Youth Focus

What Youth Focus does

Youth Focus is a Western Australian non-profit organisation founded in 1994 that provides free, confidential mental health services to young people aged 12 to 25. Its service portfolio includes one-on-one counselling, group programs, psychoeducation, mentoring, work and study support, and community engagement initiatives. The organisation operates from eight offices across metropolitan and regional Western Australia, delivers programs in more than 50 schools, and serves as the lead agency at multiple federally funded headspace centres, including recently opened sites in Geraldton and Manjimup.

The underlying delivery model is a hybrid of in-person clinical and educational outreach combined with a recently launched online counselling platform featuring virtual waiting rooms. Specialist offerings such as Our Place (LGBTQIA+), M8D8 (young men), and Wise Minds (psychoeducation) indicate deliberate cohort segmentation. Technology is operational rather than proprietary; no AI/ML systems, predictive risk models, or proprietary data products are disclosed. Service throughput is approximately 10,000 young people per year, supported by around 111 FTE staff.

Youth Focus is funded through a diversified mix of Commonwealth and WA Government contracts (including headspace lead-agency funding), Lotterywest grants (e.g., $1.4M for the Geraldton Youth Hub), philanthropic foundations (Stan Perron), corporate partnerships, individual donations, bequests, and broadcast fundraising via Telethon (2026 beneficiary designation). The pricing model is end-user free, with revenue derived entirely from third-party funders, making funder diversification the primary financial risk variable.

Name

Youth Focus

Legal name

Youth Focus

Website

https://youthfocus.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Youth Focus is a Western Australian non-profit founded in 1994 that provides free, confidential mental health services, including counselling, education, mentoring, and work/study support, to young people aged 12-25 across eight offices and 50+ schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Mental Health Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Behavioral Health for Children & Adolescents (Youth Services) (HLAFACAL), School-Based Mental & Behavioral Health Services (EDAJAIAB), School-Based Mental Health Therapy (Licensed Clinicians) (EDAKAMAD), Mental Health Screening, Assessment & Referral Coordination (School-Based) (EDAKAMAN)

Keywords

• Youth mental health services
• Counselling support
• Mental health education
• Community outreach
• Employment assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Burswood

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual and corporate donations from supporters. The organization runs fundraising campaigns including Christmas appeals, community fundraising, and corporate partnerships to fund operations.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Bespoke corporate partnerships offering benefits including brand alignment, event invitations, Mental Notes Staff Presentations, and site visits in exchange for financial support.
3. Government Funding: Government grants and funding agreements to deliver mental health services, including Telethon beneficiary funding for counselling services in Perth, Peel and South West regions.
4. Gifts in Wills: Legacy giving program allowing supporters to leave lasting bequests to support future youth mental health services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Youth Focus provides free, confidential, professional mental health services to young people aged 12-25 across the state of Western Australia. Core services include one-on-one youth counselling, mental health education programs (Mental Notes), group programs such as Wise Minds, mentoring, Work and Study Support, and community engagement outreach. Services are delivered at no cost without requiring a formal referral or mental health treatment plan, through metropolitan and regional offices, headspace partner sites, schools, community venues, and an online counselling platform.

Product overview

Youth Focus is a Western Australian youth mental health organization offering a suite of free, confidential mental health services for young people aged 12-25. The core offering includes Youth Counselling (one-on-one professional counselling without referral requirements), complemented by mental health education programs such as Mental Notes, and Community Engagement outreach services. Additional support includes Work and Study Support (individual placement and employment assistance), Group Programs including the Wise Minds six-week skills program, Mentoring, and Youth Reference Groups for service co-design. Services are delivered across metropolitan and regional offices in Burswood, Bunbury, Peel, Albany, and Meekatharra, as well as at headspace centers in Albany, Midland, Geraldton, Northam, and Manjimup. Online Counselling via Virtual Waiting Rooms enables remote access to services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• headspace: headspace centres operated by Youth Focus in Albany, Midland, Geraldton, and Northam providing youth mental health services
• Wise Minds
• Mental Notes
• M8D8
• YES (Youth Enhanced Service)

Products and services

• Youth Counselling Free, confidential one-on-one professional counselling provided by qualified registered Youth Counsellors for young people aged 12-25, with no referral or mental health treatment plan required.
• Work and Study Support

Quantifiable outcome

• Close to 10,000 young people assisted annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supportive.

• headspacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth Focus is the lead agency at headspace sites in Albany, Midland, Geraldton, Northam, and Manjimup. These centers provide comprehensive youth mental health services including mental health, general health, alcohol and drug services, and vocational/educational support.
• WACOSS (WA Council of Social Service)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO Derry Simpson appointed to WACOSS Board for two-year term. Organizations aligned in responding to social issues and working towards a fairer, more compassionate Western Australia.
• Avon Community ServicessupportiveStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide mentoring and mental health support for young people in the Wheatbelt region.
• City of SwansupportiveStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with headspace Midland and Youth Focus on the Our Place LGBTQIA+ safe-space program.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Others

• Telethon (Channel 7 WA): Annual fundraising event that is Youth Focus's primary beneficiary funder. Not a peer in services but a key funding counterpart whose annual cycle materially drives Youth Focus's revenue — included because the funding relationship is structurally central to the organization's operations.

Regional players

• Anglicare WA: Major Western Australian community services non-profit. Comparable as a WA-based non-profit social services provider serving vulnerable populations, though with broader mandate including family services, aged care and homelessness.
• Relationships Australia WA: Western Australian community-based relationship and family support services. Comparable as a WA non-profit social services provider that delivers counselling and community programs, though focused on family/relationship services rather than youth-specific mental health.

Broad incumbents

• Kids Helpline: National 24/7 counselling service for young people aged 5-25 operated by yourtown. Comparable in target demographic and free-service model, but with a phone/digital crisis-support delivery model versus Youth Focus's in-person counselling approach.
• Mission Australia (youth services): Large national non-profit providing youth homelessness, mental health and employment services. Comparable as a non-profit delivering youth counselling and work-and-study support programs with similar funding mix of government grants and donations.
• Lifeline Australia: National crisis support and suicide prevention service. Comparable as a non-profit mental health organization competing for similar donor and government funding, though focused on crisis lines rather than ongoing youth counselling.
• Beyond Blue: Australia's largest mental health organization with broader demographic coverage (not youth-specific). Comparable as a non-profit mental health provider competing for the same donor pool and government funding, though Beyond Blue serves all ages.

Direct peers

• ReachOut Australia: Online mental health service for young Australians. Comparable in target demographic and digital-first delivery (similar to Youth Focus's virtual waiting rooms); however, ReachOut is peer-support-led while Youth Focus uses registered clinicians.
• headspace (National): National youth mental health foundation. Youth Focus operates as the lead agency at multiple headspace sites in WA, making it both a partner and a regional delivery vehicle for headspace's national model — directly comparable in target audience (12-25) and service offering.
• Orygen: Australia's leading youth mental health research and clinical services organization. Comparable in target demographic (12-25), clinical counselling focus, and non-profit structure, though Orygen operates nationally with a stronger research mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youth-focus-wa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Youth Focus