What the budget means for your generation – gen Z, millennial, gen X or boomer

Guardian Australia writers from different generations reflect on the 2026 federal budget, which overhauls capital gains tax and negative gearing to promote ‘intergenerational fairness’. (L to R) Molly Glassey, Ima Caldwell, Jonathan Barrett and Susan McDonald. Illustration: Guardian Design

Gen Z: not off the treadmill yet

It’s hard to speak for the millions in the gen Z collective. We were born in the mid-to-late 90s to 2010, making up at least 18.2% of the Australian population, and are at many wildly different stages of life. Some zoomers have started families; others live in share houses or childhood bedrooms. Despite our varying circumstances, we are largely united by a sense of uncertainty.