Why children and young people’s Participation Matters

This guide offers principles to help anyone working with or for children and young people. It will help you uphold their rights to participate in decisions that affect them. This includes direct practice, and policy and project roles.

It guides you to:

• create meaningful opportunities for children and young people to participate in ways that they understand and work best for them
• include children and young people in the design of services for them.

This has been developed through consultation with children, young people and professionals. It’s informed by established participation models and best practice. Principles reflect what genuine participation looks like in real settings. These principles reflect years of consistent and clear advice from children and young people about what they need to be safe, supported and heard.

This is not a checklist. It is a way of working that promotes authentic engagement and respectful partnership between adults and children. It’s about ensuring children and young people are

listened to, taken seriously, and that their views influence decisions. It reinforces a clear expectation that when decisions are made for or about children and young people, their voices must be sought, heard and given weight.  

The principles in this guide are grounded in a rights-based approach. Child and youth participation is not optional or discretionary – it is our responsibility. These principles set out:

• what this looks like in practice
• how information must be shared so it is understood
• how power must be actively balanced
• how feedback must lead to visible action and change. At DECYP we’re committed to upholding these rights at every stage of our work. Our belief is that the rights of children and young people are upheld in all that we do. This includes the right to influence decisions that affect them.

To do so means involving children and young people in the designing, planning, implementing, delivery, and review of decisions that affect them. When we include them, their voices and experiences influence the outcomes they need. This leads to meaningful change.

These principles guide how we think, act and make decisions. They position participation as a right, not a choice and embed it as standard practice across all our work. They define what we stand for and what children and young people should expect from us.

Below you will find international rights and best practice to support your practice.

• The Convention on the Rights of the Child
• UNC on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People
• Child and Youth Participation Flow Chart – Ireland
• Creating Child Friendly Documents – Europe
• The 7 Golden Rules for Participation – Scotland
• National Framework for Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision Making – Ireland

The principles are:

• developed through consultation with children, young people and professionals
• informed by participation models and best practice
• reflective what genuine participation looks like in real settings.   

The six principles in this guide come from what we heard during our statewide consultations. We listened to what children, and young people have consistently been telling adults over many years on what they need.  The A*VOICE principles provide a practical framework for meaningful participation by ensuing children and young people are informed, heard respected and supported to influence decisions that affect them.

Across Tasmania, DECYP and YNOT asked children and young people, and adults who work with them, what meaningful participation looks like for them. We asked young people what helps them feel empowered and what makes it harder to have their voices heard.

We listened carefully to their ideas, stories and suggestions.

As we reviewed what we heard, some clear messages came up often. Children and young people said they wanted to be listened to, respected and included in decisions that affect them.

They told us they need clear information so they can take part with confidence.

They also said it is important to feel safe, supported and valued when sharing their views.

Children and young people also wanted to know that their voice made a difference. They said participation should be more than just being asked for their opinion. They want to see how their ideas have been considered and understand what happens next. They told us that being part of decision making helps them feel heard, respected and empowered.

The six principles bring these common themes together. They reflect the experiences and hopes that were shared with us throughout the consultation process.

The principles turn what we heard into action.

A*VOICE helps organisations to create participation opportunities where children and young people feel informed, included, and respected. They ensure we are accountable and provide a safe and ethical space for the voice of children and young people.

Children and young people can participate in different ways, depending on the decision being made. Sometimes participation focuses on decisions that affect them individually or helping shape services and policies. Meaningful participation supports better decisions and outcomes.

Understanding these different types of participation can help you choose the right approach for your work, and for the children and young people you are working with.

Individual participation

Individual participation is when a child or young person is supported to share their views, experiences and wishes about decisions that affect their own life, and those views are listened to, taken seriously and used to inform decisions (acted upon).

Systemic participation

Systemic participation is when children and young people have meaningful opportunities to influence the policies, services and systems that affect their lives and the lives of others. Their views are actively sought, listened to and used to improve decisions, programs and practices.