Victorian Youth AOD Service System Blueprint 2026

When Traineeship Coordinator Esther Benz first began as a youth worker, she remembers not feeling confident working with family members. “I really learnt along the way, and I learnt the most from family members themselves and the loved ones of young people,” she says.

So when she and Senior Trainer…

“What does it mean to do work that genuinely makes a difference for young people?”

That question was a key theme of last Wednesday’s YSAS Conference, Honouring Our Work: Practice That Makes a Difference for Young People.

Across a day of keynote addresses, presentations, panels and practical workshops, we came together…

Pete Dawson understands that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have often been excluded from decision-making that directly impacts them.  

That’s why the transition of the Bunjilwarra Aboriginal Youth Residential Rehabilitation Centre from YSAS to the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) was so significant. “To be in the transition meetings…

Two years ago, the team at headspace Collingwood were puzzled by one piece of data. Their mental health clinicians were spending huge amounts of time assessing young people — sometimes over several months — to prepare them for a standard course of six counselling sessions. This approach was blowing out…

Recently, headspace Collingwood had the pleasure of welcoming three federal MPs to our site for an important discussion on young men and mental health. 

Representatives from headspace, including CEO Jason Trethowan, Centre Manager David Hay and several young people from our Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), spoke with the Federal Member…

YSAS commends the State Government for funding the Victorian Pill Testing Service for the next two years, following Victoria’s successful drug-checking trial.

As part of this year’s State Budget the service received $9.6 million, which includes funding to continue operations through both a strengthened fixed site in Fitzroy, and at…