Financial insecurity is affecting most young Australians, according to new research from Monash University.
The 2025 Australian Youth Barometer – inclusive of a national survey of 527 people and in depth interviews with 30 people aged 18 to 24 – found 85 per cent experienced financial insecurity in the past year, with one in four reporting it happens often.
Around half of survey respondents feel they are missing out on being young and worry about their ability to live a happy and healthy life.
Top of young people's wishlists of issues for governments to address urgently are affordable housing, youth employment and climate change.
Less than half of young Australians are able to regularly save money, and even less think it's likely they will one day be able to buy a house.
About half experienced unemployment in the past year, while around two in three reported underemployment.
Less than a quarter thought it was likely that climate change will be combated in the future, while almost half want immediate action.
Professor Lucas Walsh, Director of Monash Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice and lead author of the Australian Youth Barometer, said policy- and decision-makers need to respond to the challenges facing young people with tailored solutions that respond to their needs.
These include providing financial and mental health education and support, including through formal education from school to TAFE and university, and subsidising rising youth living costs like transport and study-related expenses.
"With young people now making up a historically large share of voters around the country, governments around Australia cannot afford to ignore their pressing concerns," Professor Walsh said.
"In a cost-of-living crisis, short term policy debt reductions are welcome, such as lowering student debts like HELP and VET student loans.
"But rising costs of living mean that young people need additional support now, combined with major tax reform to ensure that they have affordable places to live in the future."
The Australian Youth Barometer began in 2021 and researchers say the yearly survey shows things are not getting better for young Australians, with their responses indicating sustained or worse experiences.
Around half of young people now think government housing support is insufficient, up 10 per cent from last year.
More young people are also calling for financial support, with 26 per cent saying it was lacking last year and 34 per cent this year.
This year's survey shows young people are losing faith in Australia's climate action, with 10 per cent fewer young people confident climate change will be combatted in future, down from 34 per cent in 2024.
In 2022, about half of young Australians thought they would be financially worse off than their parents.
This year's survey shows the sentiment is now shared by 79 per cent of young people.
Australian Youth Barometer co-author Dr Thuc Bao Huynh said the results show young people are increasingly losing confidence in building the lives they want.
"Immediate support is needed to assist them in navigating education and work, including building on and expanding current systems such as Youth Allowance and Medicare, alongside long term efforts to address housing affordability, cost of living, and genuine representation in Australian public life," he said.
Read the 2025 Australian Youth Barometer: doi.org/10.26180/30184270
FAST FACTS: WHAT YOUNG AUSTRALIANS SAID ABOUT THE ISSUES IMPACTING THEM IN 2025
- 85 per cent experienced financial insecurity in the past year, and 26 per cent reported it happened often.
- 79 per cent think they will be financially worse off than their parents.
- 46 per cent think they are likely to achieve financial security in the future.
- 43 per cent can often save part of their income.
- 42 per cent think it is likely they will be able to buy a house.
- 18 per cent experienced food insecurity in the past year, most often due to a lack of money.
- 44 per cent experienced unemployment in the past year, while 60 per cent experienced underemployment.
- 26 per cent rated their mental health as poor or very poor and 41 per cent rated it as good or excellent.
- 50 per cent think they are likely to have a child.
- 65 per cent think gender does not determine who washes the dishes, 64 per cent think it does not determine who organises household money, and 64 per cent think it does not determine who teaches children discipline. But 53 per cent think household repairs are dependent on gender.
- 70 per cent think gender relationships have become more equal (compared with their parents' generation) at work, while 68 per cent think they have become more equal at home, and 66 per cent think they have become more equal in education contexts.
- 82 per cent think housing affordability needs immediate action, while 64 per cent pointed to employment opportunities and 44 per cent pointed to climate change.
