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Australian Young Labor (AYL), also known as the Young Labor Movement or simply Young Labor, is the
youth wing A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...
of the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
(ALP) representing all party members aged between 14 and 26. The organisation operates as a federation with independently functioning branches in all
Australian states and territories The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereign, administrative divisions that are self-governing polities, having ceded some sovereign rights to the fede ...
which serve under the relevant state or territory branch of the federal Labor Party, often coming together during national conferences and federal elections. Young Labor is the oldest continuously operating youth wing of any political party in Australian history, being founded in 1926. Young Labor is very closely connected and integrated with its mother party, with many members of the organisation leading successful political careers after the fact. Former presidents of Young Labor have included former
New South Wales Premier The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...
Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the New South Wales Labor Party, New South Wales branch of the A ...
, current federal
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations is an Australian Government cabinet position which is currently held by Amanda Rishworth following her swearing-in on 13 May 2025 as a result of Anthony Albanese's Labor government being re-ele ...
Tony Burke Anthony Stephen Burke (born 4 November 1969) is an Australian politician serving as Leader of the House, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for the Arts. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and has served as member of ...
, former
Special Minister of State Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...
, Senator
John Faulkner John Philip Faulkner (born 12 April 1954) is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1989 to 2015. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments. After his election to ...
, current member for Maribyrnong and former federal Labor leader
Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. He also ...
, as well as various of state and federal ministers and MPs.


Formation

The Labor Guild of Youth was established in Victoria in 1926. The first provisional meeting of the ALP's Youth Council was held in 1948. By the 1960s most states had created young labor organisations, usually called the Young Labor Association (YLA). In the early 1970s there was a move to set up a national organisation. In 1971 leaders of several state YLAs met in Adelaide to set up a national body. The first conference was held in Adelaide in early 1972 and Bob McMullin was elected as first national president. ''Australian Young Labor'' (AYL) was included in the definition of the ALP in 1973.


Ideology

Australian Young Labor promotes a mix of
social democracy Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
and
democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic ideology, economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and wor ...
with a focus on issues relevant to younger Australians. AYL advocates for social justice, aiming to reduce inequality and improve access to essential services like healthcare and education. It supports progressive policies on
LGBTQIA+ rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
,
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...
, Indigenous reconciliation, and
multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
.
Environmental sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
is a key concern, with AYL pushing for strong
climate action Climate action (or climate change action) refers to a range of activities, mechanisms, policy instruments, and so forth that aim at reducing the severity of human-induced climate change and its impacts. "More climate action" is a central demand o ...
and a transition to
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
. The organization also champions economic justice, advocating for fair wages, job creation, and workers’ rights, as well as the protection and expansion of public services, particularly in education and healthcare. AYL seeks to increase the political participation of young people and supports progressive foreign policy grounded in human rights and global cooperation. Although it aligns with ALP values, AYL often takes more progressive stances, reflecting the priorities of its younger membership.


Activities and roles

Young Labor is most active during state and federal elections, campaigning in
marginal seat A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. T ...
s. The youth wing of the party may organise members to door knock an electorate or set up a stand in shopping centres to hand out political party notes. Members are often also asked to 'letterbox' party advertising. Each year Australian Young Labor holds a conference in a capital city. The conference is usually held at a university campus and typically features guest speakers from the ALP. At the conference several positions are elected by delegates chosen from state branches. Fifteen executive positions are also elected. The National Young Labor President is a non-voting representative on the
Australian Labor Party National Executive The Australian Labor Party National Executive, often referred to as the National Executive, is the executive governing body of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), charged with directly overseeing the general organisation and strategy of the party ...
.


Organisation

Each state has its own branch of Young Labor, functioning as a party unit (referred to as New South Wales Young Labor, Victorian Young Labor, etc.). Nationally, the branches are federated to the National organisation, which has its own President and executive.


Criticism and controversy

On 8 December 2004, the Sydney Morning Herald published allegations that factional leaders within the Labor Party in New South Wales were "petty, faction obsessed and vindictive". The article, authored by Aubrey Belford, then a member of the ALP and former editor of the Sydney University student paper, Honi Soit, laments a Young Labor dominated by factional infighting, "Put simply, the party culture encourages young people to devote their energy to pursuing objectives that ultimately have no impact on the real world, and to pursue them through ritual political violence." On 23 January 2012, President of Queensland Young Labor, Chaiy Donati came under significant criticism following links to the United States Republican Party. Online news source Crikey reported that he helped anti-war and pro drug legalisation Republican candidate Ron Paul in his fight for the primaries in New Hampshire. Ron Paul came second to Mitt Romney on The Republican Party Ballot, and second to Barack Obama on The Democratic Party Ballot in New Hampshire. On his return to Queensland, numerous factional rivalries emerged between members. Despite this Chaiy Donati remained the rights factional leader and in 2013 secured Queenslands Kerrie Kahlon the Australian Young Labor Presidency. Chaiy Donati later returned to the United States in April 2016, this time working on The Democratic Primaries for Bernie Sanders in a close Primary against Hillary Clinton. In August 2018, Federal Labor staffer and ACT Young Labor member Nick Douros was suspended from his role in the party and quit as a staffer to Senator David Smith. The party's internal disputes tribunal upheld an allegation he and ACT Young Labor conduct contact officer Francis Claessens, and Niall Cummins — had contravened the party's code of conduct for bullying a fellow member, calling her a "rat" and saying they would make her life hell. All three men were ordered to attend mediation and undergo respectful behaviour training. The victim complained alleged she was targeted as a result of an internal party stoush during the pre-selection process for seats. In 2019, Nick Douros was elected National Secretary of AYL. Douros was formerly a staffer for
David Smith (Australian Capital Territory politician) David Philip Benedict Smith (born 25 March 1970) is an Australian politician. On 23 May 2018, the High Court of Australia declared him elected as a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory after Labor senator Katy Gallagher was found inelig ...
and ACT Young Labor President but resigned from both roles amidst allegations of bullying which were upheld by an internal disputes tribunal.


References


External links


Australian Young Labor
official website
Australian Young Labor
on Facebook {{DEFAULTSORT:Young Labor, Australian
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
Australian Young Labor Australian Young Labor (AYL), also known as the Young Labor Movement or simply Young Labor, is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) representing all party members aged between 14 and 26. The organisation operates as a federation ...
Australian Labor Party
Australian Young Labor Australian Young Labor (AYL), also known as the Young Labor Movement or simply Young Labor, is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) representing all party members aged between 14 and 26. The organisation operates as a federation ...
1926 establishments in Australia