Kiama Youth Centre Closing
A youth mental‑health and welfare centre in Kiama, New South Wales, is set to close because of a council budget crisis, and community members warned the closure could increase youth suicide risk. Reporters note the closure will likely shift unmet need back onto schools and other stretched services. (abc.net.au)
Kiama’s council-run youth centre is set to close within months as Kiama Municipal Council cuts services to plug a budget hole. (abc.net.au) Kiama SENTRAL Youth Services opened in 1993 and offers free help with mental health, domestic violence, homelessness and activities for local teenagers. The service is run by three staff and supports dozens of young people on the New South Wales South Coast. (abc.net.au) The closure is tied to Kiama Council’s effort to cover a $4.5 million deficit after councillors backed a package of cuts at an extraordinary meeting on April 7, 2026. The same package includes reduced library hours, leased-back vehicles, lower sports-field maintenance and cuts to non-essential staff. (abc.net.au; kiama.nsw.gov.au) The budget pressure did not start this month. Kiama Council’s long-term financial plan says the council is operating under a Performance Improvement Order, a formal state directive requiring it to restore financial sustainability. (kiama.nsw.gov.au) Under that order, the council must balance its budget by June 2027 or risk administration, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s reporting. That deadline has turned a local budget exercise into a fight over which frontline services survive the next financial year. (abc.net.au; kiama.nsw.gov.au) Parents and mental-health workers told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the loss of a free drop-in service could leave teenagers without an easy place to ask for help. Penny Rushby-Smith, whose 15-year-old son Felix has used the centre for three years, said the service gave him “another trusted adult” during the move into high school. (abc.net.au) Rushby-Smith also said Kiama had already experienced “a series of youth suicides,” and warned that breaking ties between young people and youth workers could be dangerous. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that schools and other local services are already stretched. (abc.net.au) The cuts have drawn wider backlash beyond the youth centre. Local coverage before the vote said the draft budget also pointed to about 30 job losses and at least $5.4 million in savings, while residents and unions urged councillors to slow down or find other options. (illawarramercury.com.au; newshub.medianet.com.au) The next step is public consultation. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the draft budget will go on public exhibition later in April, leaving Kiama residents one more chance to argue that balancing the books should not mean shutting the door on teenagers who need free support. (abc.net.au)
