Alternative Suspension

About Alternative Suspension

The Y is part of the oldest and one of the largest youth organisations in the world, the YMCA, and Alternative Suspension comes to Australia with nearly 30 years of successful delivery internationally. The program was developed by YMCA du Quebec and has been delivered to more than 30 communities across Canada, France and the United Kingdom.

In NSW, the Y NSW has been delivering the Alternative Suspension program since 2023. Today we deliver the program in Broken Hill, Lake Haven, Oren Park and Penrith.

Alternative Suspension transforms a student’s suspension period away from school into a positive experience, fostering personal development and autonomy. By putting disengaged students in an environment that promotes community respect, self-worth, goal setting, and the acquisition of social skills the program seeks to increase its participants’ resilience and ability to persevere in education, reducing the number of repeat suspensions.

Alternative Suspension helps to:

reduce risk factors linked to offending
keep young people connected to pro-social supports, and
interrupt escalation into justice involvement.

Our youth workers support parents, schools and participants to work together, developing action plans for the earliest and smoothest transition of the young person back into mainstream education or alternative training pathways.

Facilitated education includes:

Anger Management
Anxiety/Mental Health
Boundaries/Relationships
Bullying
Communication
Conflict Resolution.

Positive impact

Between February 2023 and June 2026, there have been 660+ participants in the program, with 79% completing the program.

Results* indicate:

59% had no further suspensions at three-month follow up
45% improvement in 'change in overall situation'
27% improvement in main presenting behaviour
44% reduction in disciplinary sanctions received, and
30% improved engagement with learning (avg. % increase).

*sample from 110 participants at three-month follow-up between 2024 and 2026:

The Future

The Y NSW recommends that the NSW Government expand access to the evidence-based Alternative Suspension program across metropolitan, regional and rural communities as part of a broader early intervention response to youth justice.