Governance

The Youth Advocacy Centre Inc is YAC’s registered name. YAC is an incorporated association under Queensland’s Associations Incorporation Act 1981 with responsibilities under the Act. It also has a constitution, or set of rules, which are legally binding, for the running of the organisation (contact us for a copy of the Constitution).

YAC’s Management Committee has overall responsibility for the organisation and is elected annually. Details of the Committee are at the end of this page.

YAC’s Vision, Mission Statement, Philosophy and Aims and Objectives are set out below.

YAC-Katherine-H-2 - Copy (2)

“We are all committed and determined to continue performing our own particular duties as well as possible, to help those young people who have suffered trauma or been left behind and forgotten.”

-Katherine Hayes, CEO

Katherine at YAC dot net dot au

Annual Reports

Our Annual Reports tell the ‘story’ of  YAC’s work with young people: what we do and why we do it (contact us if you would like earlier reports or copies of YAC’s Annual Financial Reports)

Our philosophy

  • Unconditional adherence to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Confidential, professional and honest engagement with young people
  • Respectful engagement with stakeholders and others for the benefit of young people
  • Holistic responses to address the interconnected and interdependent issues in young people’s lives
  • Advocacy for young people collectively as well as individually
  • Collective responsibility as a staff for working as a team and upholding and delivering on YAC’s mission and philosophy

Vision

Young people achieve their full potential through the community accepting collective responsibility for their importance, empowerment, rights, well-being and humanity.

Mission

To increase young people’s access to legal and social justice by speaking out with and for young people.

Our strategic intent

Advocacy

  1. To be strong advocates with and for individual young people in need and/or in conflict with legal and other systems across the greater Brisbane area.
  2. To be a strong voice, informed by research and evidence and the experiences of our clients, to influence and achieve better outcomes for children and young people in Queensland collectively.

Profile

To be considered a significant contributor to discussion and decisions about legal and social welfare systems and processes which have, or potentially have, an impact on children and young people at a local and state level.

Sustainability

  1. To have the model of the Youth Advocacy Centre acknowledged and supported as an effective and appropriate response to disadvantaged and vulnerable young people, particularly for those with legal as well as social welfare issues.
  2. To develop the current model/services, in particular to have at least two staff per program and an education/training support program, and identify innovative ways to deliver services to ensure the model is contemporary

Enablers

In order to achieve the above, the following are required:

  • Security of funding – preferably a mix of government and non-government, tied and untied
  • Well qualified and supported staff
  • Contemporary policies and procedures for all aspects of the organisation
  • Strong and effective governance
  • Own premises (desirable)

Management Committee

Member

Position
Damien Atkinson Chairperson
Beth Toon Deputy Chairperson
Nathan Robertson Treasurer
Katherine Hayes CEO
Claire Marchesi Committee Member
Tarryn McMullen Committee Member
Terry Hutchinson Committee Member
Ruth Sharp Secretary
Charlie Jensen Staff Representative

Follow Us

Follow us on social media for information on laws, youth rights, and news.

Contact YAC

Street address: Level 4, 16 Peel Street, South Brisbane Q 4101

Mailing address: Level 4, 16 Peel Street, South Brisbane Q 4101

Tel: (07) 3356 1002

Bussiness hours: 9am - 5pm, Mon - Fri

Send a message here

YAC_Logo_Vertical Orange

If you need urgent assistance outside of these hours: