State of the youth on the Fraser Coast

OUR YOUTH is the future generation that will play an influential role in shaping our community with their progression into leadership roles and connection to a society from their formative years.

Youth are the cornerstone of any thriving society, embodying the promise of a brighter future. Their energy, creativity, and passion infuse vitality into our communities, driving progress and innovation. 

The ‘State of the Youth Report 2023’ is a recent study undertaken by HBNC (the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre) that was developed to “present the voice of our local youth” and identify the support our community 1. can provide. The study had 872 young people surveyed, representing approximately 7% of the Fraser Coast’s total youth population (based on ABS data of 12,448 people aged 10-19 in 2020).

CEO of HBNC, Tanya Stevenson, said the report gave an overview of the challenges young people in our community face.

“If we as a community want to more effectively empower local youth, we need to clearly know the ‘lay of the land’,” Tanya said.

“In this spirit, the State of the Youth Report has been developed to present the voice of our local youth as well as relevant data to create a complete snapshot of Fraser Coast young people.

“This initial report highlights improvements in supporting youth, ongoing and new challenges, gaps in service delivery, as well as what young people believe are solutions and initiatives that HBNC is already delivering or working on.”

For the purpose of this report, Youth is defined by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare as the period from 12–24 years of age. According to the 2021 Census, there were 14,730 young people on the Fraser Coast. This includes 8,124 12-17 year olds and 6,606 18-24 year olds. This represents approximately 13% of the population of the Fraser Coast. The predictions referred to in the report expects these numbers to grow to 15,420 youth in 2026 and 17,631 by 2041.

The Fraser Coast has a lower youth population than the general averages across Australia. For Queensland the youth population represents approximately 20%, which is higher than the national average of 18.2%.

The report identified the top 3 issues youth are worried about in the local community:

1. Mental Health
2. The Housing Crisis
3. Alcohol/Drugs

The report also identifies the concerns young people have for our local society. The report states “Youth would like to see a shift in negative culture towards young people in the wider local community, with less judgement, more acceptance, more kindness, less criticism, more optimism, and less doom.” 

Tanya said while some of the data could be confronting, the survey helped provide a clearer picture of what young people in our community are facing.

“It’s important to remember that without data, it is harder to provide appropriate solutions and support networks and previous Fraser Coast Youth Surveys have helped shaped HBNCs approach to youth support services and we now have a number of programs in place that directly respond to the issues raised by the data we have gathered,” Tanya said.

Supporting the mental and emotional well-being of youth is crucial for their overall development. A nurturing environment that promotes positive mental health allows young people to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. By offering resources, such as counselling and mentorship programs, we empower them to overcome challenges and build resilience.

The report also refers to a recent survey, 2022 Mission Australia Youth Survey, in which Youth identified the top three most important issues in Australia for young people:

1. The Environment: 51% identified it as one of the most important issues in Australia.
2. Equity and Discrimination: 35.9% identified it as one of the most important issues.
3. Mental Health: 33.9% identified it as another important issue. 

This survey also shows young people found School Challenges (41.5%) are the highest personal challenge faced by our youth, followed by Mental Health Challenges, with 22.7% listing challenges around mental health including low 1. mental state, stress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem or 2. self-harm.

Relationship challenges were also identified, with 19.7% of those surveyed listing challenges with relationships including death, abuse, challenging relationships with family, friends or significant others.

When Mission Australia asked the same young people for solutions to these challenges, some of the responses included “Having more and/or different supports available inside schools.

Asking family and friends for additional support and asking for help from healthcare professionals like psychologists, counsellors and doctors.”

According to the HBNC 2022 Fraser Coast Youth Survey, 90% of youth 12-17 years old lived with their parents, 5% in other arrangements (unstated), 2% lived with other family members, 2% lived with grandparents, 2% in foster care and 1% on their own. 

The 2021 Census results showed over 14,000 parents with children on the Fraser Coast which equates to 13% of total population. This includes 8,899 couples but also another 5,239 are single parents. This is in comparison to a Queensland state average of over 40% and a national average of 70%.

The largest change in households with children in this area between 2016 and 2021 was single parents with older children, an increase of almost 400 households.

A concerning result stated in the report was the number of youth that are homeless. The 2022 HBNC Fraser Coast Youth Survey states “12.5% of young people reported experiencing homelessness, couch surfing or without a safe place to stay at some point in their lives. 1% were currently homeless, 8% had been homeless over 12 months ago, 2% were homeless within the last 6 months and 1% had been homeless within the last 12 months.”

The State Of The Youth report also refers to the 2021 Census that shows 12.8% of the Fraser Coast population have some kind of reported mental health condition. This is much higher than the overall Queensland rate of 9.6% and the nationwide figure of 8.8%.

The Mission Australia 2020 report also highlights the importance of friends for young people. According to the report, friendship is important for 4 out of 5 youth. The 2021 Australian Youth Barometer also found that young people find relationships with their friends more important (82.5%) compared with their family (78.9%).

The State of the Youth report also refers to data from My School. There were 10,002 students enrolled in Fraser Coast Secondary Schools in 2022. The reference indicates the average attendance rate for students in 2022 was 81% for all students.

This is lower than the Queensland school attendance rate of 85.6% for all students. 

The data also shows there were 767 Year 12 students who were awarded a Secondary School Certificate in 2021 (91%) across all Fraser Coast Schools (public & private). There were 836 who completed Year 12 Secondary Schooling. 2022 data was not available. In Queensland 92% of Year 12 students gained a Secondary School Certificate in 2021. The National Attainment Rate was 78%.

For further information, go to the HBNC website www.hbnc.com.au