Former Youth Councillor Billie Taylor 

Billie Taylor was a Youth Councillor during the City of Greater Bendigo Youth Council’s first term from 2019 to 2020, and in 2020 held the position of Deputy Youth Mayor. During her time with the Youth Council, she was at university, working part time in hospitality, and joined the Youth Council to build her professional capabilities, develop her skills to support her future career, and learn more about her community and the issues facing young people. Billie is now a practising lawyer at the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing in Victoria (DFFH).  

Billie really enjoyed her time with the Youth Council, despite one of the years being during the first year of the pandemic, which brought extra challenges! The skills she learnt and developed, including professionalism, advocacy, meeting etiquette, and teambuilding were very transferable to her current career. 

She also met some amazing people from different backgrounds and experiences who all shared the common goal of making Greater Bendigo a better place for the young people living in it.  

Billie would recommend the Youth Council program to anyone wanting to advocate for their community and wanting to challenge themselves and learn new skills alongside other likeminded people; and says that “as an extra bonus, it looks great on a resume!”  

For Billie, this experience also led to some other opportunities that she may not have otherwise pursued, including participating in the Youth Parliament of Victoria, joining the Headspace Youth Reference Group, completing the We Hear YOUth program, and completing the Youth Take Over project on Women in Trade.