Information for Young People Aged 11-17

Why is Young Minds: Our Future important?

Young Minds: Our Future is a national survey to learn how children and young people in Australia are feeling — especially when it comes to mental health and wellbeing.

This study gives us the chance to see how mental health for young Aussies has changed over the past decade and find out what we still need to do to make things better for everyone.

Your voice matters!  Whether you’ve had mental health challenges or not, the team wants to hear from all kinds of children and young people. What you share can help improve services and support for others your age. By taking part, you’re helping shape a better future for young people across Australia.

Parents & Carers

Your support makes this possible. By encouraging your child to take part, you’re helping build a clearer picture of what young people are experiencing today. The insights from this study will guide future services, resources, and supports—not just for your family, but for communities across the country.

Together, we can help create a stronger, more responsive system that truly meets the needs of children and young people.

Learn more about the interview process in YMOF

We understand the interview process might be a little confusing! To help better understand, watch the 2 minute video, showing a step by step of what to expect!

For further information visit our Information about Data Linkage page.

Below are some questions you might have before deciding to take part in YMOF:

Any families with children aged 4-17 years and living in certain areas will be able to participate. This is designed to ensure the data is representative of all Australians.
If you are eligible to participate, a Roy Morgan interviewer will leave a brochure (a digital version can be found below) and pre-approach letter (PAL) in your letterbox prior to knocking on your door.

The survey’s will happen at home if that works for your family. 

Young people aged 11-17 years will complete their part using a tablet – it will be an online questionnaire they fill out themselves – at the same time the parents are completing their face-to-face interview.

The parent survey will be approximately 60 minutes, and the youth survey will take up to 30 minutes.

To express our gratitude, parents/carers will receive a $100 EFTPOS gift card. Young people participating will receive a $50 EFTPOS card. 

Resources
Young People FAQs

Still have questions about participating as a young person?

Maybe.

We will be inviting some children 11-17 years of age to participate. If your family is invited to take part in the survey, you might be asked to join too!

Before you can join, your parent needs to say it’s okay by giving permission or consent.

If invited, you will be asked to take part in completing a questionnaire on your own.

Anyone in your family including your parents will not be able to see your answers.

No.

Participation is voluntary, and you’ll only do the survey if you give your consent and are aged between 11-17 years.

No.

Nothing bad will happen to your family if you choose not to join. If your family gets money or help from the government, that won’t change. It also won’t affect how your school or doctor treats you.

Only one child from each family will be chosen to take part in the survey. The choice is made randomly, like picking a name out of a hat. This means that it could be you, your brother, your sister, or another child in your house. But only one will be invited to join.

Your family was randomly selected from all the families and houses in your neighbourhood. Your neighbourhood was also randomly selected using a computer program.

No.

We did not invite your family based on mental health or wellbeing. The research team, including those who will conduct the interviews, have no knowledge of the individual circumstances of the invited families.

The study will invite a wide range of families with children 4-17 years of age, regardless of their experiences. This approach helps build a more complete picture of children’s mental health and wellbeing across Australia.

You were selected at random using a computer program. We did not invite you based on any information apart from your age. We have no knowledge about your mental health or school.

Participation is by invitation only. This is so that we can ensure that the sample is representative of all young people not just those who are interested in mental health.  If your friend lives in one of the selected survey locations, an interviewer may visit their home to invite their family to take part.

We’d really appreciate it if you encourage them to say yes if they’re invited!

By joining our survey, you’re helping leaders and health professionals in our country and communities to learn more about how young people, like yourself, feel and what they need to stay healthy and happy.

This can help make better programs and services for young people and their families. Your answers can really help make things better for others.

And to say thank you, you’ll get a $50 EFTPOS gift card you can use in stores.

You will be asked about your general health and wellbeing, mental health, smoking, alcohol and drug use, and any difficulties you faced during childhood.

You can skip questions you do not wish to answer.

No, you will not get in trouble no matter what your answers are. The survey includes questions about behaviours that are restricted for people under 18 (such as alcohol or drug use), but there are no consequences if you answer yes to these. All responses are confidential and used for research only.

No.

This survey is confidential. We won’t tell your parents or anyone in your family what you said in the survey. We also won’t tell your school or the government anything that shows your answers.

Yes.

You can talk to your parents about your answers if you want to. You’re free to share anything you feel comfortable sharing and tell them what it was like to do the survey.

This survey should not cause any distress to you.

Some questions about mental health might be uncomfortable. You don’t have to answer any questions if you don’t want to and you can stop at any time. In case you feel upset, this feeling is usually temporary.

We will be giving everyone who participates some information about where you can access support if you do become upset or distressed.

If you feel upset while doing the survey, you can tell the interviewer—they’re there to help you.

You can also take a break anytime, or even stop the survey if you want to.

After the survey, we’ll give you some info about where you can get help if you’re feeling upset or worried.

No.

We won’t be able to tell you if you have a mental health problem.

Your answers will be mixed with answers from lots of other young people, so we can’t give personal results.

Later, we’ll share a report on what we learned from everyone’s answers, and it will be on our website.

If you’re worried about your mental health, it’s best to talk to your doctor—they can help you more directly.