The Foundation for Young Australians is an independent national grant-making organisation, funding and working in partnership with youth-led initiatives which aim to positively contribute to young people and their communities. 

Our Vision

Communities celebrating and strengthening young people.

To achieve this, The Foundation works in partnership with youth-led initiatives for the benefit of young people and their communities.

The Foundation for Young Australians acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first peoples and traditional owners of Australia.  Acknowledging past and present injustices, The Foundation affirms its responsibility to encourage and participate in the reconciliation of our nation as a vital requirement for all communities to celebrate and strengthen young people.

What do we believe?

We believe that young people are an incredible asset to their communities and the nation.

We have developed the following values to guide the way we work: 

         We believe in social justice - a fair and just society with equitable access to resources and opportunity for all.

          We work in partnership with young people and communities to act as a catalyst for change.

         We act with integrity in everything we do and are accountable for the actions we take.

         We use our voice to strengthen outcomes with young people.

         We are passionate about our work and value innovation and creativity in the achievement of our vision.

What do we focus on?

         Young Australians aged 12 - 25 years, with a particular focus on young Indigenous Australians.

         Youth participation - our grant funds are invested with initiatives that use good practice in youth participation.

         Equity - our grant decisions consider the applicant’s access to social, economic and cultural opportunities and benefits.

         Community contribution - we require grant partners to identify a positive contribution they make to their community as an outcome of the grant.

         Sustainable outcomes - we seek to ensure that our grants result in sustainable outcomes for young people.

How do we work?

Low Engagement: These are one-off grants for individual young people and organisations to deliver community-based initiatives.

High Engagement: The majority of investments are multi-year partnerships where we provide funding and work closely with our grant partners.  High engagement partnerships are funded in two stages - the first stage supports young people to prioritise their own outcomes and develop a plan for an initiative that they want to undertake.  The second stage involves funding and support to implement the initiative.

We aim to build the skills of our grant partners and our own skills as we work together in partnership. We also develop research and resources that help us and others working with young people.

Each grant round is different and has specific guidelines that outline the opportunity. Although the outcomes of each initiative also differ, together young people work towards fulfilling The Foundation’s vision communities celebrating and strengthening young people.

All of our grant rounds are listed on this website.  You can also register to receive an email each time a grant round opens - go to Grant Alerts.

Indigenous Initiatives

The Foundation commits at least 20% of total grant funding to initiatives specifically designed to benefit young Indigenous Australians.

The Foundation has identified key outcomes that it would like to see occur with young Indigenous people as a result of its investment decisions:

         Changing opportunities for young Indigenous people;

         Responding to the needs identified by young Indigenous people;

         Supporting the development of youth infrastructure in Indigenous communities;

         Positive long-term outcomes for young Indigenous people;

         Supporting community-motivated positive development; or

         Improving relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Contact Details

The Foundation for Young Australians Street Address: 21-27 Somerset Place Melbourne VIC 3000 Postal Address: GPO Box 239 Melbourne VIC 3001 Phone: 03 9670 5436 Fax: 03 9670 2272 Email: fya@youngaustralians.org