Gen Z losing hope of ever having financial security

More than half of Australia’s Gen Z cohort believe they will never achieve financial security in their lifetime.

Results of the 2025 Australian Youth Barometer found people aged 18 to 24 were doing it tough with only 46 percent thinking they were likely to achieve financial security in the future.

Professor Lucas Walsh, Director of Monash Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice and lead author of the Barometer said the survey found 85 percent of young Australians experienced financial insecurity in the past year, with one in four reporting it happened 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,” Professor Walsh said.

He said top of young people’s wish lists of issues for governments to address urgently were affordable housing, youth employment and climate change.

“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 less than half of young Australians were able to regularly save money, and even less thought it was likely they would one day be able to buy a house.

He said policy- and decision-makers needed to respond to the challenges facing young people with tailored solutions that responded 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.

“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.”

Fast facts

85 percent experienced financial insecurity in the past year, and 26 per cent reported it happened often.
79 percent think they will be financially worse off than their parents.
46 percent think they are likely to achieve financial security in the future.
43 percent can often save part of their income.
42 percent think it is likely they will be able to buy a house.
18 percent experienced food insecurity in the past year, most often due to a lack of money.
44 percent experienced unemployment in the past year, while 60 per cent experienced underemployment.
26 percent rated their mental health as poor or very poor and 41 per cent rated it as good or excellent.
50 percent think they are likely to have a child.
65 percent think gender does not determine who washes the dishes, 64 per cent think it does not determine who organises household money, and 64 percent 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 percent think they have become more equal at home, and 66 percent think they have become more equal in education contexts.
82 percent think housing affordability needs immediate action, while 64 per cent pointed to employment opportunities and 44 per cent pointed to climate change.