Each year Mission Australia conducts the largest survey of Australian young people, this year receiving responses from 19,500 young people aged 15-19 years old. Each year this survey provides the sector with invaluable insight into what young people are thinking and concerned about as well as what is most important to them at that point in time.
This year’s survey found the environment (44%), equity and discrimination (31%), the economy and financial matters (31%) and mental health (30%) topped the issues they considered most important in Australia.
The report is also broken down by results from each state and territory, and the Youth Survey 2023 - SA Sub-report provides valuable insights into the concerns and challenges of young people in South Australia specifically.
In total 1,609 young people aged 15-19 from South Australia completed the Youth Survey. The report underscores the need for greater support and awareness of available resources to help young people address their challenges and emphasizes the importance of addressing the root causes of these challenges to enable young people to thrive.
Personal Challenges and Supports:
The report highlights the three biggest personal challenges young people in South Australia face are school challenges, mental health issues, and relationship challenges. Solutions suggested by young people included the need for greater understanding from teachers and parents about stress levels, the need for better access to mental healthcare services and the importance of being comfortable asking for support or advice.
National Concerns:
The most important issues for SA respondents are the environment, equity and discrimination, and the economy/financial matters. A little under half (44%) identified the environment as a critical issue, with 1 in 5 (22%) extremely or very concerned about climate change personally. A third (33%) identified equity and discrimination as one of the most important issues, with almost a quarter (23%) reporting that they were treated unfairly or discriminated against in the last year. One in three (32%) identified the economy and financial matters as one of the most important issues, which is a significant increase compared from 2022 (22%) and 2021 (9%).
Education and Employment:
Almost all (94.6%) young people reported they are studying and half (51%) reported they were in paid employment. Two thirds of young people in South Australia were satisfied of very satisfied with their studies (66.8%) and job (65.5%). However, only half (50.3%) are extremely or very confident in achieving their study or work goals, with the top three barriers reported being mental health, academic ability and financial difficulty.
Wellbeing:
The report indicates that a significant portion young people have wellbeing concerns and challenges. The majority of young people (62.9%) report having good, very good or excellent overall mental health and wellbeing, but over a third report having fair (24.8%) or poor (12.3%) overall mental health and wellbeing. Over half (57%) experienced moderate to high psychological distress in the four weeks prior to completing the survey. About 1 in 5 (20.8%) feel alone most or all of the time. Only half (49.9%) of young people are very positive or positive about the future.
Support and Connectedness:
The report notes that three quarters (76%) of young people identified friends as their top source of support, and that just under a third (29.8%) of young people find it hard to fit in and socialise with everyone else. Young people largely have positive feelings about their community, however a significant minority had mixed feelings, and less than half (45%) of young people agree or strongly agree that young people in their community have a say on issues that matter to them.
Unfair Treatment and Discrimination:
Almost a quarter (23%) reported that they were treated unfairly or discriminated against in the last year, most commonly due to physical appearance, race/cultural background, and personal views.
