Empowering Youth Voices: Highlights from the 2024 Youth Advisory Board

The Youth Advisory Board (YAB) met on four occasions in 2024, contributing to 13 youth-focused research projects. Notably in our recent September and December meetings, the YAB met to discuss the landmark 2024 NSW Drug Summit, the rising rates of mental ill-health among young people, and informed a new centre for child and adolescent health research on how to engage young people in research.

This year, the YAB have been integral in contributing to the Matilda Centre review and five-year strategic plan, recognising their leadership in reflecting on the achievements of the Centre and guiding our future directions. To date, the YAB have contributed to 58 youth-focused projects and have acted as Asssociate Investigators on six research grants, providing invaluable perspectives for youth mental health and substance use research.

This year marked an exciting phase for the co-produced Youth Priorities Project with the YAB co-authoring publications and presenting findings at conferences such as the Mental Health Services Learning Network (TheMHS), the Society for Mental Health Research (SMHR) and the Youth Health Conference. The Youth Priorities Project is a co-produced study which aimed to understand the perspectives of Australian youth on priorities for prevention research in mental health and substance use. Over 650 young people shared their perspectives through a national online survey and focus groups. Some of the initial findings can be seen at the Youth Priorities Project.

YAB member, Tanya Dearle, also spoke as a panel member for Sydney Ideas on “Setting the Mental Health Agenda” alongside mental health leaders, Alastair Campbell, Sam Mostyn, Zsofi de Haan and Minister Rose Jackson. Tanya has served on the YAB since 2021, acting as the YAB Chairperson and Spokesperson in 2023 and advising the Matilda Centre International Advisory Board. While Tanya will be stepping off the YAB this year, we look forward to her ongoing contributions as an Associate Investigator on The Prevention of Mental Illness and Substance Use (PREMISE) Next Generation Centre of Research Excellence.

The YAB have contributed to important policy submissions in 2024, including the Submission to the Inquiry into the Health Impacts of Alcohol and Other Drugs in Australia and the NHMRC Position Paper on Consumer and Community Involvement in Research.

We look forward to 2025 and the exciting work planned for the YAB under the PREMISE Next Generation Centre of Research Excellence, which will identify new targets for prevention and develop new interventions to prevent the leading causes of disease burden in young Australians.

Partners will include Lived Experience Youth, the Australian National University, the University of New South Wales, the University of Queensland, Deakin University, the Medical University of South Carolina and Monash University.