What Young Australian Voters Were Prioritising in the 2025 Federal Election

The domestic pressures were immediate

Speaking with SBS Arabic before the 3 May 2025 federal election, Farris Faris identified the cost of living, housing and mental health as central concerns for younger voters. Those issues reinforce each other: insecure or expensive housing affects study, work and family plans, while financial pressure can intensify stress and reduce access to support.

For a younger person, a policy promise is often tested against a near-term question: will it make rent, transport, education, health care or the prospect of owning a home more manageable? Campaign language that does not connect to those lived decisions can feel remote even when the underlying policy is substantial.

International issues remained part of the choice

Farris also noted that younger voters were attentive to the Middle East and environmental protection. That combination challenges the idea that material self-interest and values sit in separate categories. Voters can be concerned about their own economic position while also judging Australia's response to conflict, human rights and long-term environmental risk.

Multicultural Australians may experience international events through family, language and community connections as well as through news. Political leaders should not assume that a foreign-policy issue is distant simply because it occurs beyond Australia's borders.

There is no single youth vote

Age does not erase differences in income, geography, culture, education, employment or political philosophy. A renter in metropolitan Perth, an apprentice in a regional town and a young parent may rank the same issues differently and prefer different solutions.

The useful conclusion is not that one policy automatically wins younger voters. It is that campaigns must show how their proposals work, who benefits, what they cost and when an effect will be felt. Specificity respects the audience more than generational branding.

The lesson for political communication

Listening should come before messaging. Parties need regular contact with young people in workplaces, universities, training settings, community organisations and online spaces, while recognising that no platform represents everyone.

Young voters should also be treated as long-term democratic participants, not a turnout problem to solve once every three years. Clear civic information, accessible enrolment and voting processes, and honest discussion of trade-offs help turn attention into durable participation.