The Whittlesea Local Government extends from Bundoora all the way to Beveridge. The municipality is sectioned into three areas known as Wards. These are:

• North Ward: Includes the suburbs of Whittlesea, Beveridge, Humevale, Eden Park, Donnybrook, Woodstock, Yan Yean, Mernda, Doreen, part of South Morang and Kinglake West
• South West: Wollert, Epping, Lalor, Thomastown
• South East: Mill Park

Young people aged between 12-25 years of age who have a strong connection to the City of Whittlesea are encouraged to apply for a position on the YAC. This can include young people who live within, work, go to school/TAFE/Uni within or spend considerable time within the City of Whittlesea area.

The YAC is an inclusive program. The City of Whittlesea is keen to engage with young people from diverse backgrounds and experiences and provide supportive and inclusive youth leadership and advocacy opportunity. We are particularly interested in hearing from young people from diverse cultural backgrounds, young people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, young people who identify as LGBTIQ+, and young people who have a disability.

We are also interested in engaging with young people who have experienced homelessness and/or out-of-home care, young people who are carers as well as young people with diverse and creative interests and are seeking to engage with diverse communities of young people across the municipality.

The application period for the 2022 YAC opens on Monday 9th May and closes at 5pm on Friday 27th May.

Following the application period, all applications will be assessed by a panel of young people and City of Whittlesea Youth Services staff.

Shortlisted applicants will be offered the opportunity to attend a Meet and Greet interview to progress their application. Meet and Greet interviews will be held the week of Monday 6th June.

Successful applicants will be contacted from Monday 20th June. A two-day induction will take place on Tuesday 28th June and Wednesday 29th June, with the first YAC meeting held on Monday 4th July 2022.

All applications will be assessed by a panel of two Council Officers from the Youth Services team and two young people who are either former YAC members or who have been involved in youth advisory and advocacy opportunities and live within the City of Whittlesea.

YAC applications will be ranked to ensure that the memberships of the YAC includes representation of:

• Young people who live/work/study or have connections across the three City of Whittlesea Wards
• Young people between 12-25 years of age
• Young people with diversity of identity and lived experience
• Young people with a strong connection to the City of Whittlesea and a desire to advocate for and make positive local change for local young people.
• Young people who are seeking opportunities to be involved in advocacy, leadership and community action.

All applications will be assessed the week of Monday 30th May 2022. At this stage a shortlist of applicants to progress to the Meet and Greet interviews will be made.

Shortlisted applicants will be contacted this week to schedule a time to meet with two members from the Youth Services Team together with two former Youth Advisory Committee members to further discuss the YAC program. Meet and Greet interviews will be held the week of Monday 6th June.

All YAC applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application the week beginning Monday 20th June.

The City of Whittlesea encourages the involvement of young people with disabilities and is keen to provide supports to address any participation barriers.

The YAC Terms of Reference outline that YAC members who require a support person to enable participation, can register support people for attendance at meetings.

The City of Whittlesea can provide AUSLAN interpreters at YAC meetings for YAC members whose primary language is AUSLAN.

The Council chambers has accessible services and technology such as closed hearing loop.

The Youth Services team are available to discuss an individual access plan to address individual access requirements and supports, for more information, contact the Youth Services Team on 9404 8800 or email: baseline@whittlesea.vic.gov.au

Yes. YAC members will be required to be attend a two-day induction taking place on Tuesday 28th June and Wednesday 29th June.

The induction and orientation program will include an introduction to committee processes and the YAC Terms of Reference (the Terms of Reference is a document that outlines how the YAC works and what it can and can’t do) as well as an introduction to the Whittlesea area, the Whittlesea Council, how Council works, and the potential transition of the YAC into a Youth Council in 2022-23.

The YAC will meet for formal meetings once a month between July 2022-June 2023. Meetings will be held on the first Monday of the month from 6pm-7:30pm in the Council Chambers which are located in the City of Whittlesea Civic Centre, 25 Ferres Boulevard South Morang.

Outside of formal meetings, YAC members can participate in one or more specialist portfolio working groups. The portfolio working groups will meet once a month to discuss specialist topics and participate in specialised training and up-skilling opportunities.

YAC members may also be provided with the opportunity to engage in other community forums and events as relevant to YAC members’ interests.

We understand that sometimes some YAC members won’t be able to attend a meeting. We request that you aim to attend all meetings, however, if something unexpected happens, or during school/uni exam times, if you need to miss a meeting, that is okay.

We ask YAC members to notify the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson through the Youth Services team secretarial support.

We do ask YAC members to commit to 80% attendance – if something unforeseeable occurs, YAC members are able to ask to take a period of absence.

If YAC members miss two consecutive full YAC meetings without any communication, the Youth Services team will make contact to see what support they can offer to address any barriers to attendance.

If you are aged under 18 years of age we do require parent/guardian consent for you to participate in the YAC. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact the Youth Services team on 9404 8800 or email: baseline@whittlesea.vic.gov.au

We welcome the participation of young people who are living in out-of-home care.

Yes, all YAC members who are 18 years or over have to provide a current Working With Children’s Check (WWCC) – volunteer minimum. Information about how to apply for a WWCC can be found here: Home | Working with Children

The YAC will be asked to provide advice to Council on key policies, strategies and initiatives that will impact local young people. Youth Services staff will provide support to ensure YAC members have access to up to date and relevant information to ensure YAC members are able to make recommendations to Council that are purposeful and achievable.

A large focus of the YAC for this term will be investigating the potential transition of the YAC into a Youth Council in 2022-23. The YAC will have the opportunity to undertake leadership training, liaise with neighbouring Youth Councils and research different youth council models and structures.

This will depend on what the advice relates to and whether any recommendations are able to be acted on by Council. Some recommendations from the YAC may require Council to advocate to other bodies and organisations on behalf of local young people.

Council is keen to hear from and engage with young people and to genuinely address their concerns. If Council is not able to directly address issues raised by young people, Council will seek to advocate to other areas of government on behalf of young people to ensure their voice is represented.

The commitment made to the YAC is considerable with young people making a significant time commitment to ongoing work throughout the year which may impact their ability to undertake other paid employment.

In acknowledgement of the significant time commitment involved in YAC membership, members will be paid an annual Honorarium fee to compensate for costs associated with their participation.

There will be one rate for general committee members and a second higher rate for Chair and Deputy Chair in recognition of the greater commitment required by these two roles. The Honorarium fee will be paid in two instalments via Statement By Supplier Invoicing.