Young Australians have reshaped the nation’s political landscape, with Millennials and Gen Z now making up over 40 per cent of the electorate.
A record-breaking 97.8 per cent of eligible citizens were enrolled to vote in the 2025 federal election, including around 700,000 new voters, most of them young.
This demographic shift translated into real political power, as for the first time younger voters outnumbered Baby Boomers, contributing an estimated 7.7 million votes, compared to Boomers’ 5.9 million.
The surge in youth participation helped deliver a landslide victory for Labor, alongside a strong showing for the Greens, even though the latter did not secure any seats.
Source The Nightly
According to the Australian Electoral Commission, youth-heavy electorates overwhelmingly supported Labor or the Greens, mirroring voting patterns among renters.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has acknowledged the trend.
“People are renters for longer, and generally that means that they’re more inclined to support the Labor Party,” Mr Dutton told news.com.au.
“And then, as their views mature politically, they come across the Liberal Party.”
Source Australian Electorial Commission
Despite these numbers, ACT Campaign Organiser for the Greens, Zac Fairnham said that young Australians are not necessarily more politically engaged, just engaged differently.
“I think there is an underlying assumption that young people inherently care about politics more than others and I actually think that’s completely not the case,” Mr Fairnham said.
Mr Fairnham said that while many young voters have shied away from traditional party politics or detailed policy, they are deeply invested in issue-based advocacy.
“Young people are increasingly disengaged with getting involved in party politics,” he said.
“I think what young people are increasingly interested in, conversely, is advocacy. Young people like topics, and wanting to maximise output in said topics.”
This reflects a broader trend across Western democracies, where younger generations reject rigid party affiliation in favour of fluid, cause-driven engagement.
Activism around climate action, housing affordability, Indigenous justice, and mental health dominated this election cycle, areas where both Labor and the Greens campaigned heavily.
Source: Liberal Party of Australia, The Australian Greens, Australian Labor Party, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation
Mr Fairnham also highlighted that many young voters are less concerned with policies and more focused on who represents their values.
“I think what we’re finding is an increasing case of the characterisation of politics and how young people are no longer voting for policy, but who represents the policy,” he said.
In this year’s election, the cost of living was top of mind for many young Australians.
“The most important issues for myself were how the major parties and minor parties wanted to address cost of living,” he said.
“That’s a pretty large topic to unravel but that comes down to housing, groceries, and rent protections.”
Additional reporting done by Ashleigh Spackman
Image: Australian Financial review