Youth Health Forum Comments on the Job-Ready Graduates Package 

In our submission, the YHF provide comments about the proposed new Job-ready Graduates Higher Education Reform Package (the Package). While we cannot speak about nuts and bolts of university systems, we do want to share our insights on the complex requirements for someone to be considered ‘job-ready’, the concerns of restructuring university fees for universities and young people, and additional ways to support people into employment. This submission is based on the opinions and experiences of YHF members.

Most importantly, we want to emphasize the importance of including and prioritising Australia’s younger generations in discussions to maximise the positive effect that these changes can have. There is growing concern that we are leaving this generation behind and government needs to take swift and deliberate action to close the generational divide . A person’s overall health is largely determined by non-health factors: social, economic, and environmental and so we urge those evaluating these legislative changes to look beyond COVID-19 and the current economic situation, and consider the long-term impacts that their decisions will have on the health and wellbeing of future generations of Australians.