Join the eSafety Youth Council

Any young person who is an Australian resident between the ages of 13 and 24 can apply for the eSafety Youth Council. We welcome applications from young people with a diverse range of experiences, social and economic backgrounds, genders, and cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Yes, as long as you turn 13 by June 1, you are eligible to apply.

Yes, as long as you are 24 years old for at least 6 months from June 1, you can apply.

No, as long as your WWCC is valid in your state or territory, you’re good to go!

You can:

• Write your answers in the text fields of the application form or in a Word document. Responses are limited to 300 words per question.
• Record a video response and upload it to Vimeo or YouTube (please set the privacy settings to ‘unlisted’). To submit your video, provide a link in the application form.
• Email a file to youth@esafety.gov.au using the instructions on the application form. All emailed files should be a maximum size of 25MB.

You can expect the new Council to be announced in May 2026.

You will need to email us at youth@esafety.gov.au and let us know that you would like to withdraw your application.

You can expect to discuss a wide range of topics related to young people and online safety, like:

• AI and deepfakes
• algorithms
• sexual extortion and image based abuse
• digital literacy and safer online spaces
• gender stereotypes and harmful content online.

We will talk about what is important to you, and explore new ways for eSafety to support young people to have more positive online experiences.

It is important that you are able to participate safely and feel included and respected as a member of the eSafety Youth Council.

• We will ask for any requirements you have or anything else that will help you participate fully, and we will use this information to plan our meetings.
• You will meet the eSafety Youth Council support staff online before you begin. These support staff are Youth Mental Health First Aid trained.
• The confidentiality of all your contributions will be maintained unless you have given specific permission.
• If you are aged under 18 years, a parent/carer will accompany you whilst you travel to any in-person meetings.

• Access to a computer or device to join online meetings with video, audio and speaker capabilities.
• Access to a quiet space to join online meetings so that you can fully engage in meeting discussions.
• If you are under 18 years, support and consent from your parent/carer to participate in the program and possibly travel for in-person meetings.

There is no cost to you to be part of the Council. You will be provided with honorariums to compensate for your time and contributions during meetings.

Travel for in-person meetings will be facilitated by eSafety.

Meetings will be held every second month, starting in June 2026 and concluding in December 2027. Online meetings are usually held after school hours and in-person meetings are usually equivalent to a whole day.

If you are selected to join the eSafety Youth Council, you will need to commit to the following events:

• 1-on-1 introduction calls – a 15-minute online video call with the eSafety Youth Council support team.
• Induction session – a 1.5-hour online onboarding session.
• eSafety Youth Council online meetings – 1.5-hour online meetings held every second month.
• eSafety Youth Council in-person meetings – held across two days at an eSafety office in August 2026 and December 2027.

If you have a question about the eSafety Youth Council or the application process, please contact youth@esafety.gov.au.