Former teacher aide and sports coach Sonya moved to Toowoomba because she was passionate about the opportunities living in the community could provide her family. Now, after her first full year as a TRACTION mentor, she’s helping create those same opportunities for other young people.

“While we’re working on the bikes, we’re also building trust, confidence and life skills.”

When Mike* was recommended for TRACTION in Year 8, he had 19 behaviour incidents on record. A school staff member saw something in him, and they were right. With mentors who backed him every step of the way, and the chance to take on real responsibility, Mike’s incidents dropped to just two. Along the way, he found his voice and his confidence as a leader, even guiding a Federal MP on a tour of our facility. His goal now? To one day help other young people up, just like TRACTION helped him.

*Name changed to protect privacy

Over a decade of impact and putting young people’s voices first earns statewide recognition.

Big smiles and a lot of pride filled the TRACTION offices this week, as we were named winner of the Education Award, at the Children’s Week Awards ceremony in Brisbane. This award, sponsored by Creative Outpost, celebrates organisations finding creative and inclusive ways to bring children’s rights to life. This year’s finalists were recognised for creating spaces where children feel informed, included, listened to and empowered to use their voices. 

Every young Australian deserves a fair chance at education and the opportunity to thrive. But right now, the systems in place aren’t working.  

That’s why this month we took an important message to Parliament House in Canberra: to amplify the voices of young people, talk directly with federal leaders about critical issues affecting young people, and to showcase why early-intervention support programs like TRACTION are imperative.

Last month, more than a thousand people gathered in Brisbane for Philanthropy Australia’s 50th anniversary conference, united by one purpose: cultivating generosity. Two themes stood out: belonging is a powerful catalyst for giving, and the sector is shifting towards funding systems change, not just services. The encouraging part? At TRACTION, we’ve already built many of these ideas into how we work, from our BEYOND Cycling Challenge and long-term partnerships to our advocacy for earlier intervention. After 11 years of building a proven approach, we’re ready to scale, and ready to do more, together.

Many of the young people we work with have been assessed and reported on again and again, by systems that never reported back to them. At the Australian Evaluation Society’s AES26 conference in Darwin, we shared how TRACTION’s new evaluation framework flips that, building youth voice into every stage and telling their stories through strength and progress rather than deficits.

Adult and young people partnerships create confidence, shared learning and stronger, more vibrant communities for all of us. That's why we're proud to announce Spectra as a foundational partner of TRACTION in Toowoomba.

With a commitment to developing people, building capability and strengthening regional communities, Spectra is a natural partner as we create opportunities for young people to share their strengths, build skills and connect with supportive adults.

Showcasing Impact - The skills and confidence built this term.

At the end of each term, we have the privilege to talk with the young people, school representatives and parents/guardians who journey through a TRACTION program with us.

What if the biggest factor in your child's mental health isn't counselling, curriculum, or class sizes - but whether they feel like they belong?

For years, schools, government and funders have invested heavily in programs, facilities and structural reforms to improve student wellbeing. 

Yet a landmark Australian study suggests we may have been looking past something far more fundamental.

For Philanthropy Week, we sat down with Kelly Commins, Branch Manager at MGA Insurance Group, to explore what happens when a business stops asking what's in it for us, and starts asking what can we do.

For Kelly, the call to action for other businesses couldn't be clearer.

“Quite simply, if you can, then you should. No child chooses their individual circumstances and if you are in a fortunate enough position to be able to help, then you should.”

Philanthropy Week is a moment to celebrate what generosity looks like in practice. Not just the writing of a cheque, but the showing up. The willingness to invest in something long term, even before the results are guaranteed.

At TRACTION, we know what that kind of partnership looks like. We see it every term through our work with Kennards Hire.

Since the start of Term 1, we’ve been delivering our programs in Toowoomba as part of our expansion under the Youth Engagement Program (YEP) grant in our new permeant home. It's early days, but we're not just visiting, we're here to stay!

When young people are given the right environment and the chance to experience real success, the outcomes stick. For Ed, one term at TRACTION changed not just his skills - but how he saw himself.

Cindy has called Toowoomba home her whole life, and that deep-rooted connection shapes everything about the way she mentors.

Through consistency, authenticity, and a genuine belief in young people, she's helping build the confidence and self-worth of the next generation, right here in her own backyard.

When Ryder walked four Queensland MPs through the Alexandra Hills workshop, he wasn't reading from a script. He was just a young person who'd found his footing - and it showed.

His tour made it all the way to Hansard.

By Dr. Annabel Prescott

I’ve been sitting with the latest Edelman Trust Barometer, and one theme keeps surfacing: insularity.

This year’s findings point to a growing reluctance to engage with difference, and a shift in trust away from institutions towards “people like me”.

We can all see the forces driving this. But as a CEO of a not for profit supporting young people, it lands heavily.

On the evening of April 15th, TRACTION joined the Toowoomba business community for Business at Dusk - and left reminded of just how much this region cares about its young people. Here's a look at the night and what it means for what we're building together.

Last week, our founder Sandy Murdoch joined leaders across philanthropy and other frontline organisations at the launch of Tanck and Perpetual Limited’s whitepaper: From Fragmentation to Influence.

The message was clear: transformation doesn't come from isolated efforts or short-term funding. It comes from trust, alignment, and long-term partnerships.

Sandy brought TRACTION's on-the-ground perspective, reinforcing that frontline organisations aren't just service providers, we're partners in reform.

Read more about Sandy's contribution and what it means for TRACTION's strategy.

If we want different outcomes for young people, we need to listen to them and take what they say seriously.

At TRACTION, we hear from young people every day. Not in theory, but in practice. Through our programs, they tell us what’s working, what matters, and what helps them move forward.

This is what they’ve been telling us.

Youth justice doesn’t start in the courtroom. It starts years earlier - when a young person stops turning up to school, feels disconnected from learning, or falls through the cracks.

TRACTION submitted to the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s Youth Justice and Incarceration System, calling for early prevention to sit at the centre of reform.