Chief Executive Officer
FYA Chair
Across the country, young people continued to organise for justice in the midst of political uncertainty, public attention, and increasing pressure on their communities. Our role has been to work alongside them in practical ways, supporting youth-led organising, advocacy and leadership with the resources, time, and backing needed to take their work forward.
This year Youth Councils moved from setting priorities to delivering projects in their communities. Youth-led campaigns went public and began shaping national conversations. First Nations-led spaces centred both care and organising. Across our programs, young people were supported to take responsibility, make decisions, and see their ideas turn into action.
As an organisation, we learned more about what it takes to deliver ambitious work while also making space for reflection and accountability. Our Listening and Truth-Telling work continued to guide this learning and began to shape a longer-term Transformation journey. This work will unfold over the next two years and is focused on putting what we are learning into practice, particularly in how we centre and embed young people into the decision making of our organisation, how we organise ourselves and support young people and their leadership over time.
As we look ahead to 2026, our focus remains steady: to back young people with lived experience of systemic injustice to lead change in ways that make sense for them. Thank you to the young people we work with, our team, our Board and Sub-Committee members, the First Nations Governance Group, and our partners and funders for your trust and support throughout the year.
Molly Whelan
Chief Executive Officer
Across FYA, demand for youth-led programs, campaigns, and partnerships continued to grow. Young people mobilised into elections, governance roles, and public advocacy, often in high-pressure moments and within systems not designed to support them.
A central focus in 2025 was ensuring FYA continued to deliver programs and back young people, while progressing the internal Listening and Truth-Telling work that was started in 2024. This work is now informing the early stages of a multi-year Transformation process, focused on how FYA governs itself, makes decisions, and remains accountable to young people and First Nations communities over time.
For the Board, this reflects a commitment to stewarding the organisation in a way that honours both the work and the people it exists to serve.
I want to acknowledge the leadership of the FYA and YLab teams in navigating a demanding year with care, and the trust of partners and funders. Most importantly, I thank the young people whose leadership continues to invite institutions to do better, including our own.
Jason Glanville
Wiradjuri
FYA Chair
