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An Update from the Advocate

Dear Friend of ACYP,

 

The last few months have been incredibly full - from Youth Week events to releasing our Special Inquiry Interim Report, attending Parliamentary Inquiries, closing applications to the 2025 Youth Advisory Council, and even catching up with friend of ACYP, Bailey Pickles!

 

April saw us celebrating Youth Week, with the ACYP team and I attending Youth Week events in Walgett, Nyngan, Fairfield, Wollongong, Penshurst, Sydney, Casino, Coraki, Murwillumbah, and Wyong.

 

At the beginning of May we released our Special Inquiry Interim Report. This report focuses on hearing the lived experiences of children and young people in alternative care arrangements and lifts the voices of those who have participated in private hearings as part of the Special Inquiry.

 

We would like to say thank you to all the children and young people who have participated in the Special Inquiry so far by sharing their experiences, without which, change could not happen. We look forward to sharing the full report with you soon.

 

Lastly, I had the pleasure of catching up with friend of ACYP, Bailey Pickles. We met Bailey in 2021 while he was still in high school – since then, he’s had a great deal of success across social media and has collaborated with talented musicians.

 

Read on to catch-up on our work from the last few months, as well as events and initiatives we have coming up.

Special Inquiry Interim Report

 

In May the Advocate released Moving Cage to Cage: An interim report of the Special Inquiry into children and young people placed into alternative care arrangements (ACAs).

 

This interim report focuses on hearing the lived experiences of children and young people in alternative care arrangements and lifts up the voices of those who have participated in private hearings as part of this Special Inquiry to date.

 

Thank you to all the children and young people who helped create this report by sharing your experiences, without which, change could not happen. We look forward to sharing the full report with you soon.

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Read the Interim Report

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Complete survey

 

Your Voice, Our Future Survey

 

The Minister for Youth wants to hear from you. Take part in the 'Your Voice, Our Future' survey to help shape policies impacting young people. In partnership with the NSW Government and the Office for Regional Youth, the new survey hopes to engage with young people on the issues that matter to them most.

 

Young people aged between 12 - 24 are encouraged take part in the survey, which will help inform the government on important issues facing young people and how the government can better involve them. The results of the survey will be shared across the whole of government to ensure policy and programs are being developed in a way that best supports the views and needs of young people and help design a new permanent voice for young people within the NSW Government. Share your thoughts in the survey at the link in bio, open until the end of the year.

 

Complete the survey to have your say on the future of youth policy in NSW and go in the monthly draw to win a $250 gift card of your choice.

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Submit your entry

 Submit your entry to our Short Film Competition before 25 June 2024

 

To celebrate the various experiences of young people who arrived in Australia as a refugee or migrant, we are running a short film competition. The theme is 'Tell us a Story'.

 

If you have something you would like to teach others about your culture, we invite you to share a story through a two-minute film. Your story can be completely made up or have happened in real life.

 

Competition closes Tuesday, 25 June 2024.

 In Conversation with: Bailey Pickles

 

Last month the Advocate sat down with Bailey Pickles, a talented young musician we first met in 2021 who, excitingly, composed music for Vivid Sydney 2024.


Bailey's ability to create music that resonates deeply with listeners has gained him global recognition. His TikTok videos, where he plays entire songs after only hearing them once, have garnered over 130 million views.

 

Under the mentorship of renowned composer Carl Vine, Bailey has worked with artists such as ONEFOUR, James Bay and Guy Sebastian and has released his own hit, "Memories," blending piano, orchestral arrangements, and pop music.

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Watch full interview

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 Kyzar at Coonabarabran, Gilgandra, and Coonamble High School

 

Last week the team travelled to schools and services across the Barwon region of NSW.

 

The team engaged with over 550 young people at Coonabarabran High School, Gilgandra High School, Gilgandra Youth Service and Coonamble High School.

Students from these schools were able to hear from Kyzar Jing; ACYP’s lived experience advisor about his own story, and how they too can overcome barriers to their success.

 

The students also participated in group consultations about what life is like for young people in their communities, and how government and other services can better support children and young across the region.

 Youth Week 2024 recap

 

This year's Youth Week saw us celebrate young people with the theme Express, Empower, Get Loud!

 

The Advocate and the ACYP team attended events in various locations such as Walgett, Nyngan, Fairfield, Wollongong, Penshurst, Sydney, Casino, Coraki, Murwillumbah, and Wyong (and many more!).

 

It was incredible to see so many young people come together from different places to share their voices and talents. Each event was filled with energy, creativity, and a sense of community that truly embodied the spirit of Youth Week.

Huge thank you to all the amazing young people who joined us in the celebrations, your enthusiasm and passion are what make Youth Week so special. We can't wait to do it all again next year and continue to empower and uplift the voices of young people.

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Committee hearings

 The Advocate at Parliamentary Inquiries

 

In April the Advocate attended three Parliamentary Inquiries, the NSW E-cigarette regulation and compliance in NSW hearing to present evidence from our vaping report, another into children and young people with disability in NSW educational settings, alongside two 2024 YAC members, and finally an inquiry examining the provisions of the Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTQIA+) Bill 2023.

 

We are incredibly proud of the honesty and bravery of our YAC members for speaking about their experiences. Their experiences, alongside many others, will help guide the NSW Government response to the findings of the Disability Royal Commission, as well as help navigate the new policy framework of the recently published NDIS review.

 

The Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTQIA+) Bill 2023 aims to provide equality for LGBTIQA+ people by amending 20 different laws.  

Amplifying the voices of children and young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds

 

If you identify as a refugee or migrant and are under the age of 25 years, we want to hear from you. Please register to participate and share your views about community, belonging, culture and identity and your hopes for the future. If you’re from the sector and want to partner with us, please reach out to participation@acyp.nsw.gov.au.

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Contact us

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Access resources

 New resources from Emerging Minds: Understanding and supporting children’s mental health

 

Emerging Minds Families has released a new collection of resources aimed at building the understanding and confidence of parents, family members and other adults to support children’s mental health and wellbeing.

 

This suite of online resources includes a new animation, fact sheets, videos, and podcast about four key topics in children’s mental health:

  • Understanding children’s mental health
  • What shapes children’s mental health?
  • Understanding children’s emotions and behaviour

Five ways to support your children’s mental health. The complete Understanding and supporting children’s mental health collection is freely available on the Emerging Minds Families website.

If you would like to know more about anything in this newsletter or have any questions, please get in touch by emailing us at acyp@acyp.nsw.gov.au.

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Zoë Robinson
Advocate for Children and Young People

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Office of the Advocate for Children & Young People, Ground Floor, 219-241 Cleveland Street, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012, Australia, 02 9248 0970, acyp@acyp.nsw.gov.au

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