Young people in Victoria are being given an opportunity to voice their concerns.
Mission Australia has opened its 23rd annual Youth Survey for people aged 15 to 19 to share what they believe are the major issues impacting the country and highlight their own personal challenges.
In 2023, Victoria was the most responsive state, with more than 6000 young people responding.
Last year’s survey saw young people name the environment as the issue they believed was the most important in Australia, followed by equity and discrimination, the economy and financial matters, and then mental health.
The 2023 survey also saw a quarter of Victorian respondents say they were treated unfairly or discriminated against in the past year, most commonly due to their race/cultural background, physical appearance or gender.
The survey focuses on various topics, including mental health and wellbeing, sources of support and community connections, housing and financial situation, climate change, and personal concerns such as body image, bullying, discrimination and stress.
Additional focus areas for 2024 are social media use, loneliness and opinions relating to alcohol and drugs.
The Youth Survey will be open from April to August, and young people can complete it online either individually or through arrangements with participating schools or groups.
Survey results will be published in November and shared with government and non-government organisations, schools and the public.
For more information, head to the Mission Australia website.