Research indicates that Australia has moved beyond ‘peak woke’, as most of Generation Z is turning away from divisive identity politics.
The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) studied the rise in popularity of 20 key terms linked to social justice or ‘woke’ ideas over the past two decades.
They monitored how often Australians searched on Google for terms like ‘decolonisation’, ‘body positivity’, ‘white privilege’, ‘invasion day’, and ‘pronouns’, noting a surge in interest since 2012.
Despite a peak in March 2023 for all 20 woke-related search terms, including ‘cultural appropriation’, ‘non-binary’, and ‘critical race theory’, interest has sharply declined.
Brianna McKee, the IPA’s National Manager of Generation Liberty, proclaimed that Australia is now past the ‘peak woke’ era.
Ms. McKee explained, ‘Wokeness involves critical social justice theories prompting individuals to view the world through lenses of class, race, or gender, categorizing identities within societal divisions of oppressors and the oppressed.’
‘The IPA’s research clearly shows Australians have had enough of this pernicious and divisive agenda, as well as identity politics that are pushed on them in schools, universities, at work and at sporting events.’
‘The cultural correction underway reflects a broader realisation that society functions best when it shares a belief in objective truth, shared values, and moral norms.’
Australia has officially passed ‘peak woke’, with Generation Z now rejecting divisive identity politics in massive numbers, according to new research and polling (pictured: a young Aussie celebrates Australia Day)
The average frequency for 20 woke search terms, including ‘decolonisation’, ‘body positivity’, ‘white privilege’, ‘invasion day’ and ‘pronouns’, reached a peak in March 2023. But it has been rapidly declining ever since, leading the IPA’s National Manager of Generation Liberty Brianna McKee to declare that Australia has passed ‘peak woke’
Of course, seven months after ‘peak woke’ was reached, Australians resoundingly rejected Anthony Albanese’s Voice to Parliament.
Prominent ‘No’ campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price had encouraged Aussies to reject the referendum as a way to stand against ‘woke insidious cancel culture’.
The IPA’s research was backed up by a survey which showed, perhaps surprisingly, that those aged 18-24 were increasingly rejecting woke ideas, in contrast to the age group directly above them.
Indeed, those aged 25-34 – an age group that straddles both Generation Z and Millennials – were far more likely to agree with ‘woke’ concepts than any other cohort.
Abbie Chatfield, who at the age of 30 is slap bang in the middle of this age group, is often seen as the pin-up girl of the woke generation.
The reality TV star-turned-podcaster recently took aim at US actress Sydney Sweeney amid the backlash to her American Eagle jeans campaign.
But the research shows Chatfield runs the risk of turning off younger followers who are far less interested in woke issues and identity politics than Millennials.
For example, 47 per cent of those age 25-34 said their race, gender, sex or ethnic background was an important or very important factor in their voting habits.
The IPA’s research was backed up by a survey which showed, perhaps surprisingly, that those aged 18-24 were increasingly rejecting woke ideas, in contrast to the age group directly above them (pictured: Abbie Chatfield, who at the age of 30 is slap bang in the middle of the 25-34 age group, is often seen as the pin-up girl of the woke generation)
However, only 38 per cent of those aged 18-24 agreed.
The survey, which polled 1,027 Australians between 25 April and 28 April 2025, also found that only 34 per cent of Australians support affirmative action in the workplace – where some people are promoted or employed on the basis of their race of gender identity.
Some 49 per cent of Australians oppose it and 17 per cent are unsure.
However, a majority of those aged 25-35 – 55 per cent – support affirmative action in the workplace.
Meanwhile, only 46 per cent of those aged 18-24 support it, suggesting that ‘younger Australians are returning to a values system of individuality and egalitarianism’, according to the IPA’s Ms McKee.
‘Gen Z have been berated more than past generations to see the world through the prism of race and gender, where every act is a potential trap for cancel culture police. It’s no wonder younger Australians are turning away from this divisive agenda and its constant conflict,’ she added.
‘These findings are a lesson for our leaders that Australians understand full well that there is more that unites us and divides us.
‘At a time when social cohesion is collapsing in Australia, there are welcome signs the divisive agenda of the political class is starting to be rejected.’
The survey also found that 89 per cent of Australians explicitly support the principle of equality before the law, rather than making distinctions between groups to make up for alleged historical injustices.
The IPA’s research was backed up by a survey which showed, perhaps surprisingly, that those aged 18-24 were increasingly rejecting woke ideas, in contrast to the age group older than them
The IPA’s report, entitled ‘Peak Woke: The declining popularity of social justice ideas in Australia’, defines ‘peak woke’ as the ‘point at which woke ideas reach their most extreme and illogical conclusions, alienating even their original supporters’.
‘This is the moment when progressive ideologies become so detached from practical realities that they become absurd,’ Ms McKee adds.
It highlights how the ‘woke agenda’ in Australia has suffered a backlash in recent years.
For example, Woolworths faced calls for a boycott last year after it announced it would not stock Australia Day merchandise due to an apparent ‘decline in demand’.
The supermarket giant backflipped on the decision in January 2025 after the backlash.
The report also highlights how this rejection of woke ideas has been evident across the Western world.
‘The election of Donald Trump at the 2024 US Presidential election, the overwhelming rejection of the proposed Voice to Parliament at the 2023 referendum in Australia, and the rise of populist, anti-establishment parties in the UK and continental Europe, indicate a mainstream rejection of wokeness,’ it adds.
However, Ms McKee warned against complacency.
‘Despite these encouraging trends, wokeness remains entrenched in much of Australia’s big corporates, which are teeming with diversity, equity and inclusion departments and staff,’ she added.
‘It is time corporate Australia focused on productivity, not pitting their staff against one another.’
