Australia’s Youth Agenda
Economic and policy imperatives
Australia is at a crossroads. Whether we include young people in the conversation defines what comes next.
A new chapter in Australia’s history is unfolding: an unprecedented shift in how young people vote, work, and live. Young Australians under 35 are navigating a version of adulthood that feels less like a rite of passage and more like a locked door – yet national attention remains fixed on the politics of the day and the ageing population.
We have a clear opportunity to shift course: ensuring young Australians inherit not just the burdens of the present, but a genuine stake in the future. Understanding young Australians’ distinct challenges and embedding their perspectives into decision-making is a national economic imperative.
A generation’s identity is not solely defined by shared age, but by a shared location in history. In Australia, today’s young people have come of age amid intensifying globalisation, a climate emergency, the rise of social media and now generative AI, the COVID-19 pandemic and a housing market beyond their grasp.
This paper presents how and why today’s young Australians are fundamentally different to the young Australians that came before them, and the corresponding implications on Australia’s economy. It is the foundation for Deloitte Access Economics’ soon-to-launch Youth Agenda series, designed to go deeper and provide fresh, data-driven perspectives on the big issues that young Australians are talking about.
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