CYPEP's submission to the Australian Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Electoral matters (JSCEM) inquiry into civics education, engagement and participation draws on data from the Australian Youth Barometer to demonstrate that young people are neither disengaged nor uninterested in participating in Australia's democracy and political life. However, their participation may be manifest in non-traditional ways that reflect their interests and experiences.

A key point we make in the submission is that young Australians are deeply concerned about social and political issues and hold strong desires to be involved across many levels of Australian civic life. However, the types of civic and political participation that most appeal to young people may not align with traditional models of understanding, and young people may be finding new and emerging ways to enact their civic and political participation.

Our recommendations to the inquiry are:

1. Listen intently to young people, without relying on stereotypes of young people as disengaged or uninterested in civic and political participation.
2. Approach civics education with a better understanding of young people’s relationship with formal politics.
3. Acknowledge that young people may have different understandings of what it means to be civically and politically engaged.
4. Respect the differences in how young people approach civic and political participation and strive to engage them on their own terms.
5. Acknowledge that many young people wish to be more involved in civic and political participation but may be unable to do so for a number of reasons.
6. Understand the barriers that can prevent young people from being as engaged in civic and political participation as much as, or in the ways that, they would like.
7. Provide meaningful support for young people to help them navigate the challenges that they face, and to overcome potential barriers to participation.

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