Youth Parliament Team
The YMCA Victorian Youth Parliament is a program designed to give young Victorians an opportunity to participate in the parliamentary processes in the Victorian State Government.
It is a chance for young Victorians to advocate on issues they are passionate about and relevant to young people's lives.
A team of six participants receive public speaking and leadership training, attend residential camps and research issues they are passionate about. From this research, participants will develop a Bill that they will debate in the Victorian Parliament over three days in July 2026.
The program provides participants with great personal and professional development opportunities, and the bills handed to the relevant Ministers provide the government with awareness into what issues are important to young Victorians.
The program involves two residential camps at YMCA Lake Dewar Discovery Camp, Myrniong. The training weekend prepares participants on parliamentary etiquette, public speaking, media training with skill development sessions in leadership and confidence.
The Youth Parliament program culminates in a week-long residential camp, including three days of debate in Parliament House. The remainder of the time is spent at the campsite in preparation and taking part in advocacy and leadership-building sessions.
Cost
This opportunity is funded by Mildura Rural City Council and YMCA at no cost to successful applicants.
Expressions of Interest
Expressions of Interest to join the 2026 team are now closed.
For further information please contact the Dawn Johnston, Program Officer - Youth on 0447 881 152 or 03 5018 8100 or email youthservices@mildura.vic.gov.au
What our 2025 Youth Parliament team said…
“I applied to the YMCA Youth Parliament Program because of my great interest and love for politics. I gained debating experience as well as confidence. I became an active participant in parliament which enabled me to further my understanding of parliamentary standards and processes. I was also able to learn about issues that concern the youth of Victoria and was able to interact with politicians and important political actors. Additionally I was able to form relationships with like-minded people and build connections for a possible future in politics. Youth Parliament has given me the confidence and abilities to utilise similar programs and become an outspoken activist and change maker concerning issues that I care about” – Alex
“Participating in the Youth Parliament team has been a great opportunity to work on my public speaking and confidence. The program is important because it gives people a voice. It was an amazing opportunity to be able to go into parliament and debate our Bill, to meet the members of parliament. It helped me learn about what it would be like if I chose politics as a career and really helped my public speaking skills” – Darcie
The Youth Parliament program has extensively helped me to understand the legal systems parliament structure, allowing me to have more understanding of legal studies. It has also given me a great insight into a political career and experience within the field. Representing Mildura was a great opportunity which helped me learn about the structure of Bill, how to write speeches and how to publicly speak. I also gained teamwork experience, and the ability to take different opinions into consideration” – Molly
Being a member of the Mildura Youth Parliament program has really opened my eyes in the way of thinking, and I have learnt that what I say does matter and my actions can make a change. I have gained a lot of confidence and discovered I love talking in front of a crowd or people. I will be returning next year” – Taneshia
When I heard about the YMCA Youth Parliament program, I thought it would be a good opportunity to take on a new experience and better our community. I was excited to be able to pass a Bill that will help young people living in regional and rural Victoria. Being a part of the program is important because we are so far from Melbourne, we should still get a say in how our state is run and issues that impact youth” – Alissa
Want to know more about the Youth Parliament team?
Our 2025 Youth Parliament team, Alissa, Taneshia, Molly, Darcie and Alex had great success in the passing of their Family Violence Education in Secondary Schools Bill 2025.
The Bill’s primary purpose is to educate secondary school students on family violence; its causes, impacts and prevention. The Bill’s aim is to prevent the cycle of family violence through the education of youth, by early intervention measures.
Family-Violence-Education-in-Secondary-Schools-Bill-2025.pdf(PDF, 144KB)
Our team have had great success with Bills passed including:
Mildura-Passenger-Train-Restoration-Bill-2022.pdf(PDF, 1MB)
Increased-Environmentally-Sustainable-Strategies-Bill-2023-Passed.pdf(PDF, 285KB)
Increased-Housing-Affordability-for-Tertiary-Students-Bill-2024.pdf(PDF, 119KB)