IN BRIEF
- Australians' trust in each other has dropped to a low unseen this decade, with trust in democracy also declining.
- Increasing political discourse about multiculturalism and national identity could be behind rising mistrust.
Australia celebrates the value of mateship, but distrust between the population has grown to the highest level reported this decade.
A survey of over 3,500 people, conducted by the Australian National University in June, suggests Australians trust each other less than they did during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Nicholas Biddle, head of ANU's School of Politics and International Relations, said some of the findings were concerning.
"Worryingly, interpersonal trust among Australians has fallen to 5.32 on a scale of 0 to 10 — the lowest value recorded in ANUpoll during the 2020s,'' he said.
"This sits below the pre-COVID value of 5.53 recorded in October 2019 and reverses the increase in trust observed during the pandemic."
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Researchers asked participants three questions: whether they believed most people could be trusted, whether someone would take advantage of them if given the chance, and whether people are generally helpful or selfish in their choices.
While the results for all three indicated declining trust, the most dramatic decrease was in belief that others can be trusted, Biddle said.
He also noted that trust remains strongest among "older Australians, degree holders and the employed".
Age, employment and life satisfaction
The findings follow data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ General Social Survey from 2025 that found half of Australians felt others could be trusted — compared to 61 per cent in 2020.
Similarly, Scanlon Foundation Research Institute CEO Anthea Hancocks said the findings reflected those of her organisation.
"People who are employed each day or very often are going to a workplace where there are other people working towards a similar goal — and they're getting paid," she explained.
"That gives you a greater sense of self-worth that you may not necessarily have if you're unemployed."
She suggested that higher trust among older Australians may be related to her organisation's findings that this cohort had "a higher sense of belonging than any other age group".
"That's generally because they know the world in which they're living; they're quite comfortable with their circumstances," she said.
"They know what they are and have an understanding of what the future holds. Unlike young people, whose sense of belonging is way below average."
The ANUpoll also found that between March and June of 2026, life satisfaction in Australia plateaued at 6.22 out of 10.
Over the same period, the proportion of those who experienced difficult or very difficult levels of financial stress decreased slightly from 34.9 per cent in March to 33 per cent in June.
Australians also were found to be more dissatisfied than satisfied with the direction of the nation in 2026, compared with January 2020.
Perceptions of democracy
The survey also found that satisfaction in the way democracy works in Australia fell from 65.7 to 63.8 per cent between March and June this year.
While it's the lowest reported rate since January 2023, in-principle support of democracy increased from 66.9 per cent in May 2025 to 72 per cent in June 2026.
"Australians are becoming more critical of how democracy is being delivered without withdrawing their commitment to democracy itself," Biddle said.
He said agreement with core democratic norms, such as that no-one should be above the law, remains very high and largely unchanged since March.
Civil debate key to 'positive' change
ANU acting head of psychology professor Michael Platow, who wasn't involved in the study, said "declining trust isn't necessarily bad" — it depends on what else is occurring.
"We trust people we think are part of us in some sense; it's called group membership ... we have a tendency to trust 'us'," he said.
"A lack of trust could mean there's disintegration — where people are not seeing 'us' as all Australians together and seeing 'us' more as subgroups with competing interests."
He believes perceived disintegration could be fuelled by political discourse about multiculturalism and Australian nationalism.
"There are political debates, like it or not, that say some people ... aren't really Australians," he said.
"The psychological construction of 'us' is what is being manipulated through political discourse ... and that can certainly lead to a decrease in overall trust."
Platow said that Australia's broad embrace of multiculturalism enabled a larger understanding of national identity.
"Multiculturalism allowed us to be diverse. It didn't make Australia perfect ... There was still racism and prejudice, but it does form a kind of subjective and psychological basis for 'us' and helped us deal with the diversity that is a reality of our country," he said.
While political debate can disintegrate that notion of 'us', Platow believes it's crucial to "positive social change".
He cited the White Australia Policy as an example, saying this particular form of racial discrimination was ended by Australia "questioning and challenging who we are and what we are".
Build trust in your own backyard
For the many Australians who feel disconnected from political debate and discourse, Hancocks recommends building trust in their own backyard.
"If people live in an area of high neighbourhood cohesion, which would indicate a degree of trust in their neighbourhood, then their level of happiness goes up," she said.
"If your level of happiness goes up, you're somewhat more optimistic about the future because the things around you are giving you some degree of hope."
She said hope and "optimism" about being able to overcome negative circumstances strengthens a person's sense of self and their trust in others.
"You can't force it, and we have to recognise that trust is easily lost and really hard to build. People do have trusted relationships that they're reluctant to let other people into," she said.
"But within local areas, there are lots of community organisations and councils that are doing all sorts of things to try and bring people together and help them connect.
She offered encouragement to people "to step into an area in which they feel comfortable and start to reach out."
For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.
