Australian Youth Affairs Coalition

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The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) is the national peak body for young people and the youth sector in Australia. [1] AYAC was founded in 2002 and is supported by a representative board of directors including young people and youth workers.

Contents

As the peak body, AYAC advocates for young people and provides assistance to the youth sector through training, networking and professional development opportunities.

Objectives and Vision

The organisation's aims are as follows: [2]

AYAC's vision is for an Australia in which young people are informed, empowered, encouraged and supported to participate in their communities. [3] This includes ensuring that:

Funding of the Peak Body

In 1998, the Minister for Youth Affairs (the Hon David Kemp MP) announced that the Australian Government would not renew AYPAC's contract but would instead fund the National Youth Roundtable as a way to engage young people. [4] This decision was widely criticised at the time, including by the then Shadow Minister for Youth Affairs (Senator Kate Lundy) who accused the Government of being "incapable of debating issues on an intellectual level, preferring to use the muzzle instead". [5]

In May 2007, the then Shadow Minister for Youth (the Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP) announced that the ALP would establish a national peak body for youth if elected to government. [6] Once elected to Government at the 2007 Federal Election, the ALP Government funded an initiative in their 2008-09 Budget which was launched in October 2008. At this launch, the Minister for Youth (the Hon Kate Ellis MP) announced that AYAC would be funded to the value of $400,000 per year as the peak body for youth affairs in Australia. [7] At the time, the Minister identified AYAC's role as "an independent voice and advocate of young people and the youth sector". The funding was subsequently withdrawn in the Abbott government's first budget.

In 2020, the Morrison government announced that $150,000 would be allocated to AYAC to boost its efforts to underline the issues affecting young people and to encourage wider participation. [8]

Governance

AYAC is governed by a Board of Directors including young people, and representatives from the youth sector across Australia. The work of AYAC is undertaken by a paid executive staff.

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References

  1. "Home". ayac.org.au.
  2. Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (n.d.). "About AYAC" . Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  3. Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (n.d.). "Our Vision and Plan". Archived from the original on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  4. "New National Youth Roundtable". Archived from the original on 2011-04-08. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  5. "1999-2 Media Releases". Archived from the original on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-27. Retrieved 2009-04-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Media Centre - the Hon Kate Ellis MP - Launch of Australian Youth Forum". Archived from the original on 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  8. Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Health (14 December 2020). "Grants to strengthen youth advocacy across Australia". Media Release.