Telstra Foundation Youth Advisory Council 2026: Applications Closed

Telstra Foundation Youth Advisory Council 2026: Applications Closed

The 2026 Telstra Foundation Youth Advisory Council was a paid opportunity for young people in Australia who wanted to influence work about young people and digital technology. The application round is now closed, and Telstra Foundation’s official 2026 council page shows that the council has been formed. This page is therefore a record of the latest confirmed opportunity, not an open application notice.

The official announcement described a national council that helps Telstra Foundation understand how young people experience digital technology and how it affects their lives. Members were invited to give feedback on projects, develop ideas, create content for other young people, and participate in events or media opportunities. The position description described the role as a paid casual contractor position with a remote format.

Status at a glance

The empty deadline field is intentional. It does not mean that an application is currently open or that a new date is expected on a particular schedule. It means there is no confirmed future deadline to publish. The 2026 closing date is retained above as historical status information only, not as a date a reader can still meet.

What the council was set up to do

The council was designed to bring young people into conversations that are often handled entirely by adults. Telstra Foundation said members would help it understand the needs and interests of young people in the digital world. That gives the role a practical advisory focus: members are not simply attending a youth-themed event, and they are not being asked to represent every young person in Australia. They are contributing their own observations and helping the organisation test whether its work makes sense to the people it is intended to support.

The official announcement listed several parts of the role:

• sharing views about what works, what does not work, and what should change in the digital world;
• contributing ideas and feedback to projects that support young people nationwide;
• helping create videos, stories, advice, and other creative content for young audiences;
• taking part in events and possible media opportunities; and
• connecting with other council members from different states and backgrounds.

The position description adds more detail about the working pattern. Members may help develop research, review projects and initiatives, share insights for a research report, and advise Telstra Foundation or Telstra when suitable opportunities arise. They also need to check correspondence, respond to requests, and provide feedback in a timely way. This is why the opportunity was more substantial than a single consultation session: it involved recurring meetings and small pieces of follow-up work during the council year.

The role was remote, so a member could work from home or school. The expected time commitment was approximately 2–3 hours per month, normally including no more than 1–2 meetings, with the possibility of additional hours when specific work was needed. The position description identified the arrangement as a paid casual contractor role and set compensation at $40 per hour. Those are the confirmed 2026 terms; a future round could change its pay, workload, format, or selection process.

Who the 2026 round was for

The confirmed age range was 12–18, and the opportunity was open to young people across Australia. The announcement said Telstra Foundation was interested in people who cared about technology, creativity, online safety, digital culture, or improving life for young people. It did not require a particular school subject, qualification, job history, or public profile.

The position description also said the organisation wanted a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. It specifically welcomed applications from First Nations young people; people from refugee and migrant backgrounds; mixed-gender and LGBTQIA+ communities; regional, rural, and remote communities; people living with disability; people with lived experience of mental health challenges; people from low socio-economic backgrounds; and neurodivergent people. These descriptions were invitations to broaden representation, not extra barriers that every applicant had to satisfy.

The 2026 council page now illustrates the range of people selected. It describes members aged 12 to 18 from across Australia and identifies experiences including regional and remote communities, First Nations identity, culturally diverse backgrounds, neurodivergence, disability, mental health challenges, caregiving roles, and LGBTQIA+ identities. That page confirms that the recruitment outcome is no longer hypothetical: the 2026 group is presented as an established council with named members.

A strong fit for the role would therefore have been someone able to explain how digital tools, platforms, games, social spaces, or online services affect young people in real life. Formal expertise was not the point. Useful evidence could have come from making digital content, helping peers navigate online problems, participating in a community or school group, thinking carefully about privacy or safety, or noticing where a service designed for young people misses the mark.

How the 2026 application worked

There is no active 2026 application to submit. The steps below describe the confirmed process for the closed round so that readers can understand what the opportunity required and can recognise an official announcement if a later round is published.

The application announcement and its linked instructions asked applicants to submit a video no longer than three minutes. It did not call for a polished production. The applicant was expected to speak to the camera and answer four questions:

1. Why do you want to be part of the Youth Advisory Council?
2. What strengths, skills, or perspectives would you bring to the council?
3. What excites you most about digital technology?
4. If you could change one thing to better support young people in the digital world, what would it be and why?

The 2026 process then required the applicant to upload the video and complete the information form that appeared after the upload. The original instructions also provided a contact for questions from young people or parents. Because that intake is closed, this page does not reproduce the upload link or tell readers to send a video. An old form link should not be treated as evidence that Telstra Foundation is accepting applications now.

For a future round, the safest preparation would be to wait for a fresh announcement and follow its current instructions exactly. Do not assume that a later round will use the same video length, questions, upload service, contact person, payment terms, or eligibility details. The official announcement page linked above is the appropriate place to check for a new call; no next-cycle application date is confirmed here.

What a useful video would have shown

Although the 2026 window has closed, the four questions reveal the kind of thinking the council needed. A useful response would have connected personal experience to a wider observation. For example, an applicant might describe a problem with online safety, explain how it affects people their age, and suggest a change that would make support clearer or more accessible. The important part would not have been having the most dramatic story. It would have been showing that the applicant can notice a pattern, explain it plainly, and think about what could improve it.

The strengths question could have been answered with much more than public speaking. Listening, drawing, editing video, organising a group, translating between communities, asking careful questions, understanding accessibility, or making space for quieter people could all matter in an advisory setting. The council needed people who could contribute ideas and respond to other viewpoints, not a room full of identical confident speakers.

The technology question offered room for a genuine answer rather than a sales pitch. A response could have focused on communication, creativity, learning, gaming, accessibility, connection, privacy, or another part of digital life that mattered to the applicant. The final question tested whether the applicant could move from criticism to a practical suggestion. A clear example and a specific improvement would have been more useful than a list of broad claims.

Production quality was not the central issue. The official instructions said no fancy setup was required. Clear audio, a quiet place, and a direct answer would have been enough for the closed round. Applicants also needed to avoid sharing another person’s private information when describing online experiences, especially when discussing conflict, harassment, health, or family circumstances.

Pay and practical commitment

The amount associated with this listing is $40 per hour. The position description says council members would be compensated at that rate, and it describes the work as a paid casual contractor arrangement. The role was not presented as a scholarship, prize, or one-time award. Payment was tied to time and expertise contributed as a council member.

The expected commitment was modest but ongoing: roughly 2–3 hours each month, usually with no more than 1–2 meetings, plus administrative responses and occasional project work. Anyone considering a future round should read the new position description carefully rather than relying on the 2026 estimate. A later council could set different hours or responsibilities, and selection would not guarantee a fixed number of paid hours.

What to do now

There is no current application action to take for the 2026 council. Do not use the old February application instructions, do not present the 2026 deadline as upcoming, and do not assume that the existing council page is a recruitment form. The official page currently documents the formed council.

If this opportunity interests you for a later round, keep a short record of digital issues you notice and the changes you would recommend. Save examples of constructive work with other people, creative projects, accessibility improvements, community involvement, or times when you helped explain a problem. Those notes can make a future response more concrete without requiring a formal résumé.

Most importantly, wait for Telstra Foundation to publish a new official call before preparing a submission. The pages checked for this update confirm the 2026 council and its closed application process, but they do not confirm a next-cycle opening date. Until that changes, this listing should be treated as a closed opportunity and a source of background information about the council’s 2026 terms.