Caylus - Central Australian Youth Link Up Service

The CAYLUS mission is to support local initiatives that address substance misuse among young people.

CAYLUS started as a petrol sniffing prevention project in November 2002 from funding committed by the Howard government in response to a series of articles about petrol sniffing by the journalist Paul Toohey in The Australian. In its early years the program employed two community development workers and a caseworker. The staff initially worked across 12 communities, supporting the development of a

wide range of regionally and locally targeted petrol sniffing interventions. Program workers had good access to government decision makers, as well as a pool of funds to directly resource interventions. The program workers also had the good will of families and decision makers in many of the communities, as they had lived and worked across these communities for extended periods in other roles. CAYLUS supported interventions have included rehabilitation projects, youth programs, a responsible retail of solvents program, night patrols, policing initiatives, football carnivals, video and radio projects and more. Whilst many supply-reduction measures specifically targeted inhalants, the demand-reduction measures such as development of community-based recreation and youth programs have had a myriad of other health, substance misuse prevention and community safety outcomes. Staff initially promoted use of aviation gas as a non-sniffable fuel, along with promoting the use of the Misuse of Drugs Act (NT) to prevent dealing. The workers offered a hotline service whereby community members were able to dob in dealers of petrol, 12 dealers were reported to police in this way in the first few months of the service. CAYLUS staff worked closely with families to facilitate access to rehabilitation programs and worked with these services to varying degrees to help develop their programs and services. CAYLUS staff worked with other stakeholders to advocate to the NT government for a range of measures including better data collection, better policing around petrol sniffing and better rehabilitation options. This resulted in the introduction of the NT Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act 2005 and a complementary investment in support programs by the NT government. One of the most useful outcomes of this legislation is that it gives communities the ability to make possession of sniffable petrol illegal altogether within their bounds, thereby making petrol dealing far more difficult. With the advent of Opal fuel in 2005, it became feasible for the first time to implement a non-sniffable fuel across the region. CAYLUS staff worked with communities promoting the use of the fuel. They also advocated for a change in Commonwealth government policy, first to allow roadhouses to use the fuel and eventually to a region wide rollout in Central Australia. Although data collection has been patchy, staff estimate at the time of writing that numbers of people sniffing in the region have been reduced from 500 to less than 20 as a result. Staff continue to work toward rolling youth programs out to all communities in order to engage youth who were previously sniffing in positive activities and programs. There is currently no Commonwealth Government commitment to the universal provision of these complementary services.

Photos from Caylus - Central Australian Youth Link Up Service's post

22/06/2026

Girls Night in Willowra ✨
A couple weeks ago, Nat and Courtney spent a lovely evening crafting and sharing conversations with the amazing karnta (girls) in Willowra.
Using our MHM Warlpiri poster, we talked about the different stages and responsibilities in women's lives, with the girls reflecting on where they see themselves in their own journey.
With the incredible support of our Yapa staff member, Denisha Long, the conversations flowed easily and everyone enjoyed a fun and meaningful night together. We can't wait for the next Girls Night! 💜

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16/06/2026

Bush trip to Jump Hole the other weekend 😊

Julie, Helen, Dorothy, Maisie and Doreen joined CAYLUS Youth Workers Nat, Courtney and April for a day out on country not far from Willowra. The group spent the day digging for bush onions, sharing stories and enjoying tea and cake in the nice sun.

Julie and Dorothy cooked up some delicious roo tails and some veggies over the fire and everyone enjoyed a tasty meal together before heading back home 🧡

07/06/2026

CAYLUS has recently donated three Mac computers to the Kaltukatjara (Docker River) Computer Room for Youth Program run by NPY Women’s Council, supporting learning, creativity and digital engagement in the community.

Young people are already using the computers for music and other creative activities with strong interest in the new equipment.

Big thanks to for supporting this amazing work 🖥️

05/06/2026

What an incredible Music & Songwriting Workshop in Ampilatwatja! 🎤🎸🎵

We were lucky to welcome Jason Lee Scott from Coloured Stone, Rebecca McLean (Manager of Mulga Bore Hard Rock Band) and Dave Walker from Capel Sounds Studio to deliver a music workshop with the local young people and community members.

Together we wrote 4 brand new original songs and filmed 2 music videos around Ampilatwatja.

To celebrate all the hard work and creativity, we wrapped up the week with a community concert and BBQ, where the new songs were performed for family and community members.

A huge thank you to everyone who participated and helped bring these songs to life.🩵

28/05/2026

CAYLUS has been proud to support a few of the fellas at Bushmob with some fresh new footy boots! So great to be able to team up with Bushmob and support young people to stay active and doing what they enjoy 🏉

BushMob Aboriginal Corporation

15/05/2026

Recently our Project Manager, Trisha, visited Kintore to meet with community members and discuss the upcoming recreation hall being built for the community and its young people.
There was lots of excitement around the project and the opportunities the new space will bring. We can’t wait to see the recreation hall become a hub for Kintore’s youth and families!

MacDonnell Regional Council
health
Yirara College

12/05/2026

Some big smiles from Ampilatwatja! A few pics of the kids spending an afternoon painting and shooting hoops at youth program with Daniel at the school basketball court.

Great to see the creativity, energy and enjoyment 💙

25/04/2026

21/04/2026

After the rain… Ampilatwatja Rec Hall is back!

Check out how the hall looks after some big rain - all dry with dirt everywhere!
A huge shoutout to our youth worker Daniel and little Durant for the incredible job cleaning up and getting the space ready again for youth programs.

So good to have the hall back up and running and being used again! 🧡

17/04/2026

Big shoutout to the incredible Yuendumu women’s football team, the Warlpiri Warriors, who travelled to Atitjere Community for the DreamD Academy Footy Camp and secured the win!! 🏉

CAYLUS was proud to support the team with 25 hygiene packs, helping players feel comfortable, confident and independent while on their footy trip. These were handed out by our CAYLUS Project Officer Gina, who also plays an important role within the team 💛

Well done to all the teams who took part! Such an amazing turnout! 👏

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Location

Alice Springs

Telephone

08 8951 4236

Website

http://www.caylus.org.au/

Address

4 Elder Street
Alice Springs, NT
0870

Caylus - Central Australian Youth Link Up Service

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