The leading study of political attitudes and behaviour in Australia has identified factors which influenced the Labor Party's landslide victory in the 2025 election.
The 2025 Australian Election Study (AES), conducted by Griffith University and the Australian National University (ANU), shows Labor had a clear advantage on policy issues and received strong support from women and younger voters.
Study co-author, Dr Sarah Cameron from the School of Government and International Relations said the 2025 AES found there was a clear gender gap in those who voted for the Coalition, and this trend had continued to rise in the last decade.
"In the 2025 federal election, nine per cent fewer women than men voted for the Coalition," Dr Cameron said.
"This gender gap has been observed in other democracies with women now more likely to vote for parties on the left, while men are more likely to vote for parties on the right.
"In Australia, the decline in vote share for the Coalition has been driven by both men and women shifting their votes to other parties over the past decade."
Study co-author ANU Professor Ian McAllister said until this year, the Coalition had a long-term advantage on economic policy.
"The cost of living was the major issue in the election, identified as the top election concern by all major voter groups," Professor McAllister said.
"Housing affordability was the second most important election issue among renters with one-in-five renters indicating it was their top concern."
Younger voters demonstrated an overwhelming preference for Labor and the Greens in 2025, at levels not seen in the nearly 40-year history of the AES.
Previous AES studies have shown the Coalition had lost support from millennials in every election since 2016.
The study also found Australians were more satisfied with how democracy was working.
"Voters are more satisfied now than in the late 2010s, when there were frequent changes of prime minister brought about by party leadership spills," Dr Cameron said.
"We've seen a jump from 59 per cent satisfaction in 2019 to 70 per cent in 2025.
"Australians are more satisfied with democracy when they have a greater say in the formation of government, including leadership."
The 2025 AES included findings on this year's federal election as well as 35 years of trends in political opinion.
The full study is available online.
