Accreditation is key to maintaining the highest standards across the Youth Foyer network.
It is a voluntary process that demonstrates the quality and excellence of service delivery in Foyers all around the country, and a safeguard to ensure the sustainability and growth of the Foyer model.
Today there are 18 Accredited Youth Foyers operating across Australia. Seven more services are preparing for accreditation and over 30 communities are wanting a Youth Foyer to unlock outcomes for young people experiencing homelessness.
Why Youth Foyer Accreditation?
Accreditation is the final, critical step that services take on their journey to becoming a Youth Foyer. It matters because it:
- Ensures young people receive the same high quality service they deserve, no matter which Youth Foyer they attend.
- Enables a service to operate with the trusted, internationally recognised Youth Foyer name.
- Provides government, funders, and the wider community with the confidence that each accredited Youth Foyer is delivering on its commitment to young people.
- Grants access to the national Youth Foyer Community of Practice network fostering shared learning, best-practice, and access to exclusive tools, training, support and offers for your team and young people.
- Supports continuous learning and improvement through self-reflection, assessment, Quality Development Plan creation, and access to benchmarking data for future service development.
“It was valuable understanding the deal more clearly and feeling the motivation and desire in the room to work in the best interest of young people.”
Natalie Kalkowski, Southern Youth Foyer Manager on 2025 Re-Accreditation training
How to become an Accredited Youth Foyer
The Foyer Foundation supports services through the Accreditation process with workshops, support and guidance materials.
Accreditation typically follows a 12-month timeline. Six months prior, services attend a Readiness Workshop to identify areas of strength and those for development before committing to the accreditation assessment. After committing to the process, services participate in three additional workshops, complete a self-assessment, and engage in a two-day validation visit by an Accreditation Assessor.
Reaccreditation involves a streamlined assessment, focusing on challenges, changes, and successes since initial accreditation. Between Accreditation cycles, a midpoint check-in helps Youth Foyers identify areas for development early.