New Environment Indicators Added to Atlas

The Atlas project defines children and young people’s health and wellbeing using The Nest Wellbeing Framework, developed by ARACY, which recognises that wellbeing is shaped by multiple, interconnected domains. The framework is operationalised in the Atlas through six core themes - Healthy, Material Basics, Learning, Participating, Identity and Culture, and Valued, Loved and Safe - providing a holistic, strengths‑based lens for understanding what children and young people need to thrive.

Insights from ARACY’s 2024 Young & Wise meta‑analysis of child and youth voices highlight a growing concern about the natural environment, with children and young people identifying climate change, environmental degradation, and environmental safety as key influences on their current and future wellbeing. These findings reinforce the role of the environment as a critical determinant of health.

In response, the Atlas is introducing a new theme, 'Living in a Sustainable Environment' (Environment). The initial release of this theme includes three indicators developed through a collaboration with AusEnHealth:

• Climate: measures of extreme heat and cold

• Air Quality: average pollutant concentrations and exceedance days for PM2.5 (fine particulate matter)

• Adaptive Capacity: reflecting the resilience of health services and the natural environment to environmental stressors

This new theme reflects the fast-growing importance of climate, air quality, and ecological resilience in shaping health and wellbeing outcomes of young Australians.