Co-designing a youth fire intervention program with Indigenous communities in New South Wales, Australia

Youth misuse of fire is a community concern, with potentially devastating consequences. In Australia, youth misuse of fire predominantly occurs in Caucasian populations. However, Indigenous young people are disproportionately represented in statistics for misuse of fire. Evidence shows that early intervention is key to reducing youth misuse of fire, but most research has been conducted on Caucasian populations. This is concerning where evidence suggests that Indigenous communities benefit most from targeted and culturally sensitive interventions. The aim of this study was to bridge this gap by co-designing a youth fire intervention program with Indigenous communities. Between December 2023 and February 2024, Indigenous peer researchers facilitated workshops in 3 Indigenous communities in New South Wales (NSW) Australia. Community members explored what they needed and wanted in terms of youth misuse of fire intervention. Thematic analysis revealed 7 main themes: approach, connection, colonisation, education, empowerment, engagement and personnel. The results showed thematic commonalities within and between Indigenous communities. While these results may not be generalised to communities more broadly, they do indicate that there are shared considerations that must be respected when designing, developing, implementing and evaluating a culturally appropriate youth fire intervention program for Indigenous communities.