Australia is a slightly kinder country than it was three years ago and it's the women leading the way.
A Red Cross survey has found compassion appears to be on the rise, with 69 per cent of Australians saying they care about making their communities a better place compared to 65 per cent three years ago.
Nine out of the 10 people surveyed among 1,011 in Australia, also found we should be kinder to each other every day.
Red Cross chief executive Judy Slatyer says Australians really care about those struggling in their communities, with nearly three out of five willing to do more to help out.
Judy Slatyer. Source: SBS
"We need to create more opportunities to be involved as less than two out of five are actively engaged in their local community," she said.
She pointed to the recent bushfire crisis as an opportunity to help and support those communities ravaged by the climate disaster.
Women are more compassionate than men and are more likely to do a spontaneous act of kindness for someone in their community,
Some 84 per cent of women have behaved kindly in the past year, including donating clothes or items to charity, compared with 62 per cent of men.
Women were also more likely to spontaneously act in a kind way towards a friend, family member or colleague at 73 per cent, compared with 58 per cent of male respondents.
The survey also found people over 40 years of age believed everyone should be more kind to others on a regular basis compared with those under 40.
Yet those under the age of 40 are more likely to help vulnerable people in society compared with people over 40.
Adelaide has the best intentions with 93 per cent of respondents saying the country would be a better place if people did one kind thing every day, while South Australia was also the top state for kind intentions too.
Regional NSW topped the list at 78 per cent of people having donated clothes or goods in the past year.
The MevCorp survey was conducted for Red Cross from a sample size of 1,011 Australians over the age of 18, in February this year.
