Almost half of Australians trust the federal government, higher than the OECD average, according to a survey of 30 nations.

The OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions shows 46 per cent of Australians have high or moderately high trust in the federal government, above the OECD average of 39 per cent.

The Australian figure represents an increase in trust of eight percentage points since 2021.

The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) has welcomed the survey, saying it provides valuable insights into public perceptions of government.

“Australian’s trust in the federal government has increased significantly in 2023. This exceeds the OECD average, placing Australia in the top 10 of the 30 countries surveyed,” the commission said in a statement.

The report shows Australians place high trust in the police (68 per cent) and the judicial system (59 per cent). Around half (51 per cent) have high or moderately high trust in local government.

Australia also performed above the OECD average on a range of indicators including satisfaction with day-to-day interactions with government, trust that applications for government benefits will be treated fairly, satisfaction with the education and health care systems, and confidence that the government will protect them in a national emergency.

Forty-one per cent of Australians expect that public employees would refuse bribes offered to speed up access to services access, but this is better than the OECD average of 36 per cent.

However, only 25 per cent of people in Australia find it likely that government would refuse a corporation’s demand that could be harmful to society, lower than the average of 30 per cent across OECD countries.

The survey, carried out in October and November 2023, also reveals a trust gender gap between Australian men and women.

It shows that men are on average more likely to have high or moderately high trust in the federal government (54 per cent) than women (38 per cent). This gender gap is above the 7 percentage point average gender trust gap across OECD countries.

Identifying challenges and trends

OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said the survey aims to help governments identify challenges and trends in relation to trust placed in them.

“The results of this latest edition of our Trust Survey shows citizens’ want a greater voice in decision making – to ensure it is fair, evidence-based, accountable, and clearly communicated,” the former Australian Cabinet minister said.

“Ensuring citizen engagement is meaningful and inclusive, supporting open information and transparent communications, fostering information integrity and transparency standards in policymaking processes, and reliable and fair public services, will help enhance the democratic process, and ultimately, strengthen trust in government.”  

The APSC says it is working with the OECD on a country study to further explore the results.