The Youth Advocacy and Support Grant is a two-year program (1 July 2026 - 30 June 2028) for one organisation or a consortium of organisations to partner with the Office for Youth to help shape more effective, inclusive and practical youth engagement with the Australian Government.

The program seeks to strengthen the national youth engagement sector by supporting one or more organisations with deep, credible relationships across the youth sector to:

• act as a trusted intermediary between young people and the Office for Youth/Australian Government
• generate high quality, actionable insights
• empower young people to directly influence government decision making, policy development and engagement mechanisms

The successful grantee will be expected to:

• demonstrate strong networks and partnerships across the youth sector, including with diverse and underrepresented cohorts
• provide the Office for Youth and the Minister for Youth with timely and practical advice informed by evidence, youth voice and sector expertise
• deliver meaningful, ethical and safe participation pathways for young people to actively engage and contribute to government consultation and engagement processes
• facilitate the Youth Steering Committee, an established committee of young people which provides direct advice to the Office for Youth on a range of priority matters.

The grant supports two dedicated work streams:

Stream 1: Facilitation of practical youth perspectives and advice

Under this stream, the grantee will generate practical and insightful youth perspectives for government across a range of priority areas. See Grant Opportunity Guidelines for detailed responsibilities.

Stream 2: Youth Steering Committee delivery and support

This stream involves establishing, managing and facilitating the Youth Steering Committee - a key mechanism enabling young people to directly advise government. See Grant Opportunity Guidelines for detailed responsibilities.

The successful grantee will be expected to:

• demonstrate strong networks and partnerships across the youth sector, including with diverse and underrepresented cohorts
• provide the Office for Youth and the Minister for Youth with timely and practical advice informed by evidence, youth voice and sector expertise
• deliver meaningful, ethical and safe participation pathways for young people to actively engage and contribute to government consultation and engagement processes
• facilitate the Youth Steering Committee, an established committee of young people which provides direct advice to the Office for Youth on a range of priority matters.

• Email: youth@education.gov.au