Australian Young Greens

Australian Young Greens
Founded	2011;14 years ago (2011)
Ideology	Green politics Progressivism Left-wing populism
Position	Left-wing
Mother party	Australian Greens
International affiliation	Global Young Greens [1]

The Australian Young Greens (commonly referred to as the Young Greens) is a federation of Young Greens groups from each Australian greens party. ^[2] Collectively, they form the youth wing of the Australian Greens, representing members aged 31 and under. ^[3]

The group is underpinned by the four Greens pillars of ecological sustainability, social justice, grassroots democracy, and peace and non-violence. ^{[4] [5]}

Notable members of the Young Greens include Jordon Steele-John and Stephen Bates, two of the youngest members of the Australian Parliament when they were elected (aged 23 and 28 respectively). ^{[6] [7]}

History

The Australian Young Greens and its related state and territory divisions have acted as a recruiting platform for the party and are often involved in activism on various youth-related issues. ^[8] The group has been active in organising protests, including opposition to the Foetal Personhood Bill (Zoe's Law) in New South Wales in 2014 and the dredging of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland in 2015. ^[9] The Young Greens have also supported reducing the voting age to 16 and protested against federal funding cuts to Australian universities. ^[10]

After Lee Rhiannon was removed from the federal Greens higher education portfolio in 2015, the NSW Young Greens released a statement opposing the decision, stating the group "believe[s] that members should have input into all decisions". ^{[11] [12]}

In 2025, the NSW Young Greens endorsed Mehreen Faruqi as federal party leader after the resignation of Adam Bandt, while the Australian Young Greens formally opposed Sarah Hanson-Young becoming leader but did not make an endorsement. ^{[13] [14]}

As of November 2025 ^[update] , the Australian Young Greens Facebook page has over 112,000 followers, its Instagram page has over 15,000 followers, and its TikTok page has over 27,000 followers. ^{[15] [16]}

University groups

The Young Greens are active in most metropolitan and some regional Australian universities. They have student union representation at a number of these universities, with members of the Australian Young Greens having held the position of president at the University of Wollongong (2013–14), the University of Technology Sydney (2014), Murdoch University (2016), Edith Cowan University (2010, 2013, 2016, 2018), Flinders University (2018), and others.

List of current university groups

Australian Capital Territory

• Australian National University Greens ^[17]

New South Wales

• Macquarie University Greens ^[18]
• University of New South Wales Greens ^[19]
• Sydney University Greens Club ^[20]
• University of Wollongong Young Greens ^[21]
• Western Sydney University Greens on Campus ^[22]

Queensland

• University of Queensland Greens ^[23]
• Queensland University of Technology Greens ^[24]

South Australia

• Adelaide University Greens Club ^[25]
• UniSA Greens Club ^[26]

Victoria

• La Trobe Greens Club ^[27]
• Monash University Greens Society ^[28]
• UniMelb Greens Club ^[29]

Western Australia

• Curtin University Greens Club ^[30]

References

1. "Member organizations". Global Young Greens. Archived from the original on 12 May 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
2. "ACT Young Greens". ACT Greens. Archived from the original on 23 August 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
3. "Our Constitution". NSW Greens. June 2025. Archived from the original on 23 September 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
4. "The Four Pillars". Australian Greens. Archived from the original on 9 October 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
5. "Australia – Youth Political Participation". Youth Democracy Cohort. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
6. Hitch, Georgia (19 September 2023). "Senator Jordon Steele-John spent his first parliamentary pay on his family's 'really significant' debt". ABC News. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
7. Atfield, Cameron (27 May 2022). "'Greensland' shocked the nation, but it was a long time coming". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 9 January 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
8. Wilson, Cam (10 May 2022). "'The Greems': how the Greens harnessed online chaos to power a digital campaign". Crikey. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
9. "Protesters on the pro-choice abortion march against Zoe's Law march through Pitt Street Mall in Sydney". Alamy. 4 November 2013. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
10. Choahan, Neelima; Wakim, Michelle; Baronio, Joseph; Gordon, Sharon (4 April 2024). "Push to lower Australia's compulsory voting age to 16 as advocate says youngsters feeling 'disenfranchised'". ABC News. Archived from the original on 12 September 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
11. Hinman, Pip (15 September 2015). "Federal Greens leader sidelines two popular Green MPs". Green Left. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
12. Chalmers, Max (16 September 2015). "Anger In NSW After Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon Loses Higher Education Portfolio". New Matilda. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
13. Ison, Sarah; Taylor, Paige (14 May 2025). "Lidia Thorpe eyes outcome of Greens leadership". The Australian. Archived from the original on 14 May 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
14. Basford Canales, Sarah (15 May 2025). "The Greens are about to choose a new leader. Here's how it works – and who could be Adam Bandt's successor". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 May 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
15. Jarvis, Emily (12 May 2022). "Meet the Australians influencing the 2022 Federal Election on TikTok". Adelaide Now. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
16. Tacey, Georgia (20 May 2022). "Young voters are seeking change". Upstart. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
17. "ANU Greens". Rubric. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
18. "Political and Social Justice". Macquarie University. Archived from the original on 13 June 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
19. Moroney, Ben (17 February 2015). "O Week Ahoy!". Australian Greens. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
20. "Sydney University Greens Club". University of Sydney Union. Archived from the original on 17 July 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
21. "UOW Young Greens". Rubric. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
22. "Student Groups". Western Sydney University. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
23. "UQ Greens (UQG)". University of Queensland Union. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
24. "QUT Greens". Rubric. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
25. "Adelaide University Greens Club". YouX. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
26. "Greens Club". UniSA Student Association. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
27. "Political and Social Justice". La Trobe University. Archived from the original on 8 September 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
28. "Greens Society, Monash University (MUGS)". Monash Student Association Clubs & Societies. Archived from the original on 13 August 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
29. "Greens Club". UMSU. Archived from the original on 7 August 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
30. "Curtin University Greens (WA) Club". Curtin Student Guild. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2025.