Younger Australians are running into a simple arithmetic problem: incomes, rents, house prices and basic costs no longer line up in a way that lets them repeat their parents’ timelines. The result is what many researchers now describe as a “generation squeeze” across housing, work and family decisions.[12][5]
Housing is the most visible pinch point. Affordability reports show it now takes more than a decade of disciplined saving for a typical household to accumulate a standard 20 per cent deposit in most capitals, even longer in Sydney and Melbourne. During that time, would‑be buyers are often paying market rent that absorbs the same cash flow they are supposed to be putting aside, particularly when rents have risen by around 40 per cent in five years. For many, the only way to close the gap is with parental help, a guarantor loan, or an inheritance—options not everyone has.[13][12][9][10]
Work patterns have shifted as well. Entry‑level roles are more likely to be casual, fixed‑term or gig‑based, especially in hospitality, retail and parts of the service sector, which weakens the connection between effort and security. The Youth Barometer reports that 85 per cent of 18–24‑year‑olds experienced financial difficulty in the past year, and almost a third believe government financial support is inadequate. Many are combining multiple part‑time jobs, study and side hustles, not because of an appetite for variety but because no single role covers their costs.[5][1]
Family formation is being pushed later. Surveys consistently show that insecure housing, unstable work and cost‑of‑living stress are key reasons people delay having children, if they intend to at all. For some, this is framed as a lifestyle choice; for others, it is simply a pragmatic response to conditions that feel hostile to raising kids. Intergenerational transfers—whether in the form of free childcare from grandparents, cash gifts or inheriting a home—are increasingly central to who can make those choices and who cannot.[12][13][5]
None of this means younger Australians are uniquely hard‑done‑by or that older cohorts had it easy. It does mean the structure of the economy has changed in ways that make traditional markers of adulthood—steady job, home, family—harder to reach on wages alone. The question for policy is whether to treat that as an unfortunate reality for individuals to manage, or as a sign that tax, housing and labour rules designed around earlier conditions need a serious update.[9][10][12]
Sources
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-25/housing-unaffordability-reaches-record-levels-in-australia/106044078[12]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-08/rental-prices-surge-almost-44-per-cent-review-finds/105865000[9]
https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/wage-growth[10]
https://duotax.com.au/insights/gen-z-property-ownership/[13]
https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/australian-youth-barometer-2025-financial-pressures-intensify-for-young-australians-as-confid[5]
https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/socialjusticestocktake/act/[1]