Misalignment between career aspirations and actual future jobs pronounced among many young people.

A recent OECD survey showed teenagers’ career expectations were concentrated in ten so-called “20th century” careers. These include doctors, teachers, lawyers and business managers.

These choices have remained unchanged for almost two decades. For girls, they have become even more popular since 2000. This suggests a significant gap between teenagers’ career knowledge and choices, and the reality of the rapidly changing nature of work.

Jasmine is part of an under-recognised group. Now her university is tackling the stigma

"My mum is all for it because she didn't have the opportunity to go to uni herself ... [but] it can be a bit daunting because I don't have anyone really to go to and ask 'what did you do in this scenario?" Ms Kellett said.

New research reveals the impact of ReachOut on the mental health of young Australians

A measurable impact: Helping young people to be and stay well is an independently peer-reviewed study that explores how young Australians engage with ReachOut and how the service impacted their mental health. The findings of the study, which surveyed approximately 2000 ReachOut users aged 16 to 25 years over a three-month period, showed:

an improvement in mental health, including a significant reduction in symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress*
reduced suicide risk**
an increase in help-seeking behaviour***
90–95% of participants rated their overall experience of ReachOut as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’
82% of participants agreed that ReachOut is relevant
86.7% said it was available and accessible.

Thousands of Australians becoming parents to relatives without adequate support, report says

Kalyra Michelutti was a teenager when she became the primary carer for her young sister after her father murdered their mother three years ago.

"She's my sister and I didn't want her to go into the system, especially after something that's so traumatic — it's best for her to be with relatives," she said.

"My biggest fear as a kid was going into the system and I think that's why I didn't think twice about taking on my sister."

The Australian musician fighting racist narratives about African migrants

Titan Debirioun came to Australia as a four-year-old with no parents. Today he is one of the strongest voices fighting for social justice for his community.

New podcast: The mental health of refugee children in Australia

How are children from refugee backgrounds faring in terms of their social and emotional wellbeing? Tune into this conversation with Dr. Sonia Terhaag to find out what the Building a New Life in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Humanitarian Migrants can tell us about this

Children’s Rights Report 2019

The Children’s Rights Report 2019 — In Their Own Right tells the story of how well children’s rights are protected and promoted across Australia.

It covers all the basic rights that children need to do well, like having a home and a family, getting a good education, being able to access quality health care, being safe from harm, and having a voice.

Achieving is believing

Three students who tackled VCE and VET and came out on top were James, Maryam and Nathan. They have quite the pedigree when it comes to their studies, as they came out as winners in the 2019 Premier's VCE Awards.

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