🚀 Have your say

Consultation on the draft Youth Plan has officially wrapped up.

Earlier this year, young people shared what matters most to them and their ideas to make the Sunshine Coast a better place to live. Based on this feedback, Council with input from the Young Leaders Academy, has prepared a draft Youth Plan.

The draft Youth Plan will help to prioritise actions that Council, together with young people and community partners, will take to improve the lives of young people. These actions will be implemented over the next five years to 2031.

📅 Between 27 October to 24 November 2025, we invited Sunshine Coast locals, especially young people, to share their thoughts on the draft Youth Plan.

💬 All input received will help shape the final Youth Plan, our community action plan to help improve life for young people aged 12-24 on the Sunshine Coast.

You could have your say by:

📝 Completing the Online Survey (all ages)
💬 Joining the Online Youth Focus Group on 17 November (12-24 year olds)

👥Council also hosted targeted focus groups with local young people during this time to capture feedback directly from young people on the draft Youth Plan.

🚀 Prizes on offer

Young people who completed the online survey went in the draw for a chance to win one of two $250 gift cards

Read the Terms and Conditions for all prize information and details.

🚀 What’s next?

🙏 Thank you to everyone who got involved and provided feedback.

Everything that you shared, including your comments, ideas, and suggestions will help Council to finalise the Sunshine Coast Youth Plan.

We’ll be back in touch soon with a summary of what you told us about the draft Youth Plan - so keep an eye out!

In March 2026, the final version of the Thriving Futures: Sunshine Coast Youth Plan (2026-2031) will be presented to a Council Ordinary Meeting. At this meeting we will seek adoption of the plan.

🔔 Press the ➕ Follow button below to stay updated! 🔔

Why it matters?

There are over 50,000 young people living on the Sunshine Coast currently, and this number may reach 70,000 young people in 2041!

The Sunshine Coast offers a range of benefits for young people, including:

• 🌞A great lifestyle
• 🎓High quality schools and tertiary education options
• 🏀Good facilities and services
• 💼Diverse employment opportunities
• 🌿Access to our amazing natural environment.

But we know it’s not all sunshine. Young people are also experiencing real challenges like:

• 🏠 Housing affordability and cost of living
• 😰 Stress and anxiety, and other mental health challenges
• 🛡️ Safety and perceptions of youth crime
• 🎡 More things to do and places to hang out
• 🗣️ Having a voice and being heard
• 🚗 Difficulty getting around
• 🎓 Education and employment opportunities

The draft Youth Plan will help to prioritise actions that Council, young people and the broader Sunshine Coast community can take to address the challenges and maximise opportunities for young people. These actions will be implemented over the next five years to 2031.

The first stage of consultation to inform the draft Youth Plan ran from 2 June to 14 July 2025.

Council and the Young Leaders Academy wanted your input and you provided! From 2 June to 14 July 2025, over 1,100 young people across the Sunny Coast shared their big ideas and thoughts for the future.

📄You can read the phase 1 engagement summary report here.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Adults and Youth Workers could have their say too by:

• Supporting their child or child in their care to complete the online survey
• Using the Youth Plan Conversation Toolkit to guide a workshop or conversation with young people; or
• Completing the Youth Service Sector Survey.

📄You can read the summary Youth Sector Service Survey findings here.

🙏 A big thanks to everyone who got involved.

When we refer to "young people", we mean children and young adults aged 12 to 24 years. Here are some statistics about young people on the Sunshine Coast:

The Sunshine Coast Young Leaders Academy is involved in shaping the new Youth Action Plan and aim to connect with and support other young people to have their say.