Young people across NSW will have more opportunities to connect, make friends and learn skills, with the Minns Labor Government opening applications for more than $4 million in youth grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s part of the Minns Labor Government\u2019s commitment to better support young people in New South Wales, led by the newly-established Office for Youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Office for Youth has found that young people consistently ask for more government support to build third spaces where they can find a sense of community and belonging offline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The enhanced funding package will support projects that help young people aged 8 to 24 make friends, develop confidence, and access new opportunities in the school holidays, regardless of where they live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The $4 million youth grants package brings together funding through Connect IRL Phase 2, Youth Week 2027 and Holiday Break Autumn and Winter 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building on the first round of Connect IRL funding, which was developed in response to young people’s calls for more opportunities to connect face-to-face and foster a sense of belonging, the centrepiece of the package is the next round of Connect IRL grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than $3 million available to councils, not-for-profits and community organisations to deliver practical initiatives that help young people strengthen social connections, build independence and create pathways into education and employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It comes as thousands of young people across NSW take part in free activities funded through the latest Holiday Break Spring and Summer 2026-27 round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than $780,000 has been awarded to 93 councils and community organisations to deliver activities ranging from sporting clinics and robotics workshops, to drumming, dumpling-making and outdoor adventure programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Minns Labor Government is committed to ensuring young people can access meaningful opportunities regardless of where they live, with programs reaching metropolitan, regional, rural and remote communities across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Applications for all three grant programs will be open from 9 October 2026 to 6 November, with successful applicants notified in early 2027. Visit the NSW Government grants and funding finder<\/a> to find out more and apply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Youth Rose Jackson said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYoung people have told us they want and this is about acting on it. We\u2019re investing in programs that will create new spaces for young people to connect with each other and their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese grants are about backing local organisations and councils that know their communities and can create meaningful opportunities for young people close to home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhether it’s creating a new youth hub, delivering a Youth Week event, or running holiday activities, these programs will help ensure young people have more places to meet and hang out in real life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Advocate for Children and Young People Katherine McKernan said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018We know positive outcomes are strongest when programs are designed around what young people need and value, and children and young people have played an important role in shaping the priorities behind this investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ‘These grants will support local organisations to deliver practical initiatives that help young people navigate important stages of life, from developing independence and employment skills to building stronger support networks in their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ‘Importantly, young people’s experiences and insights have helped shape these funding priorities, ensuring investment is directed towards areas where it can make the greatest difference.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Young people across NSW will have more opportunities to connect, make friends and learn skills, with the Minns Labor Government opening applications for more than $4 million in youth grants. It\u2019s part of the Minns Labor Government\u2019s commitment to better support young people in New South Wales, led by the newly-established Office for Youth. The … Continue reading “$4 million to give young people more places to connect offline”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41144"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41145,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41144\/revisions\/41145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}