Young people are changing the way they engage with politics, and politics is going to have to change as a consequence.

This project sought to consider the existing research on young Australians’ participation in democracy. This was undertaken with the purpose of developing a series of recommendations to promote the active citizenship and participation of young people in the democratic life of Australia. By extension, this paper also makes a number of observations regarding the current state of Australia’s democratic environment – identifying trends that affect all Australian citizens – not just young people.

This paper represents the culmination of twelve months of research undertaken by the Whitlam Institute and the Office of University Engagement at UWS throughout 2008 on a project, Young People Imagining a New Democracy.

The project is supported by the Foundation for Young Australians.