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Category: Youth

Yarning Competition to amplify young Australian stories

By API User

The Department of the House of Representatives is pleased to announce that entries are now open for the 2026 Yarning Competition. Yarning is an Australia-wide storytelling competition that invites Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students from across Australia to share their perspectives and stories with the Australian Parliament. It provides a platform, through art, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to connect with, and learn about, the work of the Australian Parliament.  Students may choose a … Continued

School holidays no longer provide mental health protection for Victorian adolescents

By API User

New research as found that school holidays, which previously provided a protective buffer against suicidal and self-harm behaviours in adolescents, no longer have this effect in the post-pandemic era. Using data from the National Ambulance Surveillance System (NASS), Turning Point and Monash University researchers analysed 20,635 ambulance attendances for suicidal and self-harm behaviours among adolescents aged … Continued

Monash expert: younger siblings spend more time on screens

By API User

New research from Monash Business School’s Centre for Health Economics has found younger siblings, compared to firstborn children, spend an extra nine to 14 minutes per day having screen time, and less time on enrichment activities. The findings have been detailed in an article published on The Conversation.   Dr Danusha Jayawardana, Centre for Health … Continued

‘A costly and devastating policy failure’ – Australia now spends a record $1.1 billion a year locking up children

By API User

Australia now spends more than $1.1 billion a year imprisoning children and young people, as detention numbers rise and more First Nations children are locked up — a trajectory that exposes a costly and devastating policy failure across the country.   The latest Report on Government Services (RoGS), released by the Productivity Commission late Thursday, … Continued

Childhood trauma linked to high risk of self-harm in teens

By API User

Key Facts: Children who experience sustained trauma across their early lives are more likely to present with suicidal ideation or self-harm as teenagers, according to a new study led by UNSW researchers. A recent study followed more than 73,000 NSW children from their prenatal period through to adulthood to reveal how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) … Continued

Snap the pic, save the memory, skip the overshare this back-to-school time

By API User

Families are being encouraged to put child safety first and hit ‘stop’ on oversharing as back-to-school time approaches. Leading child protection organisation Act for Kids warns that the excitement of a new school year often prompts family members to post photos of children on social media – sometimes revealing far more information than they realise. … Continued

47% of Aussie parents say back-to-school is more stressful in 2026

By API User

Key stats:  59% of Aussie parents find the back-to-school period stressful   Almost half (47%) say this year feels more stressful than previous years   83% say clearer routines or visual checklists would reduce arguments and stress   65% say holiday screen time makes the transition back to school harder   83% want to reduce their child’s screen time as Term … Continued

Workforce Inspectorate Victoria to inspect child employment compliance these school holidays

By API User

Workforce Inspectorate Victoria (WIV) will be conducting inspections across hospitality venues—including restaurants, cafés and fast-food outlets—these summer school holidays to ensure businesses are complying with Victoria’s child employment laws. Employers who breach child employment laws risk penalties of more than $200,000. Businesses hiring children under 15 must hold a child employment licence and follow strict … Continued