Australian Youth Barometer 2025: Financial pressures intensify for young Australians as confidence in the future weakens
Roy Morgan has conducted the fieldwork for Monash University’s Australian Youth Barometer on behalf of the Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice (CYPEP), with insights from this research currently part of the national conversation around issues facing young people.
Roy Morgan has been undertaking the national research program since 2021, providing high-quality and representative insights to support Monash University’s long-term understanding of the experiences, attitudes, and wellbeing of young Australians. For the 2025 study, Roy Morgan interviewed 527 Australians aged 18–24 via an online survey using our probability panel.
The Monash Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice (CYPEP), based in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, is a multidisciplinary research centre dedicated to understanding and improving young people’s lives through evidence-based policy and practice. This study is the keystone of the Centre, driving conversation and attention to the concerns of young Australians.
Key Findings from the 2025 Youth Barometer:
Insights from the 2025 Youth Barometer highlight concerns centring around financial insecurity, mental health challenges, and heavy reliance on family support amid perceived government inadequacy:
- Most (85%) young Australians experienced financial difficulties to some extent in the last 12 months, with close to one third (28%) reporting that they did so often or very often.
- The majority (79%) of young Australians think they will be financially worse off than their parents.
- Less than half (46%) of young Australians believed it is likely or very likely that they will achieve financial security in the future.
- Just one third (30%) thought it likely or extremely likely that they will be able to afford a comfortable place to live in the next 12 months
- Almost 1 in 3 (26%) rated their mental health as poor or very poor
- Close to all (99%) reported having at least one feeling of anxiety or pessimism, and 24% believed not enough was being done about mental health.
- Nearly half (49%) felt government housing support was insufficient
- 3 in 4 young Australians (74%) who experienced financial difficulties report family members as the main source of financial support when running short of money.
Roy Morgan Research Institute Head, Tania Bellofiore says:
“Roy Morgan has been privileged to partner with Monash University’s Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice on this important study over several years.
“The latest findings paint a stark picture: 85% of young Australians have faced financial difficulty in the past year, and almost all report at least one feeling of anxiety or pessimism in their life with almost 1 in 3 believe that government financial support is lacking.
“Now one-in-four young Australians rate their mental health as poor with many feeling that housing support is inadequate or home ownership out of reach: the 2025 Australian Youth Barometer highlights a generation under real pressure.
“These insights are essential for understanding the challenges young Australians face and for shaping meaningful policy responses.”
The full report is available here: The 2025 Australian Youth Barometer
Media Mentions:
- The Advertiser: Woe is Gen Z: Why young Aussies are so pessimistic
- The Herald Sun: Monash Uni survey reveals young Australians are increasingly pessimistic about their future
- The Daily Telegraph: Monash Uni survey reveals young Australians are increasingly pessimistic about their future
- The Conversation: 57% of young Australians say their education prepared them for the future. Others are not so sure
- ABC: Most young Australians struggle with financial security, new Monash research says
For comments or more information about Roy Morgan’s data please contact Andrew Calvert-Jones or Julian McCrann for more details.
Reports available for sale:
The latest Roy Morgan data is available on the Roy Morgan Online Store. It provides demographic breakdowns for Age, Sex, State, Region (Capital Cities/ Country), Generations, Lifecycle, Socio-Economic Scale, Work Status, Occupation, Home Ownership, Voting Intention, Roy Morgan Value Segments, Helix Personas, Media Consumption, and more.
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About Roy Morgan
Roy Morgan is Australia’s largest independent Australian research company, with offices in each state, as well as in the U.S. and U.K. A full-service research organisation, Roy Morgan has over 80 years’ experience collecting objective, independent information on consumers.
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
