Tamworth Regional Council wants to change that, by giving local youth a seat at the decision-making table through a dedicated strategy.

Councillor and youth advocate Marc Sutherland has been working with the youth council, who have developed their very own draft youth action plan.

And, for the first time, the council has dedicated $10,000 to the youth council to help them do it.

"The passion is through the roof, the capabilities are through the roof," Cr Sutherland said.

"This plan, and this approach has been put together by our youth council and now council and our staff can support the youth council in bringing this to life."

The plan has four priorities - work ready, wellbeing, connectivity and community - drawn from the government's Regional NSW Youth Action Plan.

"We haven't had a youth strategy since 2016," Cr Sutherland said.

"In the last youth strategy, young people advocated for a new youth space, which led to a new youth centre.

"Young people also advocated for more things to do outdoors, which resulted in a skate park. That plan ended in 2016, and was the driver for those two massive investments in our region."

Cr Sutherland said, to have a new plan to find out what young people want is a "massive step".

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Tamworth youth council deputy mayor Jack Lyon stressed the need for a dedicated plan for the region's youth.

"This youth strategy will be a long-term commitment towards youth and will show to you that on a local government level, the council does care for youth and their futures in Tamworth," he said.

"In the latest census, there was over 16,000 youth from age 5 to 24 living here in Tamworth and currently they do not have a long term commitment by council on any level."

Cr Sutherland said as time goes on, Tamworth's commitment to supporting young people keeps rising.

"We moved from having a youth committee many years ago, to having a formalized youth council where we have elected mayor and deputy mayor and they meet in council chambers," he said.

"And now our youth council have been offered positions on council committees and groups, which is really important that young people have a voice across all spaces of our region.

"Not just in Youth Week planning, but now in traffic control, in parks and gardens, in libraries in every space that council operate in, we and making sure that we had the voice of young people represented."

In collaboration with the University of New England and community organisations, a final version of the plan is due before the end of the year.

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