Australian Young Labor (AYL), also known as the Young Labor Movement or simply Young Labor, is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) representing all party members aged between 14 and 26. The organisation operates as a federation with independently functioning branches in all Australian states and territories which serve under the relevant state or territory branch of the federal Labor Party, often coming together during national conferences and federal elections. Young Labor is the oldest continuously operating youth wing of any political party in Australian history, being first founded in 1920.
The first officially sanctioned Young Labor group was formed in Western Australia in March 1920 as the Young Labor League.
The Labor Guild of Youth was established in Victoria in 1926, followed by the Labor Guild of New South Wales the following year. The first provisional meeting of the ALP's National Youth Council was held in 1948 as an effort to revitalise Young Labor branches that had become dormant during World War II. By the 1960s most states had created young labor organisations, usually called the Young Labor Association (YLA). In the early 1970s there was a move to set up a permanent national organisation. In 1971 leaders of several state YLAs met in Adelaide to constitute a national body and the first conference was held in Adelaide in early 1972 with future federal parliamentarian Bob McMullan elected as the first national president. Australian Young Labor (AYL) was included in the constitution of the ALP in 1973.
Ideology
Australian Young Labor promotes social democracy and democratic socialism with a focus on issues relevant to younger Australians. AYL advocates for social justice, aiming to reduce inequality and improve access to essential services like healthcare and education. It supports progressive policies on LGBTQIA+ rights, gender equality, Indigenous reconciliation, and multiculturalism. Environmental sustainability is a key concern, with AYL pushing for strong climate action and a transition to renewable energy. The organization also champions economic justice, advocating for fair wages, job creation, and workers’ rights, as well as the protection and expansion of public services, particularly in education and healthcare. AYL seeks to increase the political participation of young people and supports progressive foreign policy grounded in human rights and global cooperation. Although it aligns with ALP values, AYL often takes more progressive stances, reflecting the priorities of its younger membership.[citation needed]
National conference
Biennially Australian Young Labor holds a conference in a capital city, normally Canberra. The conference is usually held at a university campus and typically features guest speakers from the ALP. At the conference several positions are elected by delegates chosen from state branches. Fifteen executive positions are also elected. The Young Labor National President is a non-voting ex-officio representative on the Australian Labor Party National Executive.
Notable conference action
The inaugural Australian Young Labor Conference, held in Adelaide in 1972, drew controversy following the alleged surveillance of conference delegates by Australian Federal Police officers. The conference had suspended on the second day to vote on an urgency motion condemning the presence of police. The motion passed, and the conference adjourned to allow members to form a vocal and public protest against two federal police officers who had been stationed outside the conference venue. The protest was ultimately peaceful and no arrests were made.
At the 1973 AYL Conference and only months after the end of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, delegates had voted for Australia to "become a sanctuary" for the world's military draft resisters. Delegates had alleged the federal government had recently denied entry into the country for infamous American draft resister and activist Steve Grossman, a claim the Whitlam government refuted.
Less than three months following the controversial dismissal of the Whitlam government by Governor-GeneralSir John Kerr, the Australian Young Labor conference passed a motion for Kerr to be disallowed entry back into Australia following completion of an overseas trip. The motion was submitted by the South Australian delegation, and called on Australian trade unions to use the power of their membership base to block Kerr's return, stating "if Sir John thought he had a democratic right to dismiss Mr Gough Whitlam as Prime Minister then trade unions also have the right to withdraw their labour."
Following some division between left and right factions of the AYL in 2023 about the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, New South Wales Young Labor adopted unanimously a motion in 2025 condemning antisemitism and promoting Jewish participation in the ALP by establishing a working group to advise the executive on matters relating to anti-Semitism, inclusion and representation.
Tania Mihailuk – New South Wales Young Labor Secretary (2000)
Verity Firth – New South Wales Young Labor Vice-President (1996–1997)
Frank Crean – Victorian Young Labor President (1948–1949)
Charlotte Walker – South Australian Young Labor President (2024–2025)
Richard Dowling – Australian Young Labor International Secretary (2006–2007)
Criticism and controversy
On 8 December 2004, The Sydney Morning Herald published allegations that factional leaders within the Labor Party in New South Wales were "petty, faction obsessed and vindictive". The article, authored by Aubrey Belford, then a member of the ALP and former editor of the Sydney University student paper, Honi Soit, laments a Young Labor dominated by factional infighting, "Put simply, the party culture encourages young people to devote their energy to pursuing objectives that ultimately have no impact on the real world, and to pursue them through ritual political violence."
On 23 January 2012, president of Queensland Young Labor, Chaiy Donati came under significant criticism following links to the United States Republican Party. Online news source Crikey reported that he helped anti-war and pro drug legalisation Republican candidate Ron Paul in his fight for the primaries in New Hampshire. Ron Paul came second to Mitt Romney on the Republican Party ballot, and, as a write-in candidate, second to Barack Obama on the Democratic Party ballot in New Hampshire. On his return to Queensland, numerous factional rivalries emerged between members. Despite this, Chaiy Donati remained the right's factional leader and in 2013 secured Queensland's Kerrie Kahlon the Australian Young Labor presidency. Chaiy Donati returned to the United States in April 2016, this time working on the Democratic primaries for Bernie Sanders in a close run against Hillary Clinton.
In August 2018, Federal Labor staffer and ACT Young Labor member Nick Douros was suspended from his role in the party and quit as a staffer to Senator David Smith. The party's internal disputes tribunal upheld an allegation he and ACT Young Labor conduct contact officer Francis Claessens, and Niall Cummins—had contravened the party's code of conduct for bullying a fellow member, calling her a "rat" and saying they would make her life hell. All three men were ordered to attend mediation and undergo respectful behaviour training. The victim alleged she was targeted as a result of an internal party stoush during the pre-selection process for seats. In 2019, Nick Douros was elected national secretary of AYL.
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