Young Australian Lives During Polycrisis: Five Years of Key Trends from the Australian Youth Barometer, 2021–2025

This report provides a snapshot of young people navigating polycrisis. It summarises five years (2021–2025) of The Australian Youth Barometer, which tracked how Australians aged 18 to 24 experienced the COVID‑19 pandemic and its aftermath across education, work, finances, wellbeing, relationships and civic participation. The pandemic was one dimension of a polycrisis, which involves the convergence of overlapping economic, environmental, political, social, and technological emergencies, where each one worsens the others, resulting in compounding effects and typically unpredictable consequences. A nationally representative sample of 2,731 survey responses and 150 interviews were analysed. While the findings reveal an easing of some pandemic‑related impacts, key areas such as persistent economic pressures, shifting work patterns, and evolving attitudes toward education, mental health and political engagement continue to need attention.