Today the State Government opened applications for the 2025 WA Youth Engagement Grants Program with an additional $20,000, boosting the total funding up to $220,000.
The annual grants program provides funding for local governments and community service organisations to implement projects that engage young people aged 10 to 25 years in creative ways, helping to achieve positive outcomes for young people in the community.
This year’s funding will prioritise projects that foster the development of essential ‘life skills’ such as equipping young people with foundational financial literacy skills, providing education and career guidance, and supporting them to become more independent.
To be eligible, projects should help support young individuals from a spectrum of backgrounds to transition to independence, be involved in community life, and achieve their goals.
This includes young people from culturally and linguistically diverse groups, individuals with disabilities or neurodiversity, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, members of the LGBTIQIA+ community, and residents of regional, rural, or remote areas.
Previous grant recipient Studio Schools of Australia (SSA) used funding for their project ‘My Country, My Home’ with students from Yiramalay Studio School going on a three-day camping, fishing, and hunting expedition deep into Nyikina Country.
SSA Associate Director of the Indigenous Education and Research Centre (IERC), Tanya Davies, said the camp provided the opportunity for students from the Pilbara region to connect to their Country¬ – their home, develop bush skills, and learn and share stories of the key sites in the area as they connected with other local community members and elders.
“Being part of this project reignited a love for, respect of and fascination in Country; the peace and value that comes from living with and from the land and gathering and eating ancestral foods,” said Tanya.
“This in turn promoted ongoing healthy lifestyle choices and promoted positive mental health changes in several of the boys.”
Grants of up to $5,000 are available for short-term, one-off activities or initiatives, and grants of up to $10,000 are available for longer-term, strategic initiatives that involve the whole of the community.
Applications close on Thursday 26 September. For more information on the briefing session, guidelines, and application form, visit the WA Youth Engagement Grants Program page.
