YOUTH ACTION ANNUAL REPORT 2017-2018 ABOUT YOUTH ACTION Youth Action is the peak organisation representing young people and youth services in NSW. Our work helps build the capacity of young people, youth workers and youth services, and we advocate for positive change on issues affecting these groups. It is the role of Youth Action to: 1. Respond to social and political agendas relating to young people and the youth service sector. ............................................................................................................................................................. 2. Provide proactive leadership and advocacy to shape the agenda on issues affecting young people and youth services. ............................................................................................................................................................. 3. Collaborate on issues that affect young people and youth workers. ............................................................................................................................................................. 4. Promote a positive profile in the media and the community of young people and youth services. ............................................................................................................................................................. 5. Build capacity for young people to speak out and take action on issues that affect them. ............................................................................................................................................................. 6. Enhance the capacity of the youth services sector to provide high quality services. ............................................................................................................................................................. 7. Ensure Youth Action’s organisational development, efficiency, effectiveness and good governance. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY Youth Action acknowledges and pays respect to the traditional owners of the land, past, present and future, across NSW. We are committed to a positive future for Aboriginal young people and their communities. The Youth Action office is located upon the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, and we acknowledge their traditional custodianship. Youth Action NSW Suite 401, 52-58 William St Woolloomooloo NSW, 2011 Australia p (02) 8354 3700 e [email protected] ABN 17 209 492 539 Designed by Camille Manley camillemanley.com.au 100 Youth Action Annual Report 2017-2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Chairperson's Report 2. CEO's Report 3. Staff and Board 4. Membership Youth Development 5. and Sector Support 6. Youth Work Awards 7. Engaging Young People 8. Conferences Media and 9. Communications 10. Policy and Advocacy 1 CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT Youth Action is in a great so that youth services could demonstrate the value of place thanks to the hard the work they do with a strong evidence-base. Across work of the staff, board the year we spoke to more than a thousand young members and countless people directly and amplified their voices to hundreds of volunteers. Special thanks thousands of people through the media. go to Damian Cooper who retired as our Chair after As an organisation we always ask ourselves the question: two years helping steer Have we helped make NSW a place where young people the organisation from are engaged, valued and supported? When you look at strength to strength. all the work that has been achieved I think the answer, to some extent, is yes. We made a dint, and there is still so As the peak for young people and youth services, much more to do. Youth Action’s role is to make sure decision makers understand the reality of life for young people in NSW. I’m proud to be a part of that work and with your This year, the team spoke with more politicians than ever continuing support we can make a change together. before at every level of government, including the NSW Premier. They spoke at conferences with academics, with student bodies, with business groups and even town planners. Youth Action highlighted key issues faced by young people and the sector, like youth unemployment Tamika Worrell, and healthcare, using research and policy advice. And we Acting Chairperson even launched the NSW Youth Development Framework CEO’S REPORT What an incredible year. We also took the time to carefully plan a strong Our goal is always to structure for the organisation. We created new positions use our time, resources with a focus on building and supporting the youth and opportunities to sector, increased our communications capacity and make sure young people strengthened our operations. We said goodbye to some and youth services great friends and have been changed by incredible new have everything they ones. Youth Action is a different organisation than the need to thrive in NSW. one I started at four years ago and I am excited to see That includes us as an where this new energy will take us to better support organisation too. The young people and services across the state. It’s been a board, staff and volunteer team have worked tirelessly wild ride and I look forward to the road ahead with our this year to achieve big things. We ran the Youth Work passionate members. Conference and then the biggest ever NSW Youth Work Awards. Six weeks later we threw the biggest What's Up West? Conference, with 250 young people attending. We started the youth health literacy project and ran consultations in six locations with 142 service Katie Acheson workers and young people. We also put out the VET CEO report, Career Guidance, NSW budget submissions and responded to numerous government inquiries. It has been a big year of getting things done. 2 Youth Action Annual Report 2017-2018 STAFF AND BOARD CURRENT STAFF Katie Acheson Angus Megarrity Jacqui McKenzie Chris Marcatili Krissy Stapleton Chief Executive Youth Development Policy and Advocacy Operations Manager Project Coordinator Officer Lead Manager – Western Sydney INTERNS YOUTH ACTION This year we worked with 17 young people BOARD through our internship and student placement • Tamika Worrell programs. They worked alongside Youth (Acting Action staff and gained policy and advocacy Chairperson) experience. A huge thank you to the students • Frances Dreyer we worked with this year: (Deputy Imogen D’Souza Lara Bouris Chairperson) Courtney McCloud Lisa Huynh Kiralee Roscoe Alice Rummery • Chris Brereton Communications Administrative Monica Castillo Chantelle Vella (Treasurer) Coordinator Assistant Emma McCarthy Sophie Ho • Lakin Agnew Ismene Panaretos David Bachelor (Secretary) Sarah Yahya Katherine Stone • Peter Hope Alan Huynh Natalie Femia • Alex Long Taylor Schulz Bridey Martin • Tilly South Junyi Cui PAST STAFF Jake Formosa Dean Williamson Natasha Lay Rosie Swanton Shaun Brockman Project Development Sector Support Western Sydney Communications Policy and Advocacy Manager Manager Coordinator Manager Manager Penny Lamaro Annie King Ash Ball Mena Basaly Sector Support Youth Resource Project Coordinator Conference Officer Content Creator – Health Literacy Coordinator Project 3 MEMBERSHIP Without our members, we cannot be an effective and representative peak. We continually seek to engage our members in all the work we do and are proud to have such a diverse range of youth services, workers, and young people supporting us. Who Our Members Are Diverse Organisations Make Up Our List 4% 2% 183 ( 6% increase) Youth Services 10% Local Councils 32% Community Services 757 ( 27% increase) Neighbourhood 25% Centres Advocacy Organisations ( 10% increase) 27% 85 Other Where Our Members What Our Members Say Are From Youth Action has a good reputation overall 95% Youth Action has represented the sector well 44% 94% My membership with Youth Action is good value 56% 86% I’ve had the chance to contribute to Youth Action’s work 76% Youth Action has added to my capacity 69% 4 Youth Action Annual Report 2017-2018 YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND SECTOR SUPPORT Supporting and building a recognised professional youth sector is core to our work. This year, Youth Action has invested in more sector support and started building toward a broad body of tools that will allow youth workers to demonstrate the evidence-base of their work. TARGETED EARLY INTERVENTION PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS REFORMS Youth Action continues to support professional The Targeted Early Intervention (TEI) reforms are a key networks across the state. These include: area of focus for Youth Action. We are a strong advocate • Local Government and Youth Development Network. for our members in the reform, and a persistent voice Three meetings were held this year, discussing a on the valuable work of youth services in prevention and range of topics relating to the healthy development early intervention. We have worked inside the Minister’s of young people including at a local government level. office, alongside FACS, on the TEI Central Council, as well • Western Sydney Youth Sector Network. The group as at individual district levels. engaged actively this year, involving interagencies and youth workers across the Greater Western We have had great wins for our members, including Sydney region. contract rollovers and the implementation of the Sector Assistance Strategy, which provides training for services This year, the Western Sydney project also supported to prepare for contract transitions. We also fought hard the following groups and committees: for and won the public release of the Tune Report, • Multicultural NSW South West