Australian Child and Youth Atlas platform

WA Child Development Atlas platform

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas - ACYWA accelerates the national access to and use of spatial data to understand inequities and improve the wellbeing, health and learning of children and young people.

This unique new data asset empowers researchers, non-government, state and federal organisations to identify priorities for child health research and initiatives in meaningful and cost-effective ways.

Our vision and mission

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas - ACYWA accelerates the national access to and use of spatial data to understand inequities and improve the wellbeing, health and development of children and young people.
This data asset empowers communities, researchers, non-government, state and federal organisations to identify priorities for child health research and initiatives in meaningful and cost-effective ways.
The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas defines children’s health and wellbeing in the context of the evidence-based Nest framework of child and youth wellbeing developed by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), which includes six wellbeing domains:

ACYWA Indicators

Positive sense of identity and culture

Our goals

Deliver a freely accessible nationwide platform featuring geospatial and temporal visualisation of comprehensive child health and wellbeing indicators at local and national levels.
Provide insights into the associations between community-level factors and children's outcomes.
Help guide the development of geographically sensitive policy, which acknowledges the relationships between the spatial patterns of children’s wellbeing outcomes, and the provision of services in an area.
Identifying gaps, priorities, and research opportunities, aiding policy and investment decisions for tangible health improvements.
Expand a national network of experts in child and youth wellbeing and data monitoring, including policymakers, researchers, clinicians, and community representatives.

Our partnership

A partnership that breaks through system barriers:

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas is an exciting systemic initiative that brings together leading expertise across Australia’s child and youth research, advocacy, policy and practice fields.

The partnership has naturally evolved, driven by an exceptional motivation to collaborate and fulfill a common mission. This mission aims to revolutionise the access and utilisation of data to enhance children's health, development, and wellbeing, ultimately striving for equitable outcomes for all Australian children.

Organisations involved in the Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas include:

Our team

Associate Professor Rebecca Glauert
Scientific Director (Raine Study)
University of Western Australia
Nicola Callard
Strategic Partnerships
Children's Health Queensland
Marketa Reeves
Project Manager
University of Western Australia
- Distinguished Professor Kerrie Mengersen
  Professor of Statistics
  QUT Centre for Data Science
- Dr Aiden Price
  Centre Chief Investigator
  QUT Centre for Data Science
- Dr Claire Boulange
  Data Scientist
  University of Western Australia
- Harriette Phillips
  Masters student, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences
  QUT Centre for Data Science
- Dr Nishani Musafer
  Data Scientist
  QUT Centre for Data Science
- Dr Owen Forbes
  Data Scientist
  QUT Centre for Data Science
- Scott Sims
  Biostatistician
  University of Western Australia
- Associate Professor Kate Thompson
  Associate Professor of Digital Pedagogies
  QUT VISER
- Ben Kleverlaan
  Lead Software Engineer
  QUT VISER
- Michael Smallcombe
  Web Application Developer
  QUT VISER
- Sarah Quijano
  User Experience and Interaction Designer
  QUT VISER
- Shaun Kickbusch
  Software Engineer
  QUT VISER
- Thom Saunders
  Visualisation Specialist UX/UI design, Program Coordinator
  QUT VISER
- Anna Waters
  Chief Operating Officer, Psychologist,
  Neuropower™ Group
- Bonnie Tai
  Associate Consultant Neuropower™ Group
- Charmaine Ng
  Creative Director
  Neuropower™ Group
- Anne Hollonds
  National Children's Commissioner
- Adrian Clutterbuck
  Children's Health Queensland
- Catherine Brady
  Australian Research Data Commons
- Professor Dan McAullay
  Edith Cowan University
- Professor David Preen
  University of Western Australia
- Adjunct Professor Frank Tracey
  Children's Health Queensland
- Gabrielle Phillips
  Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
- Heather D'Antoine
  University of Queensland
- Jacqueline McGowan-Jones
  Commissioner for Children and Young People Western Australia
- Dr Jocelyn Jones
  Curtin University
- Leanne McLean
  Commissioner for Children and Young People Tasmania
- Professor Natasha Nassar
  University of Sydney
- Nichola Burton
  Australian Research Data Commons
- Nicola Callard
  Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Queensland
- Nicole Hucks
  Acting Children’s Commissioner Northern Territory
- Penny Dakin
  Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth
- Peter Robinson
  ACT Government Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate
- Associate Professor Rebecca Glauert
  University of Western Australia
- Professor Sharon Goldfeld
  Murdoch Children's Research Institute
- Zavier Wileman
  Young People Advisory Group
- Adrian Clutterbuck
  Children's Health Queensland
- Amanda Donges
  Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
- Angela Agostini
  Department for Health, Northern Territory
- Anna Lewkowicz
  Department for Education, South Australia
- Anna Waters
  Neuropower™ Group
- Antony Deck
  Department of Premier and Cabinet, Tasmania
- Bernie Morris
  Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth
- Associate Professor Bruce Bradbury
  University of New South Wales
- Catherine Brady
  Australian Research Data Commons
- Professor Craig Olsson
  Deakin University
- Dhiraj Nayanar
  Queensland Government Customer and Digital Group
- Emma Fuller
  Telethon Kids Institute
- Professor Gareth Baynam
  Australian National University
- Associate Professor Helen Leonard
  Telethon Kids Institute
- Dr Jocelyn Jones
  Curtin University
- Professor Juli Coffin
  Murdoch University
- Marketa Reeves
  University of Western Australia
- Professor Melissa Green
  University of New South Wales
- Professor Melissa Wake
  Murdoch Children's Research Institute
- Associate Professor Kate Thompson
  QUT
- Nicola Callard
  Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Queensland
- Associate Professor Rebecca Glauert
  University of Western Australia
- Professor Raghu Lingam
  University of New South Wales

First Nations children and young people

In the Atlas prototype, data has not yet been disaggregated for First Nations children and young people. This decision arises from our profound awareness of the commonly inadequate representation of wellbeing outcomes concerning First Nations children and young people.

Prior to incorporating data pertaining to First Nations children and young people, we intend to establish a robust Indigenous Data Governance structure through our Indigenous Data Sovereignty Working Group. This framework will provide guidance to ensure the accurate inclusion and meaningful application of data related to First Nations children and young people.

Trans and Gender Diverse young people

In the Atlas prototype, data has not been disaggregated by gender identity. It only provides a breakdown based on the traditional categories of female and male.

We are profoundly aware that many young people identify with a wide spectrum of gender-diverse identities, which go beyond the binary concept of female and male. These identities include terms such as non-binary, gender fluid, gender questioning, agender, and others that best represent their gender identity.

The process of disaggregating data by these gender identities presents several challenges. Often, existing data collection methods do not yet capture this information, and even when they do, privacy concerns may necessitate data suppression due to small sample sizes or data quality issues.

The ACYWA project is committed to working on finding ways to overcome these obstacles. Our objective is to directly engage with trans and gender-diverse youth to understand their preferences regarding how their data should be represented.

An increasing body of research into wellbeing outcomes of gender-diverse people has revealed that gender-diverse children and youth face notably more challenges across multiple aspects of wellbeing, performing comparatively worse than other vulnerable groups across specific measures.¹

¹Commissioner for Children and Young People WA 2023, The Wellbeing of Trans and Gender Diverse Youth, [cited 2023 October 10]. Available at: https://www.ccyp.wa.gov.au/our-work/projects/the-wellbeing-of-trans-and-gender-diverse-youth/

https://www.ccyp.wa.gov.au/media/5127/trans-and-gender-diverse-full-report.pdf