4.1 Examine how young people advocate for their own and others’ health using various sources considering past, current and future advocacy and the role of individuals within their communities

1. Youth health advocacy

Youth health advocacy refers to the ways young people promote, protect, and improve health and wellbeing for themselves and others. In Australia, advocacy can be informal (for example, supporting a friend to seek help) or more organised, such as campaigns and youth advisory roles that influence services, school policies, and government decisions.

Advocacy is closely linked to health promotion because it turns health concerns into action. It can raise awareness, reduce stigma, improve access to health support, and influence policies that affect health outcomes.

1.1 Health advocacy and its purpose

Health advocacy is the active support of a health cause, need, or policy, with the aim of improving health and wellbeing.

In practice, advocacy often involves:

• increasing awareness and understanding of a health issue
• influencing decision-makers, such as school leaders, local councils, service providers, or governments
• improving service access to services and resources
• challenging unfair attitudes, stigma, or barriers that reduce wellbeing

Advocacy is strongest when it uses reliable sources, such as reputable Australian health organisations, school and community wellbeing information, and health reports and data. Credible sources help advocacy stay accurate and build trust, especially when trying to influence adults and institutions.

Example: A student uses the school wellbeing team’s referral information and a reputable youth mental health website to support a friend to access counselling. The student then follows up so the friend can attend and feels safe doing so.

1.2 Self-advocacy and advocating for others

Self-advocacy involves speaking up for your own needs, rights, and health support. It depends on clear communication, confidence, and informed decision-making.

Advocating for others involves supporting another person or group to have their needs recognised and addressed. This can include speaking up with them, helping them navigate services, or working for broader change that benefits a community.

Both forms matter. Self-advocacy can support early help-seeking and ongoing wellbeing. Advocacy for others can strengthen connectedness, build supportive environments, and reduce barriers for groups who are overlooked.

Example: A young person explains their symptoms clearly to a GP, asks questions about treatment options, and requests a plan for follow-up care. This is self-advocacy that improves their access to appropriate support.

1.3 Why youth advocacy matters for health outcomes

Youth advocacy can influence health behaviours, service access, and policy decisions. It matters because young people experience some health issues differently to adults. There can also be barriers linked to affordability, confidentiality, stigma, or the way services are designed.

In Australia, youth mental health is a clear example of why advocacy is needed. More than a quarter of young Australians experienced a mental health condition in the past year (as of 2016). Youth advocacy helps turn awareness into action by reducing stigma, encouraging early help-seeking, and supporting services to be more youth-friendly.

Youth advocacy can improve community health outcomes by:

• increasing participation in health promotion programmes and supportive programs
• reducing inequities by highlighting barriers faced by particular groups
• improving services by making them more accessible, relevant, and youth-friendly
• changing attitudes and values, especially around stigma and help-seeking

Meaningful youth involvement also improves solutions. When young people contribute to planning, implementation, and evaluation, programs are more likely to reflect real barriers and real needs. For example, youth participation is a key feature of the headspace model, helping services stay youth-centred and responsive.

Example: A youth reference group reviews how a service explains confidentiality, then recommends clearer wording so more young people feel safe attending appointments.

2. Past youth health advocacy in Australia

Youth advocacy is not new. Before social media was common, young Australians contributed through school networks, community events, traditional media, letter-writing, and advisory groups. These approaches show how young voices can influence attitudes, behaviour, and policy over time.

2.1 Tobacco control and anti-smoking advocacy

In the 1970s and 1980s, growing awareness of smoking harms led to strong public pressure for restrictions on tobacco advertising. Young people contributed through school and community messaging that supported changing social norms and policy action.

Example: In Western Australia, the Smarter than Smoking program (launched in 1995) used a for young people, by young people approach. Over several years, smoking became less common among WA teenagers. By 1999, the smoking rate among 16–17-year-olds dropped from 27% to 21% in three years. Youth involvement improved relevance and credibility because the message reflected teen language, settings, and concerns.

2.2 Destigmatising youth mental health and increasing access to support

Mental health was historically surrounded by stigma, which reduced help-seeking and open discussion. Youth advocacy helped normalise conversations about distress and improve access to information and health support.

Example: ReachOut was founded in the late 1990s after a cluster of youth suicides. When it launched in 1998, it was the world’s first online mental health service tailored to young people and guided by youth input. Over 7,000 Australian young people contributed to establishing it, including raising $180,000 through a national youth radio appeal. Youth advisory input helped ensure the service used relevant language and addressed real barriers to help-seeking.

2.3 Youth voice in policy and community services

Past youth advocacy also included formal pathways that brought young people into decision-making. Government-established advisory groups showed that youth perspectives were relevant to policy development, including health and community supports.

A key historical example is the National Youth Advisory Group (NYAG), established in 1979 to advise the federal Minister for Youth Affairs. Although it operated for a limited period, it reflected an early shift towards youth participation in policy discussions. It also helped build broader recognition that young people should have a role in shaping services that affect their health and wellbeing.

3. Current youth health advocacy in Australia

Current advocacy is highly active and often very visible. It is supported by digital communication, formal youth participation structures, and peer-led initiatives in schools and communities.

3.1 Digital and social media advocacy

Digital and social media allow young people to communicate quickly, organise campaigns, and build public attention. Digital advocacy can be especially useful for health issues linked to stigma, misinformation, or peer norms.

Mental health campaigns provide clear examples. National days such as R U OK? Day and campaigns linked to headspace can spread through shared posts, hashtags, short videos, and peer-to-peer messages that encourage supportive conversations and help-seeking.

Digital advocacy can also promote protective behaviours, increase awareness of youth-friendly services, and challenge misinformation. However, online spaces can amplify misinformation and expose advocates to harassment. Effective digital advocacy therefore relies on health literacy, checking sources, and careful communication.

3.2 Formal pathways for youth voice

Alongside grassroots advocacy, young people increasingly contribute through structured roles in schools, services, and government. These pathways matter because they can lead to real change, not just symbolic involvement.

In schools, student leadership bodies such as an SRC are often the first formal pathway. SRC advocacy often follows a practical sequence: identify the issue, consult with students, present a proposal to school leadership, and support implementation through communication and student participation.

In services, many organisations include youth advisory roles. For example, headspace centres commonly use youth reference groups to improve service design and community engagement.

At state and national levels, youth advisory groups can influence policy. For example, a Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Youth Advisory Group in 2023 brought together young people from across Australia to provide advice that informed national direction-setting in suicide prevention and service improvement. Youth participation is strongest when young people contribute across the whole cycle, including planning, implementation, and evaluation, rather than being consulted only at the end.

3.3 Peer-led and influencer-driven advocacy

Peer influence is powerful during adolescence. Peer-led advocacy can shift social norms because messages come from people who feel relatable and credible.

Peer-led advocacy includes peer education programmes, student wellbeing clubs that run awareness events and promote help-seeking, and youth-led community projects. Influencers can also reduce stigma by sharing real experiences, but this only helps when information is accurate and avoids harmful health messaging.

3.4 Using various sources to strengthen advocacy

Strong advocacy is grounded in credible sources. Young people often use Australian health reports and statistics, reputable youth health organisations and government health agencies, school or community data, and lived experience accounts that show real-world impacts.

Combining evidence with lived experience can be persuasive because it shows both the scale of the issue and the human consequences.

Example: A school wellbeing committee uses student survey data showing low confidence in help-seeking. It pairs this with reputable youth mental health resources, then proposes practical changes such as clearer referral pathways and visible support options.

3.5 Recognition and leadership pathways

Youth advocacy can be strengthened through recognition and leadership pathways that amplify youth voices in communities. Public recognition can increase visibility, attract media attention, and create opportunities to influence wider audiences and decision-makers.

Examples include national awards such as Young Australian of the Year and community leadership programs such as Lions Youth of the Year (typically for young people aged 15–19 years). These pathways matter because they can legitimise youth contributions and provide platforms to advocate on health and wellbeing issues.

4. Future directions for youth health advocacy

Future advocacy will be shaped by emerging technologies, changing health challenges, and stronger connections between local and global youth movements.

4.1 Emerging technologies and data-informed advocacy

Youth advocacy is likely to become more data-informed, using open datasets, surveys, and local evidence to identify trends (for example, vaping uptake, sleep problems, or stress patterns). Technology may also support advocacy through digital tools that improve service access, targeted messaging that reaches specific youth communities, and new health communication platforms that focus on engagement.

Immersive technologies such as VR and AR are likely to grow in health education and empathy-building, particularly for mental health awareness. These tools can be powerful, but they must be used ethically and supported by accurate health information.

4.2 Future priority issues for youth advocacy in Australia

Several issues are likely to increase youth advocacy over time. Mental health will remain a major focus, particularly service access, early intervention, and stigma reduction. Youth advocacy is also likely to expand where young people experience clear barriers or unfair outcomes, especially when health is shaped by broader social conditions.

Future advocacy priorities are likely to include:

• access to mental health services, including timely support and youth-friendly service design
• reducing inequities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, including culturally safe access to care
• disability rights, including inclusive education, services, and community participation
• housing affordability, recognising its flow-on effects for stability, stress, safety, and wellbeing

Climate change is also increasingly framed as a health issue. This is because it affects physical health (heat stress, smoke exposure, extreme weather events) and mental health (eco-anxiety). Surveys suggest more than 70% of young people feel their opinions on climate issues are not taken seriously. This can increase advocacy to demand genuine youth participation and stronger policy responses.

4.3 Global connectivity and youth movements

Youth advocacy is increasingly connected across borders, with campaigns shared quickly through global networks. International organisations have also increased youth consultation, recognising that youth participation strengthens health policy planning.

NB: Global connection does not replace local advocacy. It can amplify local issues and provide strategies that young people adapt to Australian contexts.

5. What makes youth health advocacy effective

Effective advocacy is not defined by scale. It is defined by clarity, credibility, ethical practice, and sustained influence.

• Clear focus, goals, and stakeholders: Effective youth advocacy usually focuses on a specific issue and identifies who has power to change it. In health contexts, stakeholders may include school leaders, local councils, service providers, sporting organisations, and government agencies. Advocacy is stronger when goals are realistic within a community setting. For example, improving service access, strengthening wellbeing support pathways, or reducing a specific barrier (cost, transport, stigma, or lack of information).
• Planning, collaboration, and credibility: Advocacy is often more persuasive when it is collaborative. A group voice can represent wider need and share workload. Collaboration may include peers, families, teachers, youth workers, health services, and community leaders. Credibility depends on accurate information and ethical practice. This includes honest use of evidence and respectful communication, even when there is disagreement.
• Communication, platforms, and action: Effective advocacy matches the message to the audience and uses suitable platforms. This can include in-person meetings, written proposals, school events, community consultations, and digital campaigns. Advocacy is most influential when it combines awareness with practical action, such as service navigation support, policy proposals, or community-level changes.
• Evaluation, follow-up, and sustainability: Advocacy is often ongoing. Long-term change depends on follow-up, reflection on what worked, and continued engagement with decision-makers and community members. Small wins matter because they build momentum and credibility.
• Key skills underpinning advocacy: Youth advocacy draws on key skills for self-advocacy and community advocacy. These include communication, health literacy, critical thinking, leadership and teamwork, resilience, and ethical practice.

6. The role of individuals within their communities

Community change often begins with an individual noticing a problem, raising it, and taking action that others then join.

How individuals can create change

Individuals can make real improvements to health without needing an official role. Individual actions happen in everyday places like school, sports clubs, workplaces, neighbourhoods, and online communities.

Example: A student starts a casual after-school walking group to help reduce stress and build social connection. Over time, the group becomes a regular wellbeing activity that strengthens connectedness and makes healthy coping feel normal.

Ways individuals can contribute to health advocacy in their communities

Individuals can contribute to community advocacy by supporting peers, improving local spaces, volunteering, taking part in civic activities, and using their personal strengths to share health messages.

Example: A young person notices that their local skate park has no shade or seating, making it uncomfortable to use during summer. They gather feedback from other users, create a simple proposal with photos and suggested improvements, and present it to the local council. The council approves the installation of shade structures and seating, making the space more accessible and encouraging more young people to use it for physical activity and social connection.

How individual voices build trust and create real change

Individual voices make advocacy feel real and trustworthy. Communities often respond well when someone can clearly explain what young people actually go through. Individuals can also act fast, spot new problems early, and make advocacy feel personal and easy to relate to.

Example: A Year 10 student notices that many classmates feel stressed during exams but don’t know where to get help. They make a simple one-page guide that lists school counselling services, peer support options, and mental health hotlines, then share it in their year level group chat. The wellbeing team later uses the guide across the whole school, making it easier for students to find support.

Individual advocacy also helps build skills and confidence. Young people often grow in confidence, leadership, and sense of purpose when they advocate for wellbeing. At the same time, their actions can help improve the health of others through practical change.