As there is no youth law in Hungary, the term 'youth' is not set in stone and is therefore defined differently in the various legislations of the different policy areas. The strategic framework of Hungarian youth policy consists of two main documents:

• the National Youth Strategy 2009-2024 (adopted by parliament in 2009) and
• the 2012 Programme for the Future of the New Generation, which came into force as a government decree.

The Strategy, as a core document, has set the main directions of improvement through the implementation of specific action plans that take into account the continuous review of conditions. As of the March 2024, preparations for a new strategy have not started. The last adopted action plan referred to 2016 and 2017, but the Strategy has still frequently been mentioned in youth-related policy discourses and legislation in the past years. The Programme for the Future of the New Generation was the conceptual basis for the mostly EU-funded youth-related projects under New Generation Plus, followed by the New Generation Reloaded Programmes. (For more information see sub-chapter 1.3 National Youth Strategy.)

Youth policy is mainly managed in the Ministry of Culture and Innovation where the State Secretariat for Families is located. The agencies responsible for youth policy are the Deputy State Secretariat for Young People and the Department for Young People. The Ministry for National Economy coordinates the Youth Guarantee Scheme. Notably, social and education policies are under the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior. The main advisory body for youth issues is currently the Board of the Children and Youth Fund.