In 2019, the Lowy Institute asked for the first time how satisfied Australians were with democracy, a question that has been asked by the Australian Election Study (AES) since 1969. The AES has reported falling levels of satisfaction with democracy since 2007. Despite having had five prime ministers in six years, the Lowy Institute Poll this year finds that 70% of Australians are satisfied with the way democracy works in Australia.

The gap between older and younger Australians on the importance of democracy — which has been striking in previous Lowy Institute Polls — appears to be narrowing. A majority of Australians aged 18–29 years (55%) in 2019 express a preference for democracy, compared with 68% of Australians aged over 30. In previous years this gap has been as large as 28 points. However, there is still a significant proportion (30%) of 18–29 year olds who say that ‘in some circumstances, a non-democratic government can be preferable’.

Satisfaction with democracy in Australia