This seminar will present the research findings from an ARC Linkage project with industry partners: Education Queensland, Brisbane Catholic Education, Young Workers Advisory Service and the Queensland Council of Unions.

When: Wednesday 12 May 2010, 9.30 am until 11.00am, with a light lunch to follow
Where: The Gibson Room - Z Block, Level 10, Room 1064, QUT Gardens Point Campus
RSVP: by Friday 7 May 2010 to Robin Price - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 3138 2790

We recommend public transport as parking at QUT is very limited.

At the Drug Policy Modelling Program we are conducting the first ever study in Australia into youth attitudes to media reporting on drugs. Over 1500 young people have already helped out with our Drug Media Survey but we want to hear from more of you.

Recent Commonwealth Treasury intergenerational reports have failed to consider the very different challenges that arise for the Indigenous population as a consequence of demographic ageing.

Almost universally across the country, Indigenous populations are moving into a phase of demographic transition that will see the population in the prime workforce age groups peak relative to those of dependent age. This phase of so-called demographic dividend enables the maximising of income, savings and investments, at least potentially.

Read more and download the full article via Australian Policy Online at http://is.gd/aaLv2.

Recently YANQ attended the quarterly meeting of the State Peaks with the Director General of Department of Communities. The concerns being raised by YANQ and others in regard to finalising the Common Service Agreements was discussed.

Young Parent's Program's management committee and workers invite you or women from your organisation to join us and enjoy YPP's 2010 IWD fun:

When: Teusday 9th of March, 1.00 - 2.00 pm
Where: The YPP house, 119 Stafford Rd, Kedron

Wear purple, white and green, bring a plate (packet of lollies, bunch of grapes or whatever), and bring stories, photos etc of women who have inspired you to be the best you can be at whatever ...

RSVP:  3357 9944 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Who pushes your buttons? Someone of the same sex? Are you 14-21? Be part of the third national Australian Writing Themselves in Survey (WTi3)

Go to www.wti3.org.au and write yourself in to Australian history! This is THE survey that makes a REAL difference to policies and services; and has for over 10 years! Tell your friends, rainbow teachers and groups to support it now - before the survey closes in April 2010.

Source: the Australian Research Centre in Sex Health and Society

The Sport and Recreation Active Inclusion Program supports communities by providing funding for activities and education to increase access to sport and recreation, for individuals and groups facing barriers to participation within the community.

By Tom Karmel

Young people will have the best chance of success if they have a choice of pathways to help them make the transition from school to work, further education and/or training. These pathways must be backed up by programs designed to boost key numeracy and literacy skills. That's the message from the Young People: Finding their way policy forum held in Melbourne on 10 November. The forum was held to showcase how data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) could be used to inform evidence-based policy.

Read the rest of this article via Australian Policy Online at http://www.apo.org.au/commentary/young-people-finding-their-way-new-era.

Cancer Council Queensland invites young people to participate in an exciting event... Youth Tobacco Free Day.  Youth Tobacco Free Day will occur on 19 March and is the one day of the year dedicated to encouraging young people (10 to 25 years) to quit smoking or prevent them from taking up smoking.

In 2010, the theme of Youth Tobacco Free Day is “How much is smoking REALLY costing you?”.  It aims to educate young people about the financial costs of smoking, but also the cost to their appearance, fitness and social life.

Passports to Advantage Stakeholder Community Forums will be held in will be held in three locations across Queensland later this year. Passports is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC) funded research project being undertaken at the University of Queensland.

The Project is investigating ways to improve health and reduce drug-related harm among recently released prisoners in Queensland. Details follow...

The small grants program for small rural Australian communities (administered by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal) aims to benefit people in rural and remote communities.

By Melissa Tankard Reist

Since when did it become OK to hate women and girls so publicly and to judge them so mercilessly?

There’s a new page on Facebook. It’s just over two-weeks-old but already has more than a million members ... This is a site for anyone who wants to post pictures of girls they have judged to be sluts.

Read the rest of this article via On Line Opinion at http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10151.

Is success at school just about your marks? Young Australians are now having their say by joining a huge national campaign called Tell Us Are you more than your marks?

The Life Chances Study has followed some 140 young people from diverse backgrounds since they were infants. In 2008 they turned 18: many finished school, while others were already launched into the world beyond.

This Stage 9 report (PDF) examines their Year 12 completion and their ENTER scores, and also provides important glimpses into the lives of young Australians at a key point of transition, from school to university, TAFE, apprenticeships, work and, for some, unemployment. The report considers some implications for the social inclusion policy agenda.

You can download PDFs of:

• the full report from: http://is.gd/a6fF4; or
  
• a summary from: http://is.gd/a6fyE

Source: Brotherhood of St Laurence

THE chief proponent of a national charter of rights, Frank Brennan, will address the federal Labor caucus next week to bolster the government's fading support for a national charter of rights. Father Brennan, who chaired a committee that called for a national human rights act, will address the Labor caucus following a cabinet decision last month that a national human rights charter was not a high priority.

Read the rest of the story at the Australian Newspaper online - http://is.gd/a6mo3.

QCOSS is inviting all community service organisations to take 5 minutes to respond to the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people’s access to services survey. The survey is designed to gather specific feedback about access to services.

This report, published by the Centre for Social Justice shows the continuing locational nature of disadvantage and recommends place-based partnerships across community, government and business as critical response.

This review will inform the development of the National Standards for Out-of-Home Care, which were a key part of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2009-2020 that was endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments on 30 April 2009.

The closing date for submissions to this important review of out-of-home care is 26 March 2010.

Download a copy of the discussion paper and find more information from: http://www.nationalstandardsforoutofhomecare.com.

A three-year review by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) of the 2006 family law reforms is the largest ever undertaken and takes into account the experience of 28,000 Australians. It has found that there has been an increase in incidence of shared parenting and ‘a shift away from people going straight to court to resolve post-separation difficulties’. However it also raised concerns about the reforms' impact on families and children who are exposed to abuse and violence.

Australian Scholarships Group (ASG) has commissioned Mr Vince Callaghan to write two FREE e-guides, ASG's Get Smart Guide and ASG's Get Smart Scholarships Guide. Both guides are aimed at supporting students and their families through this important life stage. It is vital that students and their families are aware of the pending changes so that they can better understand the issues and make more informed decisions.

The Health and Community Services Workforce Council is hosting the inaugural Health and Community Services Workforce Innovation Awards for 2010. Nominations are now open and will close at 5.00pm, Friday 2 April 2010.

The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) made a submission late in 2009 to the Inquiry into the impact of violence on young Australians, which was conducted by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing and Youth.

ARACY's submission draws on reports and studies previously commissioned by ARACY that are relevant to the inquiry’s terms of reference. It can be downloaded (PDF) from http://is.gd/933aF.

Do you work with same-sex attracted kids aged 14-21 in Australia? Encourage them to write themselves in to Australian history by filling out the third national Australian survey on same-sex attracted youth at www.wti3.org.au! The survey has been put together by researchers from the Australian Research Centre in Sex Health and Society at La Trobe University, with the help of a number of young people and youth workers from a range of different organisations.

Applications are now being accepted for Oxfam International Youth Partnerships until the 12th February 2010.

Oxfam International Youth Partnerships (OIYP) is an Oxfam International initiative, managed by Oxfam Australia since 2000. OIYP strengthens young people’s ability to effect change in their community, and provides a base from which they can influence broader changes through engagement in a global network of over 1100 OIYP Action Partners.

This report, published by the Centre for Economics Policy Research (at the ANU), analyses the effect of mothers’ and youths’ reports of family financial stress and conflict on youths’ transitions into adult roles.

Source: FaHCSIA

The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) is leading a joint Commonwealth and State and Territory consultation process to develop a National Quality Framework for services delivered to people who are homeless. A National Quality Framework will aim to achieve better outcomes for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness by improving the quality and integration of the services they receive.

This guide, published by the Child Safety Commissioner, Victoria has been written to help professionals, carers and others understand the needs of children and young people who have been affected by trauma through abuse and neglect.

The guide includes a section on strategies for dealing with particular issues; and effective ways of working with young people, taking into account the impact of the negative experiences they have had in their lives.

Download the guide from http://is.gd/882mT (PDF).

The Youth Justice Coalition (YJC) reformed in Queensland earlier this week, holding it's first meeting in over a year. The YJC is a diverse coalition of interested non-government organisations, community legal centres, peak bodies and individuals that work together to advance the rights of young people under the age of 18 in the youth justice arena in Queensland.

This is the sixteenth annual report of the Childrens Court of Queensland. The President of the Court is required to report annually to the Parliament on the operation of the court in the preceding financial year.

The juvenile justice trends summary has demonstrated an overall decrease in the number of juveniles whose case was disposed of in Queensland. In the District Court there was a 14.3 per cent decrease in the number of young people appearing before the court. Most encouragingly there has been an overall decrease in the number of charges against young people.

Download the report from http://is.gd/87VVn (PDF).

The Combined Voices Campaign aims to address the chronic over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Families in Queensland's Child Protection System.

The campaign has recently released a new report, Addressing the Over-Representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Families in Queensland's Child Protection System (PDF).

The Queensland Community Services and Crisis Assistance Award – State 2008 transitioned into the national system as a nominal federal award, called a Division 2B State award on the 1st of January, 2010. At the same time, the SACS and CASH Award ceased to exist and were replaced by the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (prizes to the first person who can get a pronouncable acronym out of that - SCHCADSI Award?!).

So what does it mean? The Australian Services Union put out a brief explanation on the changes earlier this year. You can read it (PDF) at http://is.gd/8804o.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Minister for Youth Kate Ellis recently launched a new national competition to stimulate fresh ideas about how young people can connect with their communities.

The annual Prime Minister’s Australian Youth Forum Challenge will start next year.

In this report, the extent of poverty and social exclusion in Australia is measured using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey.

Are you aged between 12 to 24 years and have experienced physical violence, directly or indirectly, or know someone who has? Do you have a view on youth violence in your neighbourhood, town or city?

If so, please take 5 minutes to complete the Impact of Violence on Young Australians Survey at http://is.gd/4wzlL.

Child Protection Australia 2008-2009 contains comprehensive information relating to state and territory child protection and support services, and the characteristics of Australian children within the child protection system.

Statement from the Commonwealth Government

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Minister for Youth Kate Ellis today launched a nationwide discussion with young people as part of the National Strategy for young Australians.

The National Conversation was simultaneously launched by the Prime Minister during a live web chat with young people and by Minister Ellis at the first forum at Lyneham High School in Canberra.

Are you a health educator in the Brisbane or Greater Brisbane area? Is community health a key component of your organisation's work? Do you provide health information to your clients & community? The newly established Health Educators Network provides members with an opportunity to network with other educators, share information and work more collaboration in the area of community health education in the Brisbane and Greater Brisbane Area.

Teenage children have been identified as being at increased risk of dental disease, and among pre-teen children nearly half of all 6 year olds had a history of decay in their baby teeth. The Child Dental Health Survey provides national information on the dental health of children attending school dental services in Australia, and shows decay experience is relatively common in both teenage and pre-teen Australian children.

You can download the reports from http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10778.

The disproportionately high number of Black teenagers in custody in the United Kingdom is growing and this group is still more likely to face negative treatment than young White people, according to a recent report.

Staff changes

Ann Davie ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) is the new Information Manager at ACYS. Anne Hugo has retired.

YSA's Deputy Editor, Kate Gross, is currently on maternity leave. Caroline Mordaunt is Acting Deputy Editor of YSA ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

A report from the UK commissioned by the Local Government Association highlights case studies which show that local authorities, training providers and others are providing effective ways to re-engage young people.

A report released in November by The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) reveals that schools are the primary setting for the experience of racism among young people. The national study, titled The Impact of Racism upon the Health and Wellbeing of Young Australians, also finds that 70% of secondary school students experienced at least one form of racism, with those from migrant backgrounds experiencing the highest levels.

The report was prepared by Deakin University’s Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation.

Read more and download copies of the report from http://www.fya.org.au/schools-the-major-site-for-youth-racism-new-report-finds/.

Minister Ellis has announced the outcomes of the tender process for the School Business Community (SCB) Partnership Brokers and Youth Connections programs.

Queensland services are (collectively) receiving approximately $9.1M (ex GST) to provide the SCB Partnership Broker services and $14.7M to provide Youth Connections Services.

The Create report card 2009 (PDF), published in November, found that there had been 'very little improvement' from its previous survey in 2008 in some vital areas of transition from care for young people.

The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria recently released a report based on a forum about bullying which was held in 2009. The Sticks and Stones and Mobile Phones forum featured a presentation on Bullying and Peer Relationships: What We Need to Know by Dr. Barbara Spears (Senior Lecturer in the School of Education, University of South Australia).

Tom Calma, Chair of the Steering Committee charged with establishing the new national Indigenous representative body, announced on November 22, that the new organisation will be called the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples.

Commissioner Calma, who has convened the independent Indigenous Steering Committee since December last year, announced the name after the federal Government confirmed it had accepted the recommendations of the Committee's report, Our future in our hands, and had agreed to initial funding of the organisation until December 2013.

The 2009 National Survey of Young Australians, conducted by Mission Australia, tested the views of close to 48,000 young people – the biggest group since the survey began in 2002 – between the ages of 11-24 (97.9 per cent aged 11-19).

Drugs, suicide and body image were the most common concerns raised by young people in the survey.

This communiqué () provides a summary of issues discussed at the meeting of the Queensland Ministerial Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and Sexual Health (QMAC HAHCSH) held on 30 September 2009.

Touching the future: building skills for life and work, by Johanna Wyn, explores the goals of Australian education and of how schools should prepare young people for work and life.