Leading the Government's vision for Victoria's young people Office

							            Office for Youth




            Office for Youth

Leading the Government’s
vision for Victoria’s young people
Message from                                The Office
the Minister                                for Youth

The information in this brochure            The Office for Youth leads the
outlines the role of the Office for         Government’s commitment to
Youth in supporting young people.           working with the diverse groups
                                            of Victoria’s young people, and the
With nearly one million Victorians aged
                                            communities and organisations in
between 12 and 25, the Victorian
                                            which they are involved.
Government is committed to harnessing
the huge range of knowledge and             The Office for Youth is part of
skills of our young Victorians.             the Department for Victorian
                                            Communities. Our role is to advocate
Young people are telling us about the
                                            for young people as vital and active
issues that are important to them in
                                            community members.
their region – such as transport,
employment and education – and              The Office is responsible for policy
we’re working across Government             advice, research and strategic
and in partnership with community           planning in relation to Government
organisations, employers, local             policies, programs and service
government and young people,                delivery for Victorians aged 12 to 25.
to ensure that these issues are             It is also responsible for providing
actually addressed.                         a range of means by which young
                                            people’s opinions can reach and
I’m keen to continue our strong
                                            be considered by Government.
connections with young people
through the provision of various            Specifically, we aim to be:
programs and services – for                 • the Government’s knowledge base
instance, the interactive website             on young people and the issues
www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au;                  affecting them;
expanded Regional Youth Affairs
                                            • the Government’s leading advocate
Networks; stronger youth mentoring;
                                              on its vision for young people;
youth consultation forums that form
a significant part of Community             • the leading developer of strategies
Cabinet; and our partnerships with            that support young people’s
peak youth advocacy networks.                 community participation;
                                            • the facilitator enabling young
I’m pleased to join the Office in
                                              people to effectively communicate
providing opportunities for young
                                              with Government.
people to enjoy being part of inclusive
and active communities and I invite
you to contribute to strengthening
outcomes for young Victorians.




JACINTA ALLAN MP
Minister for Employment and Youth Affairs
How we achieve
our goals


Strengthening                           Advance is a school-based program
                                        that provides practical opportunities
communities through                     for students to work in partnership
youth participation                     with community organisations on
The Government recognises that the      projects that contribute to building
participation of a diverse range of     their community. Working in teams,
young people in society encourages      young people are provided with
community connectedness and             challenging programs that develop
promotes the unique perspectives        communication and project
and needs of young people.              management skills. Through
                                        involvement in the program, schools,
Through our grants programs, the        young people and community
Office for Youth seeks to expand        organisations develop networks
young people’s opportunities for        of relationships while achieving
participation in their communities.     shared goals.
National Youth Week is an annual,       FReeZA supports young people
week-long celebration of young          aged 12 to 25 to run drug and
people held across Australia. It        alcohol-free live music and cultural
showcases young people’s talents,       events for other young people. Each
contributions and achievements          year more than 160,000 young
through events that focus on music,     Victorians attend FReeZA gigs,
sport, the arts, culture and current    where young people are involved
issues; and gives young people the      in creating and running the event.
opportunity to become involved in       FReeZA also supports young artists
their communities. The Government       to perform to audiences of peers in
provides funding to local government,   their local communities.
schools, community groups and
service clubs across Victoria to        FReeZACentral builds on the
support events organised by young       successful FReeZA program and
people for young people.                supports young people to learn more
                                        about the career opportunities that
                                        exist within the music industry.
                                        FReeZACentral offers accredited
                                        industry training and experience
                                        in all aspects of the music industry,
                                        and includes workshops, mentoring
                                        and an annual Victorian state music
                                        tour organised by young people.
Engaging young people                       Issues to advocate on behalf of
                                            young people, gather ideas and
The Office for Youth operates as a          opinions about the issues affecting
model for youth participation within        young people and inform
Government. It achieves this by:            Government;
• appointing a youth consultant on        • providing leadership in initiating
  the team, to advise on and drive          programs and events that provide
  youth participation initiatives;          young people with a voice to
• appointing youth advisory panels          Government.
  on key projects including the
                                          Taking Young People Seriously is a
  assessment of public tenders and
                                          series of three practical handbooks
  grant applications;
                                          published by the Office for Youth and
• engaging young people as trainers       the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria.
  for staff learning forums.              They provide valuable advice and
Regional Youth Affairs Networks           information to Government, community
provide information and advice to         organisations and young people
Government regarding youth policy         about inspiring and achieving youth
and programs from a regional              participation in the community.
perspective. They comprise local          To order your free copies call
youth sector professionals, community     Information Victoria on 1300 366 356
members and representatives from          or visit www.youth.vic.gov.au
Government. They promote young            or www.yacvic.org.au
people’s contributions to the
community and strategically engage        www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au allows
young people through contemporary         young Victorians to get involved in
consultation. The Department's Youth      their communities by using the
Liaison Officers support the work of      Internet to access information and
the 15 Regional Youth Affairs Networks.   contribute their opinions. A dedicated
                                          youth website developed by the Office
Youth consultations run by the Office     in partnership with the Department’s
are purposeful, relevant and inclusive.   Employment Programs, it provides
Broadly, the consultations occur in       easy access to information on training
three ways through various programs       and employment, and to other
and activities by:                        relevant Government information
• assisting communities to talk           and services. The site facilitates
  to each other, for example by           open communication between young
  supporting Regional Youth Affairs       people and Government and informs
  Networks and youth forums during        Government of issues identified by
  Community Cabinet;                      young people.
• funding other agencies such as the
  Youth Affairs Council of Victoria and
  the Centre for Multicultural Youth
Supporting young people                  People and outlines future directions
                                         for the following 12 months.
to remain connected to
community networks                       The Office leads whole-of-government
                                         policy development on youth issues
The Youth Participation and Access       by providing advice to the Minister for
Program provides grants to support       Employment and Youth Affairs, and
and assist young people to develop       the Government, on issues affecting
confidence and self-esteem, to           young people in Victoria.
develop connections within their
local communities, and to participate    The Office joins key representatives
in and contribute to community life.     from Government departments
The program funds a range of             to develop strategic advice on
community and local government           whole-of-government policy issues
organisations to deliver services such   that affect young people. For example,
as information and referral, skills      the Office leads and co-ordinates the
building and mediation.                  Government's implementation of
                                         mentoring for young people.

                                        The Office for Youth supports the
Informing, influencing and              involvement of the Minister for
                                        Employment and Youth Affairs in the
shaping government policy               Federal Government’s Ministerial
Respect: The Government's Vision        Council on Education, Employment,
for Young People is the Victorian       Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA).
Government's strategic framework for The Office for Youth is a member of
youth policy and program development. the MCEETYA Youth Taskforce.
It outlines the Government's vision for
                                        The Office for Youth provides funding
enhancing the lives of young people
                                        to two advisory bodies in the youth
in Victoria and the issues that the
                                        sector. The Youth Affairs Council
Government will be focusing on to
                                        of Victoria is the peak body and
achieve that vision.
                                        leading advocate group on young
The framework has been developed        people’s issues in Victoria and it
by the Office for Youth in conjunction provides youth affairs policy advice
with all Government departments and and commentary. The Centre for
the Office is a leading advocate to     Multicultural Youth Issues aims to
progress the Government’s vision for enhance life opportunities for young
young people.                           people from culturally and linguistically
                                        diverse backgrounds. It also provides
Each year the Government publishes policy advice and commentary on
a report that outlines its progress     issues affecting migrant and refugee
in implementing Respect: The            young people.
Government’s Vision for Young
Contacting the Office for Youth
www.youth.vic.gov.au

Telephone: (03) 9208 3200
Facsimile: (03) 9208 3226

Level 8
1 Spring Street
Melbourne

GPO Box 2392V
Melbourne VIC 3001