The Hon Kate Ellis MP Minister for Early Childhood Education, Child Care and Youth released The State of Australia's Young People: a report on the social, economic, health and family lives of young people.

Amongst the findings of the wide-ranging report:

• Nine out of ten 17-year-olds use a mobile phone
• Nine out of ten families have an Internet connection.
• Almost a quarter of young people feel unsafe walking alone at night and young people are more likely to be the victim of a crime but less likely to report it
• Teenagers aged 15 - 19 have the highest hospitalisation rate for acute intoxication of all age groups and one in five 16-year-olds have used illicit drugs
• One in three sexually active young people report experiencing unwanted sex
• One in four young people are living with a mental illness

The State of Australia's Young People shows that some young people are at greater risk of falling behind than others, particularly those who are Indigenous, from a low socio-economic background, aren't studying or working or have a disability.

The findings are based on national data sources, existing literature, interviews and focus groups with young people and people in the youth sector.

The full report is available for download (as PDF) from:
http://www.youth.gov.au/Documents/YoungPeopleReport.pdf.

To read the media release announcing the report, visit http://is.gd/4uZ7o.