Released on April 7 2025, the Five top issues for young voters in the 2025 Federal Election: Insights from the Australian Youth Barometer is the first in a series produced by the Monash Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice (CYPEP) in partnership with The Y and Redbridge Group.

Drawing from CYPEP’s Australian Youth Barometer and other recent surveys of young people, this report summarises the key issues identified by young Australians that we believe should inform political parties’ policy platforms in the run-up to the 2025 Australian federal election. This paper delve deep into the following five issues identified by young people across several surveys:

1. Housing affordability
2. Employment and finances
3. Climate change
4. Inequality and discrimination
5. Health and mental health

Lead author of the report, Professor Lucas Walsh, said that “these striking findings should raise alarm bells demanding urgent policy responses in this year’s election.”

He points out that “This election is the first where Gen Z and Millennials outnumber Boomer and Interwar generations. Their needs reflect many key concerns of Australians in general, but these Australians are inheriting not only the weight of greater voting influence, but also disproportionate challenges related to affordable accommodation, work and climate change.”

Download the report: Five top issues for young voters in the 2025 Federal Election: Insights from the Australian Youth Barometer