What is youth advocacy?
Youth advocacy is when children and young people take steps to use their voices to influence positive change.
Youth advocacy can happen in many different ways: having a say on new policies that affect young people, raising awareness on topics they care about, or participating in their communities on current discussions.
Youth advocacy is important because young people have unique lived experiences and bring insightful perspectives to situations, especially those that impact them. If we are working with and for children and young people, we must collaborate with them as much as we can.
"Young people should be involved in decision making because these decisions also impact us. We are the next generation so we should be involved in this crucial process of decision making to benefit our current society and our future too."
-Commission's Youth Advocate Jessy, Child and Youth Participation Framework
Youth Advocacy at the Commission
We are a statutory authority of the Queensland Government. We monitor the performance and effectiveness of Queensland’s child protection and youth justice systems. Our vision is that every Queensland child is loved, respected and has their rights upheld.
To fulfil our duties, vision and to influence systemic change, it is crucial that we hear the voices of Queensland children, young people and their families, we amplify their views, and we collaborate with them.
Youth advocacy helps us to understand what is happening for young Queenslanders and to help us in our role to influence change.
We do youth advocacy in many ways. We:
- consult and collaborate with young people and youth groups from all over Queensland
- promote youth participation
- work with other youth organisations
- connect Youth Advocates with opportunities in other government agencies.
If you want to learn more about the work we do, check out our about us page and our Strategic Plan 2022 – 2026.
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Young people should be involved in decision making because these decisions also impact us. We are the next generation so we should be involved in this crucial process of decision making to benefit our current society and our future too.
It doesn’t matter where you work, if you’re developing programs that impact young people’s lives there will be an opportunity to work with and embed the views of young people. Make sure to check out the youth advocacy networks that are relevant to your work.
You can start by searching community groups that advocate on topics you care about. There are many options for participating.
Last updated
12 January 2026
