Youth Parliament

Each year around 400 young people take part in the Y’s Youth Parliament program, held in each state’s Parliament House, across six states in Australia, re-enacting the exact parliamentary process with the same number of roles. Youth Parliament delegates formulate bills, debate and then vote on them. The program is designed to give young people between the ages of 16-25 a chance to be heard at the highest levels of State Government on a wide range of issues relevant to young people’s lives, with the bills developed then handed to relevant ministers, providing the government with insights on issues important to young Australians.

Youth Parliament is one of the Y’s flagship national programs, held annually in every state and territory across Australia. The first youth parliament meeting took place in Brisbane, in 1963, and then officially commenced annually starting in Melbourne at the Victorian Parliament House in 1986. Youth Parliament is now held across Australia in Vic, Qld, NSW, WA, SA, NT & Tas. The Y has also run National Indigenous Youth Parliament (NIYP) in Canberra between 2012 – 2017, with a specific focus on indigenous participation in electoral voting (see more information below).

Participants receive training in public speaking and leadership at residential camps, as they research the issues they’re passionate about. The programs provide young people with a great personal and professional development opportunity.

The program has seen over 10,000 participants to date, and was originally founded by David Davis, OAM. See full interview here.

Indigenous Youth Parliament

The National Indigenous Youth Parliament (NIYP) was a partnership project with the Australian Electoral Commission, and the Y. This was an arm of the Y Youth Parliament program designed specifically for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 16 to 25 who were interested in learning about Australia’s democracy. It complemented the state based programs which also included and still includes many Indigenous young people. The aim of the program was to help empower young Indigenous Australians in electoral participation. The NIYP was held between 2012 – 2017.

“We learned that we all have the power to make a difference,” Audrey Inkamala, Indigenous Youth Parliament Participant, 2014.