5 June 2003

Encouraging more young Australians to participate in our democratic process is the drive behind a national research study officially launched today by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

The groundbreaking 'Youth Electoral Study' will involve thousands of young people around Australia to explore why many are not enrolling to vote and how best to encourage them to become more active democratic citizens.

The Electoral Commissioner, Mr Andy Becker said the prestigious study was addressing an important issue not only in Australia but increasingly in all democracies worldwide.

"We have known for many years that the younger you are, the less likely you are to be correctly enrolled, but we haven't known much about why," he said.

"This exciting study will discover why young people have not participated in the past and how to more effectively engage them in the future. It is a major investment in Australia's future," he said.

The 'Youth Electoral Study', which will run over four years, is being jointly conducted by the AEC and a team of researchers from the University of Sydney and the Australian National University.

As part of the study, thousands of young people aged 17-24 years will be interviewed in 16 different sites around Australia. These in-depth group interviews will discover why young people do or don't enrol and vote, their attitudes to enrolment and voting and whether there are social and psychological variables which influence participation.

In addition, national surveys of all Year 11 senior secondary students will be undertaken in early 2004 and in 2006. These surveys will measure the student's attitudes towards enrolment and voting, and the effectiveness of the civics and citizenship program and various enrolment strategies.

Mr Becker said that the study would have immediate and practical benefits for the work of the AEC.

"The findings will be used to develop more effective public awareness programs to encourage the participation of young people," he said.

"This will lead to an increase in the number of young Australians on the roll, which in turn will enhance the integrity of the electoral roll."

The study has attracted international attention especially from democracies concerned at the level of youth participation.

The study has funding for four years from the Australian Research Council and the AEC has committed both significant funds and other resources over the same time period.

Further information

Interviews will be conducted with groups of young people in the following 16 electoral divisions around Australia:

State/Territory	Division	Description
New South Wales	Grayndler	Metro- inner city
	Mitchell	Metro - North
	Prospect	Metro - West
	Cunningham	Provincial
	Calare	Rural
Australian Capital Territory	Fraser	Metro
Victoria	Gorton	Metro
	Melbourne Ports	Metro
	Indi	Rural
Queensland	Griffith	Metro
	Dawson	Rural
Western Australia	Curtin	Metro
	Forrest	Rural
South Australia	Port Adelaide	Metro
Tasmania	Lyons	Rural
Northern Territory	Northern Territory	Rural

Detailed maps of the geographic areas that each of these divisions covers are available on the AEC website at www.aec.gov.au under who/divisional profiles

Media contacts

Mr Brien Hallett	Professor Murray Print
Assistant Commissioner,	Centre for Research and
Information, Education and Research	Teaching in Civics
Australian Electoral Commission	University of Sydney
Ph. (02) 6271 4477	Ph. (02) 9351 3202
Dr Larry Saha
School of Social Sciences
Australian National University
Ph. (02) 6125 2132