makers, practitioners, researchers, and those with lived experience, and guide consultations to enhance our understanding of the issue, and inform the development of more effective responses to reduce suicidal behaviours.