COVID-19: NSW Regional Youth Taskforce Tamworth and Armidale members discuss pandemic pressures on young people

Enter the NSW Regional Youth Taskforce.

While it might sound like a superhero league, it's a team of 18 dedicated youth advocates that include Tamworth's Ryan Dwight and Armidale's Laura Murray who report directly to Minister for Regional Youth Bronnie Taylor.

The future is a big concern for young people either in the midst of their Higher School Certificate or looking for job opportunities after university or TAFE, Mr Dwight said.

"I know a lot of young people who work in retail, hospitality or casual jobs and the biggest concern is what the future holds and how to re-establish businesses that offer jobs to young people," he said.

"Mental health is big in that respect and we need to reassess the way we look at COVID-19 restrictions.

"The community would agree the restrictions are inconsistent, you can't go to mental health providers that are face-to-face but you can go to Coles and be around the whole town."

JobKeeper and JobSeeker allowances were also high on the priority list for young people who had lost casual work or struggled to gain meaningful employment with statewide lockdowns.

The JobKeeper payment is due to end on September 27 and has caused anxiety for young people who are looking to grow their careers.

It's part of the reason why the taskforce is so needed, Mr Dwight said.

"It's vitally important for state and federal governments to have young people engaged in policy decisions," he said.

"It's crucial we see a continuation or expansion of the taskforce to get more young people involved."

The taskforce most recently gave feedback to the Minister for Education about the unique challenges regional students face completing their HSC online in the pandemic.

That feedback included issues around accessing school counselling and support services from home.

It also worked with Minister Taylor on education reform, digital connectivity, and helped push for an online service to provide learner drivers with a faster way of progressing to their P2 licence.

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It means young people don't need to travel to Service NSW but can finalise applications online.

Armidale's Laura Murray said young people have been more isolated lately and have concerns about financial wellbeing.

"I think it's overwhelmingly a sense of uncertainty that everyone is facing," she said.

"Many have lost their jobs or have had their hours reduced.

"It has also meant that some university students can't undertake their final placement so that they can graduate and get a job."