The National Youth Commission Inquiry into Youth Homelessness in 2007 was an independent community inquiry funded by he Caledonia Foundation. The NYC held 21 days of hearings in all states and territories, heard evidence from 319 individuals, received 91 written submissions including from seven government departments and held four policy forums to discuss policy issues and solutions. The NYC upholds the human rights position of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission which conducted the first independent inquiry in 1987-89. It has extended this framework to the concept of ‘social citizenship’. This means that the minimum standards of everyday life for homeless people should be the same as enjoyed by other members of the community. The terms of reference of the NYC Inquiry were six objectives that examined the problem of youth homelessness but importantly sought to develop solutions in terms of the ‘adequacy of services’, ‘innovation’, recommended ‘actions to resolve and ameliorate the problem’ and finally the inquiry considered what a ‘new national accord’ to deal seriously with this problem might look like.
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