Andrew Johnson will meet local government agencies, youth services providers and local government members to help develop a strategic plan. His visit follows on from meetings with hundreds of students in the region on Wednesday.

As part of his role with the independent statutory body, Mr Johnson has been asking what qualities make a good society for young people.

 He said key values from the Illawarra included fairness, equality, safety and non-discrimination.

The strategic plan, due in 2016, will look at the whole of government and different services that are offered and how they can be tweaked to better the lives of children, by including them in the process.

‘‘They’re the experts in their own lives and they’ve actually given us some very clear, tangible, practical solutions,’’ he said. 

‘‘It’s pretty much the same all over the state. [Young people are] looking for more support in mental health, support in transition from high school to university or work. 

‘‘The issue of homelessness for kids doing it tough comes up quite a bit also.’’

So far Mr Johnson has had meetings with nearly 3000 children across NSW during the early phases of consultation, with the end goal using their input for policy change.

He said different departments were sitting down and talking to each other. 

‘‘I think one of the great outcomes of what we’ve been up to is that children and young people have played a part in determining decisions that are being made ... and they’ve been included in the processes from the very beginning.’’