A BETTER WORLD designed with YOUNG PEOPLE
Delivering impact
YLab is a social enterprise dedicated to helping you design better services, policies and products with young people.
We are the proud winner of the 2025 Good Design Award of the Year and Best in Class across two categories (Social Impact, Education & Service Design) for our project, Deadly Democracy.
You can read an in-depth article about the award-winning project here.
We also took home a Gold Good Design Award and Victorian Premier’s Design Award Best in Category (Design Strategy) for our project, Co-designing a Plan for Victoria.
You can read the case study about the award-winning project here.
OUR CLIENTS
Our model
DOUBLE THE IMPACT
We don’t just design better systems, we provide young people with employment and training to lead the work, doubling the impact of our partnerships.
Our Associate model embeds young people in our projects through meaningful paid employment. By combining real work with training and support, Associates help redesign systems and services while building skills, confidence and career pathways.
Our work
IMPACT SNAPSHOT
295
10,000+
50c
Of every dollar invested by clients went directly to employing and training young people
Total hours of paid work for young people
Young people coached and trained in 2024 alone
190
95%
Young people employed since YLab began
Of our young people said that their skills increased working with YLab
Solving complex problems
THE WORK WE DO
We move beyond conventional problem-solving to explore lasting solutions. We employ the very same young people who engage with our clients’ products, services, policies and programs.
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From Strategy to Shared Power: A Youth-Led Forum at Parliament House
We co-designed the Victorian Youth Strategy Forum, a youth-led event at Parliament House delivered in partnership with the Office for Youth.
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Good News Melton: Local, Youth-led Storytelling
We received funding from the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) to place young people at the heart of the City of Melton’s storytelling, challenge negative stereotypes and elevate authentic, community voices.
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Deadly Democracy
We partnered with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to create Deadly Democracy: an initiative empowering First Nations young leaders across Australia with the skills and knowledge to better engage in our democratic process.
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Co-designing a plan for Victoria
We partnered with the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) to meaningfully embed young people’s insights and ideas into the department’s Plan for Victoria.
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Building Co-Design Capability at VicHealth
We collaborated with VicHealth to equip staff with the skills and confidence to meaningfully co-design public health solutions with young people.
FUTURE OF WORK: UNLOCKING GEN Z’S POTENTIAL IN THE WORKFORCE
A new YLab insights paper on fostering intergenerational cohesion in the Australian workplace, through the lens of young people.
Co-design & facilitation
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Strategic & service design
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Creative & media services
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First Nations co-design
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Research & insights
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Learning & development
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Lived experience advisory
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Youth engagement
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Co-design & facilitation ● Strategic & service design ● Creative & media services ● First Nations co-design ● Research & insights ● Learning & development ● Lived experience advisory ● Youth engagement ●
“Working with YLab is a meaningful, human, connected experience free from many of the factors of consultancy that don't feel genuine or unique to your own work.”
Sue Osmond, Program Delivery Manager, Life Ed Qld
