Outback Instincts Ltd is a Queensland-based charity supporting young people who are struggling to find their feet — particularly those experiencing disadvantage, disengagement from school, mental health challenges, disability, or limited opportunities in rural communities.

We deliver hands-on, animal- and land-based programs on a working rural property near Toowoomba. Our approach is built on Tools, Trust, and Transformation.

Young people are given real tools — practical skills, responsibility, and meaningful work with animals, land, and equipment. Through consistent, supportive relationships, they learn trust — in themselves, in others, and in safe adult role models. Over time, this leads to transformation — improved confidence, emotional regulation, purpose, and pathways forward.

Through programs such as Youth in the Yards, Paws on the Ground, The Paddock Project, and Equine Elevate, participants develop:

• Practical life and vocational skills

• Confidence and emotional resilience

• Positive routines and accountability

• Connection to community and purpose

• Pathways back into education, training, or employment

Animals play a central role in our work. They offer calm, honesty, and connection — helping young people regulate, build empathy, and experience success in ways traditional settings often cannot.

Outback Instincts exists to give young people the tools to build skills, the trust to believe in themselves, and the support to create real, lasting transformation — one paddock, one relationship, and one future at a time.