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Our role

Sitting within the Department of Planning and Community Development, the Office for Youth (OFY) is the key agency driving a whole-of-government agenda in relation to Victorians aged 12 to 25. OFY's work supports the Department’s commitment to build active, resilient and confident communities for the benefit of all Victorians.

The Office for Youth provides opportunities for young Victorians to actively contribute to their communities, and acts as an advocate for young people as vital and valuable members of our society.

OFY is responsible for policy advice, research and strategic planning in relation to government policies, programs and service delivery for young Victorians. The office is also responsible for providing a range of ways young people’s opinions can reach and be considered by government.

The framework that guides OFY’s work is the new policy agenda Future Directions: An action agenda for young people.

To create Future Directions, the Victorian Government has talked and listened to young people, and researched the world they live in and the new challenges they face. Consultation with young people showed the need to consider them as part of their families and communities, and the fact that programs and services must cater for the huge diversity among Victoria's young people. Top priorities that came out of these discussions were:

• giving young people activities and the chance to contribute, and ensuring they are heard and valued for their input
• creating education, training and employment opportunities that meet young people's different needs
• putting in place programs to help young people safeguard their own health and safety, and supporting them when things go wrong (with a particular emphasis on mental health)
• improving access to safe public transport options right around the state

All of this information has been used to develop a fresh approach to policy for young Victorians - not just words, but one which is based on outcomes and real actions.

Future Directions builds on Growing Victoria Together: A Vision for Victoria to 2010 and Beyond, the government’s vision for Victoria’s future. Growing Victoria Together articulates what is important to Victorians and the priorities the Victorian Government has set to build a better society. There are ten goals which each have concrete measures to illustrate how the government is progressing.

Future Directions supports the government’s social policy action plan, A Fairer Victoria, which is about creating opportunity and addressing disadvantage throughout the state.


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