Young Mayors Wollongong

The Youth Forum decides their priorities based on issues identified by young people in Wollongong.

The projects run by youth forums around the world have covered a range of issues, including: 

• Campaigns for mental health, LGBTIQ+ equality, poverty reduction, sustainability, safety and tourism
• Youth homelessness support projects
• Lowering the age of travel concessions
• New inclusive forum programs for young people with disabilities
• Forums that bring young people together with local, state, and federal decision makers
• New sports competitions, music programs, and art exhibitions

During the Term in Office, the Youth Forum will regularly consult with their constituents to make sure their work is meeting the needs of young people in the community. Consultation will happen in different ways, including through a mid-term Town Hall Meeting.

The Youth Forum meet once a fortnight. Meetings are 1.5 to 2 hours on a weekday after school.

As well as fortnightly meetings, Youth Forum may have the chance to go to WCC meetings and other events, which are decided as the Term in Office rolls out.

Youth Forum members are paid a quarterly stipend of $250 ($1000 across the Term in Office) to recognise that costs might come up as a part of being involved (eg. transport).

Food is provided for meetings with all dietary requirements catered to.

The Youth Forum has opportunities to meet with and provide recommendations to Wollongong City Forum members and the Mayor throughout their Term in Office.

Young people running for election have access to workshops and mentoring to support their campaigns by Australia’s leading campaigners, journalists and civic leaders.

Candidates are given $100 to spend on campaign marketing materials and 10 t-shirts to design for their campaigns. To keep it equitable, candidates are not permitted to spend any other money or get in-kind support to advertise in their campaigns.

Once elected, the Youth Forum does a thorough induction, has access to a constantly updated resource library, and is supported by a staff member based in the Council area.

Youth Forum members are paid a quarterly stipend of $250 ($1000 across the Term in Office) to recognise that costs might come up as a part of being involved (eg. transport).

The Wollongong Youth Forum are fulfilling their term in office, which ends in September 2024. 

Nominations to run for election for the next term in office will open in May 2024.

In the meantime, you can have your say on issues they cover by emailing tara.broso@fya.org.au.

Nominations for the Wollongong Youth Forum are open to young people aged between 12 and 17 years of age (at the time of application) living in the Wollongong City Council area. 

You do not need to be an Australian citizen to nominate yourself. 

Nominations will reopen in early 2024.

Australian citizens aged 18 and over are eligible to vote in local, state and federal elections, and can nominate themselves to run for election to represent their constituents at all levels (and we encourage you to consider it!)

If you’re over 18 and want to be involved in the Young Mayors program in other ways, get in touch! 

We have paid opportunities available for young people to deliver presentations at schools, support other young people to nominate themselves, help coordinate Election Week, set up and manage voting centers, and count votes.

The program is completely free to participate in.

No. Elections will be run at schools, but the Young Mayors program is not part of the curriculum.

Youth Forum runs outside of school time, but it’s best to let your school know you’ll be getting involved either as a candidate, or as an elected Forum member. A letter to your school can be provided on request.

On occasion, Youth Forum members may have the chance to get involved in activities that run during school hours, with advanced notice.

The next election will be held over one week in November 2024. Across the week, ballot boxes will be set up in high schools across the Wollongong region. Check back in 2024 to find out if your school, or a library or community center near you is involved.

Voting is proportional representation to the local government voting system.

We are committed to this program being a safe, accessible opportunity for all young people.

All candidates are asked to sign a code of conduct when they nominate themselves to run for Youth Forum.

Candidates are given campaign support by FYA, and are not allowed to use any personal funds or seek donations (cash or in-kind) for their campaigns. We want to make sure all young people, regardless of privilege, are on an equal playing field.

Social media can be used for campaigns as freely available tools for promotion. Candidates can not run cash advertising on social media platforms.

A comprehensive set of child safeguarding policies underpin all of FYA’s work. In addition, a well-being plan tailored to the program in Wollongong is in place to ensure young people are using social media safely, with clear avenues for support should any incidents occur. 

FYA came to Wollongong in March 2023 to meet the forum, young people and community allies to talk about the Young Mayors Program, and ran a co-design session to shape the Young Mayors program with and for young people in Wollongong.

The session was attended by 20 people, including 13 young people, council staff, community stakeholders and FYA staff.

The session led to the development of the program, tailored to young people in Wollongong.

The Young Mayors program works with young people aged 12 to 17 years. We recognise this program puts young people in the public spotlight, and this can create vulnerabilities.

A well-being plan tailored to each community is developed at the beginning of the program, based on a thorough co-design process undertaken with each local government area.

The well-being plan includes, but is not limited to specific actions and support available to keep young people safe, processes to report harm, and clarity on expectations young people can have of each other, partners involved and the general public.

FYA and our partners are required to have Working With Childrens’ Checks and adhere to a comprehensive set of safeguarding policies and legislative requirements.

We are working hard to make every part of the program as accessible to as many people as possible. This includes using wheelchair accessible venues, having the option to provide Auslan Interpreters for events, providing single and gender neutral bathrooms, creating social scripts and maintaining COVID safety. 

We are committed to supporting all access requirements and welcome suggestions for any access needs not covered here. Please email Tahlia Azaria (she/her) at tahlia.azaria@fya.org.au or call FYA on (03) 7046 3837 to book a time to chat.

During the nominations period, we’ll be coming to participating schools and community groups to tell you more about the Young Mayors program and how you can get involved. 

In the meantime, if you have a question that hasn’t been answered here, get in touch.