Federal Budget 2026: Gen Z heard the promises they just don’t believe them

Federal Budget 2026: What Gen Z think?

Gen Z Australians did not strongly reject this year’s Federal Budget. In many cases, they supported key measures within it.

Around half backed the Government’s investments in public hospitals, housing supply initiatives and the proposed $1,000 instant tax deduction. 42% agreed the Budget would help younger Australians into the housing market.

But despite being one of the groups most exposed to housing affordability, rents, HECS debt and cost of living pressures, younger Australians were among the least engaged audiences overall.

Only 31% followed the Budget closely, while nearly one in five were not even aware it had happened before being surveyed.

The combination is striking. Younger Australians are not especially hostile to the policy agenda itself. What appears weaker is belief that politics can materially improve their situation.

Younger Australians have heard repeated promises on housing affordability and cost of living pressures, but many no longer expect meaningful change. The issue is no longer whether policies sound good in theory. It is whether anyone expects them to deliver in practice.

That helps explain why many younger Australians struggled to form strong views about the Budget overall. Disengagement increasingly looks less like apathy and more like accumulated disappointment.

This piece forms part of Fifth Quadrant’s broader Federal Budget 2026 research series exploring how different groups of Australians responded to this year’s Budget. Read our national overview, Federal Budget 2026: The Disengagement Reality, along with our companion analysis covering Australians Doing It Tough, Baby Boomers and Investment Property Owners. Together, the research reveals a country experiencing the same Budget through very different financial, generational and emotional lenses.

At Fifth Quadrant, we help organisations move beyond headlines and assumptions to understand what Australians are really thinking, feeling and doing. If you’re looking for deeper insight into consumer sentiment, policy impact or emerging market trends, get in touch with our team to learn how our research can support better decision-making.

Source. Fifth Quadrant Consumer Sentiment Tracker: Nationally representative online survey of n=1,057 Australians aged 18 to 75, fielded post-Budget. Weighted to age × state by gender.