Youth Law Australia

What Youth Law Australia does

Youth Law Australia is a non-profit community legal centre providing free, confidential legal information, advice, and referrals to children and young people under 25 across Australia. Founded in 1992 and operated by the National Children's and Youth Law Centre (NCYLC), the organization is the only technology-based community legal centre serving young people nationwide, delivering services via phone, email, webform, and live chat across all eight Australian states and territories. It serves more than 6,000 clients annually and handles the largest volume of children of any community legal centre in Australia, though it is unable to serve approximately 3,000 additional young people per year due to capacity constraints.

The organization operates a Legal Topics Database covering 15 topic areas including employment, housing, family law, welfare, violence, and consumer rights, with jurisdiction-specific content for each state and territory. Its technology stack includes the Lawmail content management system built on Jira and the CLASS case management system for secure client file storage. A specialized Young Workers' Rights Service provides targeted employment law advice for young workers in NSW, ACT, and NT, and a dedicated partnership with the University of Tasmania offers student-specific legal support. The Director is Matthew Keeley.

Youth Law Australia is funded through a combination of government grants (as an accredited community legal centre), individual donations, and a structured donor program called "The Advocates" with tiered giving levels ($1,000–$5,000+ annually). All services are provided free of charge to end users. The organization holds NACLC accreditation and ACNC registered charity status, and is recognized as an Australian Government initiative. Its distribution model relies on digital self-service, telephone helplines, referral networks from schools and community organizations, and institutional partnerships.

Name

Youth Law Australia

Legal name

National Children's and Youth Law Centre

Website

https://yla.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Youth Law Australia is a non-profit community legal centre providing free, confidential legal information, advice, and referrals to children and young people under 25 across all eight Australian states and territories via phone, email, webform, and live chat.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Legal Aid Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Child and Youth Services (62411), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Legal Aid) (BPADADAH), Child Rights & Protection (BPADAGAG), Legal Literacy & Public Legal Education (Know Your Rights) (EDAAAFAI)

Keywords

• Youth legal aid
• Community legal services
• Free legal advice
• Children rights law
• Employment law assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Youth Law Australia operates as a registered charity (ACNC) and accepts tax-deductible donations. The Advocates program invites donors to contribute $1,000+ annually (Ally $1,000, Defender $2,500, Champion $5,000 tiers) or make bequests.
2. Government Funding: As a community legal centre, Youth Law Australia receives government funding for providing legal services to young people. The organization collects sensitive information (with consent) for funding purposes and service assessment.
3. Free Legal Services: All legal information, advice, and referrals are provided free of charge to young people under 25. Services are delivered via phone, email, webchat, and webform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Youth Law Australia is a technology-based community legal centre that provides free, confidential legal information, advice, and referrals to children and young people under 25 across Australia. Services are delivered via phone, email, webform, and live chat, covering topics such as employment, housing, family law, welfare, violence, and consumer rights. The organization operates across all 8 Australian states and territories with jurisdiction-specific legal content and a specialized Young Workers' Rights Service for NSW, ACT, and NT.

Product overview

Youth Law Australia operates as a technology-based community legal centre offering free, confidential legal information and advice for young Australians under 25. The core offering combines an online legal topics database covering employment, family, housing, finances, and welfare matters with direct support channels (phone, email, webform, live chat). A specialized Young Workers' Rights Service provides targeted employment law assistance in NSW, ACT, and NT, while The Advocates donor program supports organizational funding. The service covers all Australian states and territories with jurisdiction-specific legal information.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Youth Law Australia Legal Information Service Free, confidential legal information, advice, and referrals for children and young people under 25 in Australia, delivered via phone, email, webform, and live chat across all 8 Australian states and territories.
• Young Workers' Rights Service Specialized employment law advice service for young people under 25 in NSW, ACT, and NT experiencing workplace issues such as unfair dismissal, wage theft, and discrimination at work.
• Legal Topics Database Comprehensive online legal information resource covering 15 topic areas (employment, family law, finances, child rights, housing, welfare, violence, etc.) with jurisdiction-specific information for all 8 Australian states and territories, freely accessible to young people under 25.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 6,000 legal services provided annually across Australia
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of TasmaniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Tasmania students have dedicated access to Youth Law Australia's legal services through a specialized phone line ((03) 7032 8200), available Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm AEDT, specifically for student legal issues.
• National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNACLC is the national body representing community legal centres. YLA follows NACLC's Risk Management and CLC Practice guidelines, including annual cross-checks for client confidentiality compliance.
• Hall & WilcoxminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm that assisted Youth Law Australia with the preparation of employment law informational material for young workers.
• Fair Work OmbudsmanminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFederal government agency that assisted Youth Law Australia with preparation of employment law informational material for young workers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Justice Connect: Australian not-for-profit that delivers legal help to people experiencing disadvantage through technology-enabled service delivery and pro bono networks. Closely comparable in tech-enabled community legal centre model and not-for-profit legal services delivery.
• Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT: Community-controlled Aboriginal legal service providing free legal advice, court representation and education in NSW and the ACT. Comparable as a free, multi-channel legal services provider serving vulnerable populations in overlapping geographies.
• Caxton Legal Centre: Queensland community legal centre providing free legal advice, casework and education to disadvantaged clients. Comparable as an Australian CLC delivering free legal services and community legal education across multiple practice areas.
• Brisbane Youth Service: Queensland non-profit supporting young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness with holistic services including legal support. Comparable in target demographic (at-risk under-25s) and integrated support model, with overlap in legal-services delivery.
• Youth Advocacy Centre: Brisbane-based independent community legal centre providing legal advice and advocacy specifically for children and young people. Directly comparable to YLA in mission (youth-focused legal services) and model (free, multi-channel legal support).
• Tenants' Union of NSW: Peak NSW body for tenants' rights providing free legal advice, advocacy and tenancy education. Comparable as a community legal-style service delivering free advice and education on a specific practice area to vulnerable groups.
• PIAC (Public Interest Advocacy Centre): Independent non-profit law and policy organisation running strategic litigation, advocacy and legal services on public-interest issues. Comparable in using legal services and advocacy to advance rights of disadvantaged groups, including children and young people.
• Lawstuff (Legal Aid ACT): Online legal information service for children and young people in the ACT, operated as a project of Legal Aid ACT. Closely comparable to YLA's youth-focused digital legal information offering, though geographically narrower.

Others

• National Legal Aid: Peak national body representing Australia's eight state and territory Legal Aid Commissions. Comparable as a sector umbrella YLA engages with via NACLC and as a potential funder/partner for youth legal aid delivery.
• Kids Helpline: Australia's free 24/7 counselling service for young people aged 5-25. Comparable as a free, multi-channel (phone, webchat) support service for under-25s and a likely referral partner/cross-promoter for YLA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/youthlawaus
• Facebookfacebook.com/youthlawaustralia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youthlawaustralia
• Instagraminstagram.com/youthlawaustralia

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Law Australia