When a Year 11 student told politicians that teenagers need somewhere to go

When Charlie S. stood in front of local, state and federal politicians, he did not ask for another youth program.

He asked for somewhere teenagers could simply go after school.

Charlie is the Wellbeing Prefect at St Augustine's College and a member of the Northern Beaches Youth Advisory Group. He was speaking at Have Your Say Day 2026, an annual forum where student leaders from schools across the Northern Beaches present to elected representatives on issues affecting young people. The data collected from those speeches is taken to Parliament House in Canberra and used to inform policy.

The issue he chose to speak about was something many people in the room had probably never heard described by name: third spaces.

A third space is anywhere outside home and school where young people can connect, unwind and feel they belong without needing to spend money. A basketball court. A skate park. A footy oval. Somewhere to sit with friends after school without being asked to move on.

The places where teenagers once gathered after school are becoming harder to find. As those informal gathering places go, the friendships built there, the conversations had, the time simply spent together, tend to go with them. Those connections don't move online automatically. Often, they are just lost.

In Australia, about one in three young people report feeling lonely, a figure that has been rising for years. Research consistently links access to informal social spaces to lower rates of loneliness in young people. Third spaces are part of what holds that off.

"For many people in this room, this can mean a footy field, a basketball court or simply somewhere to hang out with mates after school," Charlie told the forum. "I'm sure many of you can relate to the idea of 'if you are stressed you can go for a run, go to the gym, go kick a footy.' That's the importance of third spaces."

Charlie wasn't speaking in theory.

For three years, he had worked with the Northern Beaches Youth Advisory Group on exactly this issue. Before that presentation, he had spent seven months developing it alongside students from eight other schools.

"That's the importance of advocacy," he said. "It's not always loud, not always exciting, but if it can reach one person in the room, and convince them to change, speak up, help another or inspire them to advocate for their own issue, then that is a win."

He was 17.

At St Augustine's College, opportunities like Have Your Say Day build on the work students do through the AWE (Augustinian Wellbeing in Education) program, which encourages reflection, service and a sense of responsibility for others. Charlie's presentation wasn't an assignment. It grew from an issue he genuinely cared about.

The College sits on the Northern Beaches, one of the areas Charlie was specifically addressing. For the boys here, the question is local. Where do they go after sport finishes? Where does the informal stuff happen, the conversations, the time to decompress, that school itself can't provide?

Charlie took those questions directly to the people with the power to do something about them.

Near the end of his speech, he offered the room a piece of advice.

"Find something you are passionate about. Seek out the injustices of the world. Call out the rogue joke that your mate makes. Stand up for the people who can't stand up for themselves."

By that point he wasn't really talking about third spaces. He was talking about what you do when you notice something is wrong.

Charlie's speech wasn't really about basketball courts or park benches.

It was about what happens when young people have somewhere they belong.

Where are teenagers supposed to go?

To find out more about the AWE program and student wellbeing at St Augustine's College, visit our pastoral care and wellbeing pages. For information about the Northern Beaches Youth Advisory Group, visit the Northern Beaches Council website.