Imagine this: you’re on a date. You’re discussing the rental market, how your uni fees have increased, and you’re bonding over your favourite punk band! It’s going well, until “I’m not really into politics” slips from their mouth. You are horrified.
This idea that someone can be “not into politics” is inherently impossible. Everything around us has politics weaved into it. It could be something as little as your coffee price increasing by 50 cents, to the way you’re treated in the workplace as a marginalised person. Though it may seem it, due to the oversaturated governance of old white men talking about human rights and toxic nationalism, the world of politics is not as far away from your 20-something year old self as you may think. Not only does the political system affect your current daily life, it affects your future, and your representation matters just as much as those with ‘more life experience’.
Young voters between 18-24 years old make up approximately 10 per cent of the national electorate in Australia. Although this statistic doesn’t seem like much, it can make a major difference in the outcome of a close-knit election result. As of March 2025, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) reported that the enrolment rates of 18-24 year olds surpassed the target of 87 per cent with a large 90.4 per cent enrolled to vote in the Federal Election 2025. This has been a large increase in young voters since the last Federal Election in March 2022 when the youth enrolment rate was as low as 85.4 per cent. Some will put this down to the compulsory nature of the Australian voting system, however young people are becoming more involved in political actions in general.
This includes the political activity at our very own university. In the 2024 Student Representative Council (SRC) Elections, the student voting turnout increased by 29.95 per cent — from 2,132 voters in 2023 to 2,776 in 2024. Though there has been a decline since before the COVID-19 pandemic, it is slowly on the rise again. With the recent implementations of the Campus Access Policy, attempts to reduce time frames for simple extensions, and the university investing money in weapons manufacturing rather than student amenities, students are beginning to realise that the issues that affect their daily student life are embedded within student politics and how the student unions — both the SRC and University of Sydney Union (USU) — are run. Governance of the SRC and USU are dependent on the student body, and determines what our Student Services and Amenities Fees (SSAF) is spent on. The governance of the SRC and USU are very similar to the likes of the ‘real’ political world, with many of the candidates running under party-affiliated tickets. This means that your vote counts towards the real direction of how your own fees are spent. Take the recent USU Special General Meeting (SGM) as an example: the plan put forth in the motion was to change the governance structure of the USU Board — there were 194 voters. This change in governance would have changed the dynamic of the USU Board, and in turn would affect future decisions made about our student life. Hence, we need to remain aware of the politics around us — however small — and its impact on our daily lives.
Sitting on the edge of ignorance can cost you a lot, including the overwhelmingly expensive pizzas on campus. On a broader scale, it can cost you higher weekly rent, higher medical bills, and an egg shortage. Of course, these aren’t the only things that you are sacrificing having control over when not being aware of the happenings in the political world. This is where Federal politics comes into play.
The federal parliament represents the people of Australia in lawmaking, providing a place for government, and conducting checks and balances on governmental work. Out of the 151 members elected to the House of Representatives and the 76 elected to the Senate, all but one representative are over the age of 30. A common narrative used by older generations is that young people ‘don’t have enough life experience’ to become a respected politician; this is a transferable narrative used against young people in workplaces and general society. It is a difficult saying to crack considering many older MPs have been deemed as ‘arrogant’ and ‘incompetent’ — see public polling regarding Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton.
The truth is, it’s difficult, but not impossible, for young people to be involved in federal politics. To be a senator or member of the House of Representatives, you simply need to be 18 years old — otherwise known as ‘legal’ — as well as have an Australian citizenship, a job outside of the Australian Government or Defence Force, no criminal record, and are eligible to vote in elections. While anyone of age can reach Parliament, the average age for members and senators is 52, creating a major generational gap. Every once in a blue moon though, a lucky politician in their twenties snags their very own booster seat in Parliament.
Former Prime Ministers Malcolm Fraser and Paul Keating were both 25 when they were first elected. Wyatt Roy was the youngest ever member to be elected into the House of Representatives, elected at only 20 years old and endorsed by Tony Abbott for the Liberal Party. Meanwhile, Jordan Steele-John was 23 when he became the youngest elected senator for the Greens. Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that many younger members who reach Parliament often come from privileged backgrounds: Fraser was the son of wealthy graziers and grew up on a sheep station in NSW, while Roy was raised on a strawberry farm in Brisbane. Access to networks, resources, and early political opportunities often sets these young candidates apart from the average young Australian.
While younger politicians’ place in the federal parliament remains scarce, they are thriving in local councils. You don’t need to be part of a major political party — campaigns are smaller-scale and lower-cost, and offer a valuable launchpad for a future political career, potentially allowing you to reach Parliament by the time you’re 52! Right now, candidates as young as 19 are being elected. In 2024, Liberal Party candidate Cameron Last became the youngest councillor for Ryde City Council at 20 years old. His campaign emphasised accessible community services, including a proposal to keep Ryde’s library open 24 hours a day.
Meanwhile, Libby Austin found herself unexpectedly elected to Penrith City Council’s East Ward at 19 years old. Initially volunteering as a ‘ballot warmer’ in what was considered an unwinnable fifth spot on Labor’s ticket, Austin’s election was secured when the Liberal Party failed to nominate any candidates, leading to an uncontested win. Austin aims to establish a youth committee within the council to amplify young voices in local governance.
While the rise of Gen Z representation has allowed for small changes at the local level, it doesn’t give young leaders direct power over systemic economic issues like the cost of living crisis: the very crisis that has, ironically, discouraged many from running. Faced with rising rents, insecure work, and the high cost of campaigning, many young people cannot afford the time or money it takes to launch a political career, even at the council level.
Beyond financial barriers, young candidates often lack the political networks that older politicians rely on, face age-based discrimination, and risk online harassment. In recent years, young politicians like Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John have faced ableist abuse, with Steele-John calling for an end to “segregation and ableism in government policy.” The 2020 Victorian local council elections also saw a spike in online threats targeting young and female councillors. A 2023 study from Monash University found that women, LGBTQ+ candidates, and candidates of colour experience disproportionate harassment during election campaigns, adding yet another hurdle for the next generation of leaders.
Thus, to encourage more youth participation, the Office for Youth set up a strategy called ‘Engage!’ in March 2024. The initiative aims to empower young people of all backgrounds to have a say on issues that impact them. The strategy is straightforward: they “will recognise and listen to young people,” “empower young people to advocate and engage with the government,” and “will support the government to work with young people.”
The Australian Government consulted over 4,600 young people across Australia to inform them of the ‘Engage!’ strategy. Young people voiced clear priorities: greater inclusion in decision-making, easier access to government information, genuine respect for their views, and a range of ways to engage in government. In response, ‘Engage!’ converted those ideas to six action points and committed to publishing an annual progress report, which we are waiting for.
While the strategy includes annual youth forums for in-person discussion, youth advisory groups that work with departments, and a future digital youth hub, much of the engagement so far has been limited to surveys. It’s striking that such a framework only launched in 2024, building youth voices into government should have been a priority long ago. Moreso, a lot of the ways they plan to ‘engage’ still relies heavily on government-led consultation rather than young people having shared authority and decision-making power.
In August 2021, the University of Canberra (UOC) facilitated an initiative to better represent young people in Australian politics, through two town hall events led by federal member for Canberra, Alicia Payne MP. Project lead and Associate Professor from the UOC, Selen Ercan, said the events would ‘create the perfect environment for young people to connect with parliamentary representatives’, and provide a space for young people to air their frustrations, hopes, and creative solutions for Australian democracy.
Fellow project lead Dr Nick Vlahos highlighted that while lowering the voting age is one potential solution, broader discussions about formal politics and youth representation are crucial for addressing intergenerational challenges. Alicia Payne MP echoed the importance of including young voices, noting that young Australians will bear the consequences of current political decisions for years to come, yet often have no formal say in them.
Building upon this foundation, Alicia Payne launched The Canberra Forum in 2022, an ongoing panel designed to foster deeper engagement between constituents and their elected representatives, with a particular focus on including younger voices in decision-making. The forum convened a diverse group of Australians to deliberate on pressing issues, culminating in a 2023 report offering recommendations to improve access to affordable housing, an issue disproportionately affecting young Australians. This report was presented to parliament, as an act of integrating youth input into the policymaking process.
Ultimately, though it may seem as though young people have as much power as a backseat driver in an old man’s SUV, it is not nearly as impossible as the media allude to. There are many ways to be involved from a young age, both inside and outside the world of ‘real’ politics. The first step is to recognise the political issues that surround you. Don’t be ignorant to how these issues affect you in almost every aspect of your existence. Secondly, get involved in activism! Join the campaigns in your communities, on your university campus, and join radical actions and movements that relate to your beliefs. And lastly, if you are so inclined, run as a political candidate. They may be able to fearmonger the youth, but this is only the beginning for our generation. Soon enough, we’ll be taking the wheel in federal politics.
