The Australian Election Study (AES) has been running as a series of surveys beginning in 1987 that have been timed to coincide with Australian Federal elections. The series also builds on the Australian National Political Attitudes Surveys run in 1967, 1969 and 1979. The AES survey is funded by the Australian Research Council and has been directed by Professor Ian McAllister and the AES team.

The AES aims to provide a long-term perspective on stability and change in the political attitudes and behaviour of the Australian electorate, and investigate the changing social bases of Australian politics as the economy and society modernise and change character. In addition to these long-term goals they examine the political issues prevalent in the election and assess their importance for the election result.

The AES contains two main components:

• The AES voter study - The study of Australian voters
• The Australian Candidate Study (ACS) - The study of candidates for the House of Representatives and the Senate

Additionally, the AES Project is related to the following studies:

• The Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) - A collaborative program of cross-national electoral research
• The Australian National Political Attitudes Surveys (ANPAS) - The predecessor to the AES
• The 1999 Australian Constitutional Referendum Study