About Youth Work WA

Youth Work WA is the professional association for Youth Workers in Western Australia. Created to celebrate the incredible impact Youth Workers have, and to establish a secure future for quality Youth Work practice and education in WA.

Youth Work WA Has A Number Of Roles Including:

• Creating opportunities to celebrate Youth Work, including through international Youth Work Week and the WA Youth Work Awards.
• Developing and maintaining the Code of Ethics for Youth Work
• Setting standards for Youth Work practice and education in WA
• Developing relevant training for Youth Workers

Youth Work WA was established in 2006 in the sundowner after a Youth Affairs conference run by YACWA. The topic of the professionalisation of Youth Work had been discussed in depth by the WA youth sector for many years, including at that conference and previous conferences, with practitioners seeking a greater sense of professional identity and the protection of the profession from a number of threats.

Shortly after the conference, in 2007, the WA Association of Youth Workers Inc was incorporated by a number of key leaders in the sector. It was the first professional association for Youth Workers in the southern hemisphere. In 2015 the Association was relaunched as Youth Work WA. As was true in the initial stages, Youth Work WA remains the project of a group of committed youth work practitioners who volunteer their time to run the organisation.