Australia bucks OECD trend with increasing trust in public sector

The second OECD survey about the drivers of trust in public institutions, conducted in 2023, found that 46 per cent of Australians trusted the federal government.

This is an 8 percentage point jump on the 2021 result - which was measured during the COVID pandemic - and above the OECD average of 39 per cent.

The survey included results from 30 countries and found citizens were generally less trustful of their national institutions. Only 39 per cent of respondents expressed trust in their national government, while 44 per cent had low or no trust in government.

The survey asked respondents for their views on a range of institutions, and found Australians trusted their government more than the parliament, suggesting Australians trust public servants more than politicians, however the police and the courts were given a higher grade than both.

Australians generally trusted public servants to act fairly and treat people equally and Australia was above the OECD average for respondents thinking it would be likely that a public employee would refuse a bribe, with 41 per cent thinking that would be likely.

The findings follow a rebound in trust after the 2022 election. After record low levels of trust in the government following the 2019 election, the Australian Election Study found trust recovered from 25 per cent to 30 per cent.

Australians' growing trust in their government was also mirrored in their attitudes towards the public service, with more saying they would trust a government employee in 2023 than in 2021.

Just over half of Australians said they had high or moderately high trust in the national civil service, a similar figure for local government, however less than 50 per cent trusted national and regional governments.

However, when accounting for demographic factors, that trust was not evenly distributed.

Those with higher levels of financial concerns were less trustful than their better-off peers, as were those with lower levels of education.

Australian women were also more distrustful of the national government than men, and Australia had one of the higher gender gaps in trust among the countries surveyed.

The gender gap aligned with Australian women feeling less confident in their ability to participate in politics. More than half of men said they felt confident to participate in politics, but less than 40 per cent of women felt the same way.

There were also concerns that governments were not responsive to public concerns. Less than half of Australians said it was likely that public services would improve if many people complained.

The public policy area of greatest concern to Australians was housing: 39 per cent of respondents identified it as a problem around the country.

The Australian Public Service Commission welcomed the results of the survey and said that further work would delve into Australia's unique responses.

"This is Australia's second year participating in the OECD Trust Survey and the results provide us with valuable insights into the public's perceptions of various Australian public institutions," the APSC said in a statement.

"The APSC is currently working with OECD on a country study to further explore these results."