What was the background?
Organisation: City of Gold Coast ("City")
Location: Gold Coast, Queensland
Key stakeholders:
Gold Coast Youth Employment Body, youth service providers, community program teams
The City is home to a large and diverse population of young people. To strengthen local planning and ensure youth programs respond to lived experience, the City accessed the local Youth Survey results via its established relationship with the Gold Coast Youth Network. This enabled it to access robust, youth-reported data at both a local and state level.
Accessing the results of the Youth Survey enabled the City to better understand young people’s priorities, challenges and aspirations, while contributing to a nationally recognised evidence base on youth wellbeing.
What was the issue?
Youth Survey findings highlighted that cost of living was the most important issue for young people on the Gold Coast. Rising costs were affecting young people’s ability to meet basic needs, participate in activities and maintain wellbeing.
The data also showed:
- Ongoing mental health pressures, with many young people reporting stress related to mental health and wellbeing
- Strong future aspirations, particularly around employment, career pathways and home ownership
The City required reliable data to support future planning, prioritisation of programs and collaboration with local youth employment and education partners.
What approach was taken?
Youth Survey insights were used to inform local action areas and future planning across youth-focused initiatives. Key applications included:
- Using cost of living and mental health data to guide the development of low-cost and accessible youth programs
- Identifying opportunities to strengthen career pathways, job readiness initiatives and employment expos
- Exploring housing and financial literacy education, in response to young people’s concerns about affordability and future stability
Survey findings were shared internally and across youth-focused networks to support coordinated planning and service responses.
What were the results?
Youth Survey data provided the City with a clearer picture of young people’s experiences on the Gold Coast, including perceptions of safety, belonging and support within their community.
The insights informed the City's support for initiatives such as Youth Matters Fest, now in its third year, and contributed to planning discussions across community programs and youth employment networks.
By grounding decisions in youth-reported data, the City strengthened its ability to respond to emerging issues and align programs with young peoples’ expressed needs and hopes.
Key takeaways
Accessing data from the Youth Survey reinforced the value of combining local program knowledge with independent, large-scale youth data. Key learnings included:
- Cost of living pressures are having a significant impact on young people’s wellbeing and mental health
- Young people remain hopeful and goal-oriented, with strong aspirations around employment and housing
- Youth Survey data is a powerful tool for shaping planning, partnerships and advocacy when translated into local action
The City of Gold Coast’s use of the Mission Australia Youth Survey demonstrates how councils can use youth-reported data to strengthen evidence-based planning, align programs with young people’s lived experiences, and support more responsive, youth-centred community outcomes.