The 2023 Australian Youth Barometer highlights that the cost-of-living crisis is a salient issue. Though it has touched the lives of all Australians in some way, the Barometer demonstrates that the impacts on young people have been disproportionate and especially severe, affecting just about every aspect of young people's lives:

• 9 in 10 young Australians experienced some level of financial difficulties in the last year.
• 40% felt that they may not have a comfortable place to live in the next 12 months.
• 1 in 5 experienced food insecurity.
• 44% experienced unemployment in the last year.
• Young people’s views of ‘being healthy’ no longer just relate to physical and mental health but now also include financial security and access to housing.

While these pressures are not necessarily new, they are multiplying and leaving young people in a precarious position just as they are starting to make their mark on the world.