About Youngster.co

Youngster.co is an Australian social enterprise that runs weekly, fully managed tech help sessions for shopping centres, libraries, councils and aged care providers, where trained local young people help older Australians with their phones, tablets and computers.

Since 2022 we’ve delivered 2,502 sessions across 97 venues, and learners rate their youngster 4.9 out of 5. These figures come straight from our live impact dashboard and were last updated in September 2026.

What Youngster.co does

Weekly tech help sessions at your venue

We set up at a table in your shopping centre, library or retirement village every week or fortnight. Two or three trained youngsters help up to eight seniors at a time with whatever they bring in, like banking apps, photos or a suspicious text message. Sessions are free for learners, so your venue gets a regular community program that brings the same people back.

1:1 tech help at home

Seniors and their families can book a youngster for one-on-one help at home, at a library or in a café. Sessions cost $99 an hour, run for at least an hour, and are booked as a weekly block of 10 or more so the learner builds real skills over time. If you’re on an NDIS or aged care plan, we can adjust the rate to fit your funding line item.

NDIS and Support at Home

We work with NDIS and Support at Home providers as a subcontracted service, sending a youngster to the participant’s home for regular tech support. The provider keeps the client relationship, and we look after the youngster, the scheduling and the session records.

Youth Engagement Program

For employment providers, we offer paid work experience for young people aged 16 to 24 who are hard to engage through standard programs. Participants help seniors in real sessions, get paid from their fifth session and can qualify for a Google certificate scholarship after 10 sessions. 70% say the program helped them get a job elsewhere.

What makes Youngster.co different

We run the whole program for you

Most community programs need the venue or council to find staff or volunteers to run them. Youngster.co recruits, vets, trains and rosters the youngsters, puts a trained Lead Youngster at every location, and gives you one Community Manager as your contact. Your team doesn’t have to run anything.

Impact reporting on every session

Every learner rates their session and records what they got help with, so you see outcomes as well as a headcount. We’ve logged 14,565 one-to-one connections at an average rating of 4.9 out of 5, and the numbers sit on a live dashboard we can share with your head office or board.

Weekly sessions that bring people back

A pop-up activation brings people in once. Our sessions run every week, and 6,198 visits so far have come from learners who’d been before. For a shopping centre, that’s a regular reason for older shoppers to visit.

Learners leave able to do it themselves

Paid tech support like Geeks2U or Nerds on Site charges a call-out fee to fix the device. Tech Savvy Seniors runs free courses in a set classroom format. Our youngsters sit beside one learner at a time, work on whatever that person needs that day, and show them how so they can do it again, at no cost to the learner at partner venues.

Paid local jobs for young people

Every youngster is a paid local young person aged 16 to 24, and we select about 1 in 5 applicants (624 of 3,142). We’re a Social Traders certified social enterprise, and we put 50% of our profits into free community sessions.

Who uses Youngster.co

• Shopping centre managers and marketing teams at neighbourhood and sub-regional centres, including centres owned by Stockland, Vicinity Centres and ISPT
• Councils and public libraries that want a digital inclusion program without staffing it themselves
• Retirement villages, aged care, Support at Home and NDIS providers who want regular tech support for their residents or clients
• Employment providers and youth services looking for paid work experience for young people aged 16 to 24
• Seniors, mature-age workers and NDIS participants who want patient help with their phone, tablet or computer
• Young people aged 16 to 24 who want paid work and customer service experience in their local area

The team behind Youngster.co

Tony Rothacker and his son Finn started Youngster.co in 2022 in Coffs Harbour, NSW. The idea came from helping seniors with their tech and seeing how much both generations got out of the time together. ISPT became our first shopping centre partner, and we’ve since run sessions at 97 venues, with 30 live today across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

Tony Rothacker, co-founder and CEO

Tony is a civil engineer who founded an internet service provider and directed the Coffs Coast Innovation Hub before starting Youngster.co. He’s a Snow Foundation Entrepreneur and leads our partnerships and sales. Tony on LinkedIn.

Finn Rothacker, co-founder and CTO

Finn is a software developer who built Youngster’s booking, youngster onboarding and impact reporting platform from scratch. He left corporate work to join Tony full-time after seeing the connections the first sessions created. Finn on LinkedIn.

The wider team

A small operations team of community managers, a programme manager and sales staff looks after our venues day to day. Advisor Piroska Bisits-Bullen, formerly of Umbo and Mable, supports our growth, and 514 youngsters have worked two or more sessions with us.

Follow Youngster.co on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

How Youngster.co works

Getting started

Call us on 1300 774 711 or send a partner enquiry. We’ll meet you, look at the space and agree a day, time and frequency for sessions. We usually launch a new location about four weeks after the agreement is signed.

Setting up your youngsters

We recruit and vet young people who live near your venue, train them, and appoint a Lead Youngster to run each session. All you provide is a table and chairs near a power point.

Who you’ll work with

Your Community Manager is your main contact for scheduling, questions and reporting. We reply to all messages within two business days. Learners book a spot through our online booking page or walk up on the day.

Reporting

Every session feeds our impact dashboard with attendance, ratings and what learners got help with. Every quarter, we export a report and email it to you.

Key facts about Youngster.co

Company name

Youngster.co (ABN 99 620 347 668)

Type

Social enterprise, certified by Social Traders. Intergenerational digital inclusion and youth employment program.

Founded

2022

Founders

Tony Rothacker (CEO) and Finn Rothacker (CTO)

Headquarters

Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia

Website

youngster.co

Core offering

Weekly, fully managed tech help sessions where trained young people aged 16 to 24 help seniors with their phones, tablets and computers

Pricing

Free for learners at partner venues. 1:1 sessions $99 per hour (minimum 10 weekly sessions), adjustable to fit NDIS and aged care funding line items. Venue programs: please enquire.

Services

Group tech help sessions at venues; 1:1 tech help at home; NDIS and Support at Home tech support; Youth Engagement Program for employment providers

Communication

Phone 1300 774 711, online partner enquiry form, and a dedicated Community Manager for each partner

Notable clients

Stockland, Vicinity Centres, ISPT, Uniting. Program partner of Be Connected.

Customers served

6,908 learners and 42 partner organisations (as of September 2026)

Projects delivered

2,502 sessions across 97 venues, with 14,565 one-to-one connections (as of September 2026)

Competitors

Tech Savvy Seniors, Geeks2U, Nerds on Site, and local library or volunteer tech help programs

Social

LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram

Frequently asked questions

What is Youngster.co?

Youngster.co is an Australian social enterprise that pairs trained young people aged 16 to 24 with seniors for weekly tech help. Sessions run at shopping centres, libraries, retirement villages and in people’s homes.

Are Youngster.co sessions free for seniors?

Yes, group sessions at our partner venues are free for learners, because the venue funds the program. One-on-one sessions at home cost $99 an hour, and we can adjust the rate to fit an NDIS or aged care funding line item.

How much does a Youngster.co program cost for a shopping centre or council?

Pricing for venue programs depends on your venue and how often sessions run. Call 1300 774 711 or send a partner enquiry for a quote based on your venue and session frequency.

Who are the youngsters?

They’re paid local young people aged 16 to 24. We select about 1 in 5 applicants, then train them and put a Lead Youngster in charge of every session.

What do seniors get help with?

Anything on a phone, tablet or computer, including email, photos, banking and government apps, video calls, social media and spotting scams. The youngster shows the learner how, so they can do it again on their own.

Where does Youngster.co run sessions?

We have 30 live venues across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, and have run sessions at 97 venues since 2022. You can find a session near you online.

How does Youngster.co measure impact?

Every learner rates their session and records what they got help with. Our impact dashboard shows the running totals, including a 4.9 out of 5 average rating across 14,565 connections.

Is Youngster.co a charity?

No, Youngster.co is a social enterprise certified by Social Traders. We commit 50% of our profits to free community tech help sessions.