4.2 Discuss how organisations and communities advocate for the health of young people

1. The role government and non-government organisations and communities have in promoting the health of young people, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people

Government and non-government organisations and communities promote young people’s health by building supportive systems and settings, reducing barriers to care, and making sure young people’s needs are included in decision-making. These roles are different but they work together.

1.1 Government organisations

Government organisations advocate through policy, legislation, funding, and accountability. Their influence is significant because they can shape services and conditions at a population level, including prevention, early intervention, and fair access.

Government advocacy often includes:

• setting and enforcing standards
• allocating resources to youth-focused services
• coordinating responses to emerging issues
• making sure youth perspectives inform planning

Government-led advocacy can also improve health by strengthening broader conditions that shape youth health, such as school policy, disability support, child protection, and community safety.

Example: A youth health clinic is underused because young people cannot get there after school due to limited public transport. Advocacy might use service data and student voice, then involve local health services and council to adjust clinic hours and transport access. This is not only about mental health support, but also access to that support.

Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People (ACYP)

The Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People (ACYP) is an independent statutory office in New South Wales that reports to Parliament. It advocates by working to ensure young people’s rights, safety, and wellbeing are reflected in policy and service decisions.

ACYP supports change by making recommendations to Parliament and relevant agencies, promoting youth participation in decisions that affect them, researching issues affecting young people, and providing information to help young people engage with services and systems. These functions matter because they turn young people’s lived experiences into evidence that can influence decision-makers.

1.2 Non-government organisations

Non-government organisations (NGOs) advocate by combining service delivery, evidence, and targeted policy influence. NGOs often notice service gaps early because they work closely with young people and communities, and they can also be flexible in trialling youth-friendly approaches and building trust with groups who may avoid mainstream services.

NGO advocacy often includes:

• public campaigning
• submissions to government
• participation in advisory groups
• co-design with young people
• delivering supports that reduce barriers to care

When NGO advocacy is effective, it strengthens both access and quality, so young people are more likely to engage and benefit.

National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)

The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) is the national peak body representing Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) across Australia, with more than 140 individual members in urban, rural, remote and very remote settings.

NACCHO’s advocacy is particularly important for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people because it strengthens community control and cultural safety as essential conditions for effective healthcare. Community-controlled models support communities to design and deliver care that matches local priorities, cultural practices, and holistic understandings of health and wellbeing. This can reduce barriers linked to mistrust, previous negative experiences, racism, and services that do not fit community needs.

Care is stronger when services build cultural competency, involve local communities and Elders, and ensure cultural safety so young people can express cultural needs without judgement and without power imbalances shaping care.

Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA)

Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) is a national not-for-profit organisation that advocates for children and young people with disability. CYDA focuses mainly on systemic advocacy, which targets the policies and structures that shape everyday access to healthcare, education, employment, and housing.

CYDA advocates by working with government and service providers to strengthen inclusion and reduce inequity. A key emphasis is inclusive education, because school inclusion influences mental health, sense of belonging, achievement, and future opportunities. CYDA also prioritises youth-led advocacy, recognising that young people with disability can identify barriers and effective supports more accurately than adults making assumptions on their behalf.

1.3 Communities

Communities advocate by shaping supportive environments and responding to local needs. Community advocacy may happen through councils, youth services, sporting clubs, cultural groups, local health services, faith communities, and informal networks, and it is often effective because it is grounded in local knowledge about what young people need, what barriers exist, and what approaches young people will actually use.

Community roles include:

• creating safe spaces
• strengthening social connection
• building protective factors such as belonging and support
• reducing stigma
• linking young people to services

Example: A community sports club notices increased vaping among younger players. Advocacy may involve partnering with local health staff to deliver consistent messaging, updating club policies, engaging parents, and setting up referral pathways to youth services. The impact happens through community norms and early intervention.

1.4 Schools as community settings

Schools are often described as a centre of the community because they reach most young people and influence daily routines, norms, and access to support. Schools advocate for health through curriculum, whole-school policies, partnerships, and modelling of healthy behaviours.

A whole-school approach strengthens health promotion because health is reinforced through learning, school policies, staff practice, the school environment, and community links, rather than being limited to isolated lessons. In New South Wales, collaboration between health agencies and schools supports consistent health promotion, including initiatives such as Live Life Well @ School, which targets health promotion across primary schools.

Schools often advocate through policies that shape daily choices and safety, including:

• the NSW Healthy Canteen Strategy
• sun safety policies
• anti-bullying policies with clear reporting pathways
• sport and physical activity policies that include both structured and unstructured opportunities for movement

Example: A school strengthens wellbeing by enforcing anti-bullying procedures, training staff to respond consistently to reports, and building peer support structures. This advocates for safety by reducing chronic stress and improving the school environment, not just by managing behaviour.

2. The impact of organisations and communities on the health of young people

The impact of advocacy is easiest to see when it improves access, equity, service quality, and the environments where young people spend time. Because youth health is shaped by many influences, impact is often cumulative and happens through multiple pathways at once.

2.1 Impact on youth voice, policy and service responsiveness

Advocacy has greater impact when young people’s perspectives are collected in a planned way and shared with decision-makers. This makes it more likely that policies and services respond to real needs rather than assumptions.

Since 2015, ACYP has consulted with over 44,000 children and young people through face-to-face consultations and online surveys on topics including mental health, education, violence and safety. This supports youth health by helping young people’s views influence recommendations and inform public policy, especially when young people would otherwise have limited influence.

2.2 Impact on access and cultural safety for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people

Advocacy has greater impact for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people when it strengthens cultural safety, reduces discrimination, and supports services that communities trust and use. NACCHO’s reporting shows substantial reach and system-level impact.

In 2022–23, ACCHOs provided 3.1 million episodes of care for around 410,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across 145 ACCHOs. Over a three-year period, services experienced 17 per cent growth in numbers of new patients, and achieved a 5 per cent greater lifetime impact than comparable interventions delivered by mainstream health professionals. These results suggest that advocacy for community-controlled, culturally safe models can lead to measurable improvements in service access and effectiveness, including for young people and families.

2.3 Impact on inclusion, equity and participation for young people with disability

Advocacy improves youth health when it reduces inequities in access to education, services, and participation. For young people with disability, inclusion affects health directly through belonging, reduced stigma, and stronger opportunities, and indirectly through future pathways into training, employment, and independence.

CYDA’s impact is strengthened through initiatives that elevate lived experience and inform practice. CYDA has delivered webinars on inclusive education tailored for families and support networks to build high expectations and understanding of barriers. CYDA also coordinated LivedX, enabling young people with disability to share lived experiences. Outcomes from these consultations have contributed to papers and talks presented at the National Youth Disability Summit each year since 2021, addressing topics including education, financial security, and confidence.

2.4 Impact of community and school environments on lifelong health

Communities and schools influence health by shaping environments that make healthy choices more likely and harmful experiences less common. This matters because adolescents are still developing patterns of coping, help-seeking, and risk behaviour.

Schools contribute to long-term impact by delivering education and wellbeing programmes and by developing skills such as decision-making, communication, and self-management. By combining policy, education, and modelling, schools strengthen the likelihood that young people can implement and maintain healthier behaviours across life stages.