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About Us

Step 1: Get Published - Be a Guest Reporter!

If you’re between 16 and 25 and currently living in Victoria, then we want YOU to write for Youth Central! We’re after reviews, interviews and articles about the things that you’re interested in and the experiences you’ve had.

The short version

  • Send us your idea
  • Get the go-ahead and write it up
  • Get published
  • Score a prepaid Visa gift card
  • Submissions can be text, audio or video
  • Get four things published & join the Roving Reporter Team

Heard enough? Head straight to the pitch an idea form.

Your idea got the thumbs-up already? Head straight to the submit an article form.

The long version

Writing for Youth central is pretty straightforward. Just think of something you want to write about, or make a podcast or video about, get in touch to run the idea past us, and if we like it we’ll send you away to write it (or record it)!

Note that when we say "get in touch", we REALLY DO MEAN get in touch – if you don’t, you run the risk of writing about something we’re not able to publish, or that we’ve already covered, which would be a real waste of your time.

Before you submit an idea, check out our Guide to Writing for Youth Central to make sure you're familiar with what we do and don't publish. It also has information for when you actually get down to writing too, including word limits and audio/video formats.

Once your idea's approved, you should also check out our Writing Resources page, which has advice on research and interviewing, as well as tips on writing and photography for the web. You can also download a copy of our official Writing for the Web handbook on that page, which goes into much more detail about those subject areas.

If your article is published on Youth Central it’ll be featured on our homepage and our Facebook and Twitter pages. For each article published we will send you a prepaid Visa debit card as an expression of our gratitude.

We invite you to submit as often as you like. Once you’ve racked up two published articles, if you want to continue being paid to write for us, you will need to apply to join the Roving Reporter Team. Joining the Roving Reporter Team will give you access to more opportunities to write for Youth Central. You'll also to be paid actual money for your words.

Find out more about this opportunity on our Roving Reporters page.

Get Going!

If that’s all clear enough, and you’ve got your idea ready to go, then you should use the link below to submit your article idea to Youth Central’s content editor:

Pitch an idea for consideration

If you’ve already submitted an idea and had it approved by Youth Central’s content editor, then you can use the link below to submit your final article:

Submit your article for publication

If you have any further questions about contributions to Youth central, get in touch with the Content Editor at youthcentral@dhs.vic.gov.au.

 Terms and Conditions: Youth Central Guest Reporters

  • Anyone living in Victoria who is between the ages of 16 and 25 can submit articles for publication on Youth Central.
  • Anyone living in Victoria who is between the ages of 12 and 25 can submit an idea for an article or review to Youth Central.
  • Before articles can be submitted, authors must use the Submit an Idea form (new window) to approach Youth Central's Content Editor with a proposal for the article.
  • Article ideas will be responded to within two weeks of submission.
  • If an idea is accepted, the content editor will contact the author to discuss submission of an initial draft of the proposed material, including a deadline for submission.
  • Articles that are submitted without prior approval from Youth Central’s Content Editor will not be accepted for publication.
  • Authors must indicate that they have read and agreed to these Youth Central guest reporter terms and conditions before submitting an article for publication.
  • If an extension of the submission deadline is required, the author must contact the content editor at least three (3) working days beforehand.
  • If the deadline for submission is not met and no extension is requested, the article will not be accepted for publication. Any guest reporter who misses two deadlines for submission will be disqualified from submitting to Youth Central in the future.
  • Guest reporters who have been commissioned to write for Youth Central must endeavour to reply to emails, text messages and phone calls from Youth Central’s content editor within two days of receiving the email, text or phone call. Any guest reporter who does not respond within this timeframe will be disqualified from submitting to Youth Central in future.
  • Articles must be submitted via the Submit an Article or Review to Youth Central form (new window). Articles not submitted via the Submit an Article or Review to Youth Central form will not be accepted for publication.
  • Youth Central will endeavcour to respond to all contributions within a week of their submission.
  • Submission of an article does not guarantee its publication.
  • Articles that are accepted for publication will be published within a maximum of four weeks of being submitted.
  • Authors will be notified about their publication on Youth Central within two weeks of publication.
  • Articles will remain on Youth Central for a minimum of six months.
  • After publication of the article the author will receive a Visa prepaid debit card as payment for their work.
  • As a guest reporter, you may contribute as many articles or reviews as you wish, but guest reporters will only receive payment in the form of Visa Debit gift cards for the first two (2) articles or reviews published on Youth Central.
  • Once an author has had two (2) articles published on Youth Central they will become eligible to apply to join the Roving Reporter Team.
  • Successful application to join the Roving Reporter Team will be determined by the quality of the application and the availability of vacancies on the Roving Reporter Team.
  • Youth Central does not publish material that is defamatory, discriminatory, offensive or pornographic, that encourages illegal behaviour, that is itself illegal, that promotes commercial interests, that promotes biased viewpoints, or that promotes inappropriate associations. Any guest reporter who submits material that fits these descriptions will receive a warning and may continue to submit to Youth Central. Any guest reporter who submits material that fits these descriptions a second time will be disqualified from submitting to Youth Central in future.
  • Youth Central does not publish material that is not the original work of the contributor. Any guest reporter who submits material that is not their own original work will receive a warning and may continue to submit to Youth central. Any guest reporter who submits material is not their own original work a second time will be disqualified from submitting to Youth Central in future.
  • Youth Central reserves the right to refuse to publish any submitted article for any other reason that does not fall within the conditions outlined above.
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