02-05-2025
Vote Compass helps Australians see where they stand on the political spectrum. Here's what the data shows
In the quick-shifting world of politics it can be difficult to figure out where you sit on the political spectrum — left, right or centre, but the ABC's Vote Compass is here to help.
After five weeks of campaigning, commitments, debates and discussion from politicians, we need to cast our ballot tomorrow. But which party stands where?
ABC Vote Compass helps visualise how your views on social and economic issues align with politicians and provides information about the candidates in your electorate.
More than 1.2 million people have used the tool this in election cycle.
It generally takes about 10 minutes to fill out the 30-question survey.
Vote Compass has been designed by political scientists at Canada-based Vox Pop Labs to help improve electoral awareness and start important conversations about public policy.
It makes it easy to compare your views, not just to the major parties, but to your friends and family, and start discussions about the big issues this election.
Election essentials:
Find out where your
What does your Vote Compass result mean?
On your results page, you'll see two graphs.
One is a plot on a two-dimensional graph that calculates your alignment on a social and economic scale.
Here's how to think about what the "compass" means:
If you're higher on the chart, your views on the included issues are more socially progressive. If you're lower, then you're more socially conservative
If you're on the left side, you're more aligned with the economic "left", while if you're on the right, you're on the economic "right"
Vote Compass uses your answers to calculate your alignment on a social and economic scale.
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The other plot will show the extent of your agreement and disagreement with the parties and candidates on the policy issues included in Vote Compass.
You can weight your results based on which issues you rank as more or less important.
Further down, you can explore how your answers compare question by question. Click on the party or candidate to see an explanation of their position.
If you've identified your electorate, you'll be shown a list of the candidates campaigning for your vote, as well as a link to
Vox Pop Labs founder Clifton van der Linden says the idea behind Vote Compass is to help people understand how they align with political parties on public policy.
"It is simply meant to help Australians have a sense that they are well-informed about the broad range of policy issues that are salient in this campaign and about the positions that the parties hold on those issues," he says.
Dr van der Linden says Vote Compass doesn't tell you how to vote or who to vote for, nor does it try to predict how people will vote.
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Cost of living rises to the top, housing dream harder to achieve
The responses to Vote Compass also provide an insight into attitudes on issues.
The cost of living came out on top as the most important issue for Vote Compass respondents, followed by the economy and finance and government operations.
The cost of living was also highlighted as a
About 45 per cent of Vote Compass respondents say they are finding it difficult to cope on their current income.
Vote Compass data shows 90 per cent of respondents think it is more difficult for young Australians to buy a house today than it was for previous generations.
This follows
In regards to solutions to the housing crisis, Vote Compass data shows 62.7 per cent of respondents said there should be more government intervention.
Almost 50 per cent of respondents agree there should be fewer tax breaks on investment properties while about 27 per cent disagree.
However, the data shows respondents are split on whether there should be other changes to tax policies.
About 43 per cent of respondents do not think the government should change its tax policies to discourage people from using housing as an investment while 36 per cent are in favour of changes.
This finding is from a weighted sample of 124,988 respondents.
Amid the housing crisis, migration levels have been a talking point during the campaign, but experts say migration is a small part of the puzzle.
The data shows roughly 49 per cent of about 340,000 respondents want "many fewer" or "somewhat fewer"
That's a significant change from 2022's Vote Compass results, in which 49 per cent of respondents said Australia should welcome "somewhat more" or "many more" immigrants.
Nuclear, young voters and the US factor
The ABC has been reporting on findings from Vote Compass findings throughout the campaign.
About 47 per cent of respondents said they strongly disagreed or somewhat disagreed
Vote Compass data suggests there has been a shift in views since the last election.
This year 36 per cent of respondents told Vote Compass much more should be done to reduce Australia's carbon emissions. That figure is down from 2022 when 61 per cent of participants said much more should be done.
This year gen Z and millennials will make up the largest voting bloc for the first time.
According to Vote Compass responses, the
The data shows 67 per cent of generation Z women identified as left or moderately left, compared to 52 per cent of women from other generations.
US President Donald Trump's tariffs announcement has meant the United States has featured throughout the campaign.
About 47 per cent of Vote Compass respondents believe
The Lowy Institute recently found Australians' trust in the US had dropped since Mr Trump's return to the White House, but Australians still
About Vote Compass data
Vote Compass is an educational tool designed to promote electoral literacy and civic engagement. While not a conventional public opinion poll, Vote Compass responses can be analysed using statistical methods similar to those used in polling to try to adjust for sampling bias.
Responses have been weighted by gender, age, education, language, religion, place of residence and past vote to account for the selection effects of the sample,
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