Mapping Services for Young People in Melton City

This report maps services for young people in the
local government area (LGA) of
______________MELTON CITY_________
1. LGA profile:
Describe and discuss your selected local government area. Your
description and analysis will cover: geographical location; Department
of Health and Human Service’s region; a profile of the local population:
whole population with a focus on description and analysis of statistics
relevant to young people. In doing so, cover health and wellbeing status,
cultural diversity, socio economic status, employment, education and so
on.
The selected local government area is the city of Melton. It is a satellite town that is
located outside the city of Melbourne in Australia. There are plans to construct in the city a
first-class healthcare hub for the whole community at the heart of the town. The name of the
service will be Melton Health and Community Services. The Centre will have all the health
services in the same building which will be convenient for all residents. The construction
began on 2017 February, and it is expected to end in 2018 towards the end. Alongside the
health care service department, there is a youth center called Melton city council youth
services. The area is about 527.3 cubic kilometers and has a population of 135,443 according
to the last census that was carried out in 2016.
The population between the age of 18 and 34 is 24.4%which is still lower as
compared to the parental age group of 34 and above which is about 23.7%. The youths in the
region who are working are relatively many as compared to those who are not working. The
number is 20,955, and it has increased as compared to the previous years where it was lower
than 18,000 (Forecast.id.com.au, 2018). There is one hospital in the city which is yet to be
completed and could be a source of employment to the number of youths in the region. The
city has a department for the youths, and it has its offices in the city which addresses the
issues relating to youths affairs. Many youths are in school, and those who are out of school
are working and making a living. Those above 18 years f age are independent and can
support themselves without the help of their parents. Basically, the city has a shortage of
young people. Most of the inhabitants in the region are parents with toddlers.
The city has diversity, and there are aboriginals as well as the other groups. There are
those who do not speak English and those who came from abroad. Out of the 135443, only
about 500 individuals in the city need assistance because they don’t have jobs. Over 80% of
the population has employment or a source of income that sustains them financially.
Based on your analysis of the data discuss the local issues and
priorities for young people in your selected LGA, and potential service
implications. You will need to use and cite references for this section.
There has been the problem of housing the youths in the city of Melton. There are
some youths which are a small number who do not have proper accommodation and housing.
The city lacks most of the essential services for the youths. According to the national budget,
only about $870,000 is allocated to the city which is not sufficient to handle the youth issues
(Profile.id.com.au, 2018). The Australian government formed a task force called The Youth
Homeless Task Force (YHT) which was to address the issue of homelessness amongst the
youth in all the cities of Australia. Melton has been one of the cities of Australia that has been
of the spotlight for having a large number of youths without homes and loitering around. The
YHT has been working within Melbourne to help support those groups that have no homes

and are struggling among the youths. The reason for the lack of housing for the youths is
because of the large families that are living in the region. Melton is among those cities in the
country that has no services that have been set apart for the youths for their benefit.
The unemployment crisis is not far away from the youths yet in the city. Melton is
part of Melbourne which has recorded a high number of unemployed youths at 16% which is
alarming. The reason is that most young people were used to getting employment and short-
term contracts from the manufacturing and industrial sectors. However, with the coming of
the service sector which requires special skills and education, more youths are left jobless
because there are jobs which they are not qualified to handle. The region is in need of
opportunities for employment as the ones which are currently there are already flooded, and
there are still more people who need jobs. The area has a large pool of workers who are
making the wages to reduce because of the excess supply of the same.
As a result of joblessness, many youths are suffering from anxiety and mental issues
which is going to become a trend if the problem is not resolved. There is hope as the national
government has disbursed about $6 -8 billion to create opportunities for jobs with the youths
in mind in the parts of the country (Hobday, 2015). Such an initiative is one which will see
many jobs created in the city of Melton like the Health Centre that is being constructed.
There is, however, the need for the education sector to offer training which will help benefit
the youth of the city. Most youths after the economic crisis that struck the world lost their
jobs because industries closed down or resized its employees. Those who were laid off or lost
jobs began looking for other alternatives like bakeries which are already flooded. It is
essential that the youths be taught how to get self-employment and become entrepreneurs
instead of spending their time applying and getting frustrated over jobs.
2. Council services and programs
Map the local government youth services and programs that are run by or
funded by the local council. Include the following:
 Name of the Department in the Council that has responsibility for young people
(refer to the organizational chart – structure)
Melton youth Council
 Contact details of the council and the worker/s that you would contact in youth
services including the name of the person in charge and their title.
[phone]. There is no specific person as the people in the council keep changing.
Whenever the number gets called there is always someone to pick up and attend to the needs
of the youth that is calling.
 Services and programs delivered by the youth services (describe the services
and programs that your selected Local Council offers and how this might relate
to the issues or needs identified in your analysis of the demographic data.
The programs offered in this department are leadership programs for the youth who have
ambitions and plans of becoming leaders. There are many other services under this
department which includes the following. Youth advisory committee that brings youths
together to build confidence through interacting with each other. Besides that there is the
wing that deals with diversity issues that are affecting the youths like the LGBT. There is also
a wing that helps boys and girls deal with their emotions and frustrations which is still under
the same department (Robinson, 2018). The families in the region are diverse and therefore,
the information is accurate. The city has a way of ensuring that everyone is taken care of and
no one is neglected. The minority have a voice and no one steps on their privileges.
Local council Policy context:
Identify two local council policies or action plans that are relevant to young people
and discuss three priorities for action.

There are many action plans for the youths under the local council initiative.
1. Supporting innovation and creativity in the city. The city through its leadership has
identified ways of ensuring that the talented minds and the youth who are many in the
city get a better use of their time. They have established departments and groups that
allow the youth to come together to talk about issues that are affecting them and help
out in offering the solutions that are needed. Additionally, this policy targets to reduce
the unemployment that has been seen in the region.
2. Well designed and built city. The city through its leadership has recognized the need
for better housing which has led it to forming the team that will be responsible in
drawing the plan that will see the council build the houses and homes that are
affordable. The households in Melton are growing and increasing and therefore, there
is the need to expand housing and accommodate as many people as they should. The
government statistics estimated that more youths are homeless and Melton is the most
affected region with many youths lacking the basic needs like food, shelter and
clothing.
The three priorities for action that are related to the action plans are as follows.
Creation of job opportunities for the youth. The youths are growing and becoming more
with each year. As the number grows, there is more pressure that is exerted on to the
social amenities. As a result of that, youths need to be employed and be given a source of
living to sustain themselves. Another action plan is education for the youth. More youths
don’t have jobs because they don’t have the skills for those jobs. Therefore, the council
needs to act fast and improve the quality of education in the city and bring policies which
will change the education sector. They are supposed to ensure that the education that is
taught in the schools is enough to give the youths the right skills for the jobs they want to
seek. Finally the mentorship programs. Youths need direction in many areas, they need
guidance in careers, family and also leadership. The council should continue making
more programs which will enable the youths to grow their skills and be mentored on all
issues that affect them.
3. The State Government (The policy context)
Who is the Victorian State Government’s Minister responsible for Youth Affairs?
She is The Hon. Jenny Mikakos MLC, she is also the minister for family and children and
early childhood education.
Where is the State Government office relevant to youth service providers in your
selected local government area (regional office)?
It is located in the Level 22 50 Lonsdale Street, in Melbourne Victoria.
Name a State Government policy that is relevant to young people. List and discuss
three elements that are included in this policy that interest you. Explain why it is
relevant to young people and the relevance to the young people in your selected LGA.
The Victoria Government Youth Policy. There are three elements of the policy that have
made me exited.
Forums for the youth to help them in shaping the future. Several youths in Victoria in the
year 2016 were called upon to participate in forums that would shape and help determine
what their future would like. Through that forum, the government got ideas from the youths
about the things that the youths are interested in doing. As a result of that meeting and forum,
there was born a national youth’s forum that took place the following year in 2017.
Also there is the building stronger youth in Victoria. This has allowed youths to participate in
decisions made by the local government that affect them directly and indirectly. The policy
has improved the relationship between the youths and the government in the sense that their
engagement rules have become better. The government consults the youths when it comes to
issues and matters that affect them which was not the case in the earlier years.

The last policy is the education policy which has been made to ensure that all the youths in
Victoria have access to quality education which will allow them to be independent in future.
The education stretches into empowering the youths in their own care and giving them the
keys to the success of their ventures.
4. Mapping the local government youth service provider’s relationship to peak
youth bodies.
 Briefly outline the role and purpose of a peak body.
Peak bodies are like advocacy groups. They fight for the rights of a certain group of people
who are not able to do so by themselves. It’s made up of people and groups that have a
common interest. Peak bodies always speak on behalf of the people who are being targeted
or neglected by the government or the society in general. They conduct their research on the
issue they are representing and offer alternatives.
 Name a peak body relevant to young people and youth workers
There are many but for the case of the youth in Victoria and Melton city there will be
Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) which advocates for the research, engagement
and development in the youth sector.
 Contact details
Their email address. [e-mail]
Their mobile number 98 468 177 911
 Person in charge
o Title- Chairperson is the one who is in charge.
o Organisation
The organisation is Australian Youth Affairs Coalition
5. Mapping local youth networks
 Is there a local network of workers and professionals in your local government
area that you would like to belong to as a youth worker?
I would like to be a part of the Community Housing Industry Association Victoria where I
can offer my services to the homeless people. I would be very resourceful when it comes to
thinking of ideas of reducing homelessness in the city and ensuring that people have houses.
 Name of the local youth network
Community Housing Industry Association Victoria
 Contact details
Their address is
1/128 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, 3000
Their phone number is
0396546077
Their email address is [e-mail].
 Describe the services it provides for its members
The community housing industry association Victoria offers its members many services
which include the following.
Providing the members with better housing solutions like helping them to get better houses at
a cost that is affordable. Members get the benefits of policy development where anything that
is done by the organization gets to them first. They also enjoy the benefits of being trained
professionally and also being developed by the organization. Members can get access to
training which equips them on issues related to housing. Also, they enjoy the privilege of
networking, the organization has meetings where members can meet others from different
parts and share ideas. Besides physical meeting, members can also meet on the online portal
where they can also share ideas with the like minds. Members get the support they need in
matters to do with housing. Also they get the tools they require on housing related issues.
Finally, the organization prioritizes them when it comes to giving information to people. The
members get information first hand before the rest of the people does.