I am pleased to announce the membership of the Commonwealth Government’s Youth Pathways Action Plan Taskforce.
The Taskforce will be chaired by Captain David Eldridge of the Salvation Army. I am especially pleased that Captain Eldridge has agreed to take on the role of Chairman, following his outstanding leadership of the Youth Homelessness Taskforce.
The Taskforce includes members drawn from the community, academic and business sectors along with Commonwealth and State governments. A list of members and the terms of reference are attached.
Importantly, the Taskforce will continue the work of building a social coalition with government, the business community, individuals and the non-government sector all playing important roles.
From within the social coalition framework, the Taskforce will contribute to the development of youth policy, especially in the areas of:-
- employment opportunities;
- education and training;
- supporting all young people to gain basic and workplace skills;
- homelessness and family breakdown;
- prevention of youth suicide;
- access to services;
- financial and economic difficulties; and
- other social problems such as drug use.
The Youth Pathways Taskforce will focus on strengthening community support for young people and their families. It will examine ways that government, community organisations and business can help young Australians as they approach adulthood and assume productive and independent lives of their own.
The establishment of the Taskforce reflects the Government’s belief that this country's most important resource is it’s young people.
It also reflects the belief that a strong and stable family life is an essential source of support and security for them as they make choices about their future.
The expertise of the Taskforce will be directed at setting out new approaches to tackling disadvantage and social problems that impede the progress of young people, as they move to becoming young adults who value, and are valued by, their community. In particular, it will consider new approaches based on prevention and early intervention.
The Taskforce will report to the Ministers for Education, Training and Youth Affairs and Family and Community Services on the development of a Youth Pathways Action Plan. The broad objectives of the action plan will be to improve outcomes for young people by:-
- strengthening existing pathways for young people;
- improving early assistance for young people at risk;
- strengthening and supporting the capacity of families’ and communities’ to help young people; and
- finding innovative ways of expanding opportunities for young people to fully participate in the economic and social life of their communities.
The Taskforce secretariat will be jointly provided by the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs and the Department of Family and Community Services.
The first meeting will be held at Parliament House from 12 to 14 October 1999.
The Taskforce will provide a report to the Government by March 2000. I wish them well with the task ahead of them and look forward to their report.
26 September 1999
Youth Pathways Action Plan Taskforce – Membership
Chairman:
Captain David Eldridge, Salvation Army
Community, academic and business members:
David Abfalter, CEO, Services to Youth Council (SYC) Inc.
Jan Carter, Executive Director, Employment Works
Nicola Haswell, Member, National Youth Roundtable
Patrick McClure, Chief Executive Officer, Mission Australia
Dr Phillip McKenzie, Acting Director, Australian Council for Educational Research
Ian Spicer, Chair, Australian Student Traineeship Foundation
Tammy Williams, Member, Australian Youth Foundation
State government members:
Dr Gillian Parmenter, Assistant Director, Department of Human Services, Victoria
Ken Smith, Director-General, Department of Families, Youth and Community Care, Queensland
Geoff Spring, Chief Executive, Department of Education, Training and Employment,
South Australia
Commonwealth government members:
Jane Halton, Deputy Secretary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Wayne Jackson, Deputy Secretary, Department of Family and Community Services
Steve Sedgwick, Secretary, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs
Youth Pathways Action Plan Taskforce - Terms Of Reference
1. The Taskforce will provide advice to government on the scope and direction of a youth pathways action plan aimed at:
a) improving support for young people and their families during young people’s transition to independence; and
b) strengthening pathways for those young people who do not, or are not likely to, go straight from school to further education and training or full-time employment and those who are not fully engaged with their community.
2. The Taskforce should:
a) examine the scope and direction of a youth pathways action plan;
b) identify best practice and major gaps or shortcomings in existing support for young people and their families; and
c) consider possible initiatives for improving services and introducing innovative approaches to prevention, early intervention and community-based initiatives.
3. The scoping report should take account of the broad objectives of a youth pathways action plan to improve outcomes for young people by:
a) strengthening existing pathways for young people with a particular focus on assisting those young people at risk;
b) improving early assistance for young people, before they reach crisis point;
c) reducing the duration/extremity of crisis by quickly helping young people to move out of crisis situations;
d) strengthening and supporting families’ and communities’ capacity to help young people; and
e) finding innovative ways of expanding opportunities for young people to participate in the economic and social life of their communities.
4. The Taskforce should report to government by March 2000 with recommendations for action, including proposed mechanisms for taking these recommendations forward. This should include a draft Taskforce workplan if continuation of the Taskforce is recommended.