Trust and satisfaction insights

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Who trusts?

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Life Satisfaction
 
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Gender
 
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Regional and Metro areas
71% of people who were satisfied with life[8] reported trust in public services[1], compared with 36% of people who were dissatisfied with life. 63% of men reported trust in public services compared to 53% of women. More people who live in Metro areas reported trust in public services (60%) than people who live in regional areas (53%).
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Income
 
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Language spoken at home
 
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Trust in people
65% of those earning above a weekly wage of $1,249 reported trust in public services compared to 59% of people earning less than $1,250 weekly. 76% of people who primarily speak a language other than English at home reported trust in Australian public services, compared to 57% who primarily speak English at home. 75% of people who trusted others[9] also reported trust in public services, compared with 38% for those who distrusted others.
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Age
 
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Education levels
 
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Country of birth
Trust in public services was higher for people aged 18-34 (61%) and 65+ (60%) than those aged 35-64 (55%). 60% of those who graduated year 12 reported trust in public services compared to 49% of people who left education before year 12. 65% of people born in a country other than Australia reported trust in Australian public services compared with 56% people born in Australia.

What aspects of services were people satisfied with?

In 2024, people were most satisfied[5] with:

  • their respectful interactions with staff
  • the accuracy of information provided​.

People were least satisfied[6] with elements of service processes, such as:​

  • being kept informed of progress and wait times
  • the amount of time it took to reach an outcome​
  • clarity that they could give feedback about their experience​.

77% of people indicated that they got what they needed. This represents one of the strongest satisfaction elements.

Figure 2: Proportion of people who were satisfied with the service
Staff: respected me: 77%, did what they said: 73%, My needs were understood: 72%, & were knowledgeable: 71%. Information: was accurate: 77%, easy to understand: 75%, & the process was clear: 71%. Access: easy to find: 75%, easy to access: 74%, & worked well: 73%. Process: effort I had to put in was reasonable: 74%, were clear: 71%, & amount of time was acceptable: 70%, explained how personal info was used: 67%, kept informed of progress & times: 64%, & give feedback: 63%. Outcome: I got what I needed: 77%

What aspects of services were people dissatisfied with?​

One in five people who accessed services reported dissatisfaction with at least one of these service[10]. We followed these people up with a question that asked which aspect of the service they were most dissatisfied with[11].12% of people reported their dissatisfaction related to the process, and 9% said that it was related to access.

Figure 3: Reasons for dissatisfaction
This chart shows the % of respondents indicating which aspect of the service they were most dissatisfied with: "The staff, e.g. did not treat me with respect," was least cited at 6%. "The outcome, e.g. it seemed unfair)," 8% of the dissatisfaction. Both "The information provided, for example, it was unclear or confusing," and "Accessing the service, e.g. it was difficult to access," were each 9%. The highest dissatisfaction was with "The process of the service, e.g. it was unclear or it took too long," 12%

Trust and satisfaction in specific services​

Figure 4: Service Trust and Satisfaction
DFAT trust 81%, satisfaction 78%. PBS trust81%, satisfy 78%. Medicare trust 80%, satisfy 79%. Home Affairs trust: 79%, satisfy 73%. ATO trust 75%, satisfy 78%. AEC trust 75%, satisfy 80%. My Aged Care trust 74%, satisfy 69%. Dept of Education trust 73%, satisfy 68%. Fair Work Ombuds trust 70%, satisfy 68%. Veterans’ Affairs trust & satisfy 70%-69%. ACCC both 69%. Agriculture trust 68%, satisfy 71%. Child Support trust: 66%, satisfy 62%. DEWR trust 65%, satisfy 61%. Centrelink both 59%. NDIS both 57%.

Want more detail on services?

More results for each service are available online through our interactive dashboard.

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Trust and satisfaction in each service over time

 

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The line for trust starts at 66% in 2018/2019, rises to a peak of 78% in 2020/2021, then decreases to 67% in 2021/2022 and remains steady through to 2023/2024. The line for satisfaction begins at 61% in 2018/2019, reaches a high of 72% in 2020/2021, decreases significantly 58% in 2021/2022 and then rises again to 69% in 2023/2024.
Australian Electoral Commission
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2020/21 financial year to 2022/23 financial year and then a separate data point for the 2023/24 financial year, representing the change in method that affected the AEC data. The line for trust starts at 90% in 2020/21 and declines slightly to 86% in 2022/23. The line for satisfaction begins at 88% in 2020/2021, and rises slightly to 90% in 2023/24. Data points for 2023/24 are both approx 10 % lower the previous lines.

Note: ​A method change affected findings for the Australian Electoral Commission in the 2023-2024 financial year. The change led to over 20 times as many people answering questions about the service. This resulted in reported trust and satisfaction for the agency becoming much more neutral.​

As such, the current year findings are not directly comparable to previous years.

More details about the method changes can be found in Appendix and Supplementary Material.

 
Australian Taxation Office
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The line for trust starts at 66% in 2018/2019, rises to a peak of 80% in 2021, then decreases to 75% in 2023/2024. The line for satisfaction follows an almost identical trend, with the exception that in the 2018/2019 financial year, satisfaction was 5 percentage points higher at 71%.
Centrelink – Services Australia
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The line for trust starts at 52% in 2018/2019, rises to a peak of 64% in 2020/2021, then decreases to 59% in 2023/2024. The line for satisfaction follows an almost identical trend.
Child Support – Services Australia
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The line for trust starts at 65% in 2018/2019, drops to 61% in 2019/2020, increases to 68% in 2020/2021 and declines to 66% in 2023/2024. The line for satisfaction starts at 60% in 2018/2019, drops to 52% in 2019/2020, increases significantly to 68% in 2020/2021 and declines to 62% in 2023/2024.
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The line for trust varies significantly as it decreases in an overall downward trend. It starts at 81% in 2018/2019, drop to 69% in 2019/2020, increases to 77% in 2020/2021, drops to 62% in 2021/2022, increases to 72% in 2022/2023 and then drops to 68% in 2023/2024. The line for satisfaction follows an almost identical trend.
Department of Education
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages for the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 financial years. Both lines decrease across these two financial years.
Note: Department of Education was created in the FY2022-23 as a result of machinery of government changes.
 
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages for the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 financial years. Both lines increase across these two financial years.
Note: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations was created in the FY2022-23 as a result of machinery of government changes.
 
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The line for trust starts at 82% in 2018/2019, drops to a low of 77% in 2021/2022, then increases to 81% in 2023/2024. The line for satisfaction begins at 83% in 2018/2019, reaches a low of 73% in 2021/2022, and then increases to 78% in 2023/24.
Department of Home Affairs
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The line for both trust and satisfaction is around 80% from 2018 to 2021, then drop significantly to around 70% in the 2020/2021 financial year and rises again by about 5 percentage points over the next two financial years.
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. Both lines declines incrementally from just above 80% in 2018/2019 to around 70% in 2023/2024.
Fair Work Ombudsman
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The line for trust is relatively stable varying between 67% and 73%. The line for satisfaction begins at 63% in 2018/2019, reaches a high of 71% in 2020/2021, drops back to around 63% in 2021 to 2023 and increases again to 68% in 2023/24.
Medicare – Services Australia
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The lines for trust and satisfaction are both relatively stable over time varying in the range of 75-80%.
My Aged Care
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The line for trust starts at 69% in 2018/2019, rises to a peak of 76% in 2020/2021, then decreases to 74% in 2023/2024. The line for satisfaction begins at 73% in 2018/2019, drops to a low of 63% in 2020/2021, and varies between these two points for the next four years finishing at 69% in 2023/24.
National Disability Insurance Scheme
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The line for trust starts at 52% in 2018/2019, rises to a peak of 67% in 2022/2023, then decreases to 57% in 2023/2024. The line for satisfaction begins at 63% in 2018/2019, reaches a high of 64% in 2020/2021, and then declines to 57% in 2023/2024.
Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme
This line graph depicts two lines representing trust and satisfaction percentages from the 2018/2019 financial year to 2023/2024 financial year. The line for trust starts at 74% in 2018/2019 and rises to a peak of 81% in 2023/2024. The line for satisfaction begins at 76% in 2019, reaches a low of 70% in 2021/2022, and then increases to 78% by in 2023/2024.

Further resources on trust and satisfaction

Trust and Satisfaction in Australian Democracy: 2023 National Survey​

  • In partnership with the Strengthening Democracy Taskforce at the Department of Home Affairs, we engaged with over 6,000 Australians in 2023 to explore their sentiment about Australian democracy. Our report provides a detailed overview, revealing people’s satisfaction levels with democracy, underlying their concerns and a resilient desire to strengthen our democracy.​

OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions​

  • The OECD Trust Survey, launched in 2021, is a biennial survey conducted across the OECD member countries to evaluate trust in public institutions. Australia has participated in the survey since 2021.
  • Since 2023, we have collaborated with the OECD on a country study to examine the drivers of trust in public institutions in Australia. The findings from this study will be released in 2025.

Long-term Insights Briefings – How might AI affect the trustworthiness of public service delivery?

  • We included three questions in the first wave of the Trust and Satisfaction in Australian Democracy Survey in June 2023, providing data evidence for better understanding the community’s views on the use of AI in the delivery of public service.​
Continuing data sharing activities to strengthen transparency
  • We publish an Interactive Dashboard on the survey results, which allows people to further explore the data and includes service profile information and demographics.​
  • Our micro data is made accessible to approved researchers by sharing data with the Australian Data Achieve operated through the Australian National University.​

Footnotes

[1] Q93 – Overall trust is the proportion of people who answered “Strongly agree” or “Agree” when asked “How much do you agree with the following statement – ‘I can trust Australian public services’”. It also includes a proportion of people who answered “Somewhat agree” before the method changes. See Appendix ”Method changes” for more details.

[5] Q34 – Proportion of people who answered “Strongly agree” or “Agree” when asked how much they agreed with statements about their service experience. The proportion is adjusted pro rata for the amount of services each individual was asked about. It also includes a proportion of people who answered “Somewhat agree” before the method changes. See Appendix “Method changes” for more details.

[6] Q34 – Proportion of people who answered “Strongly disagree” or “Disagree” when asked how much they agreed with statements about their service experience. The proportion is adjusted pro rata for the amount of services each individual was asked about. It also includes a proportion of people who answered “Somewhat disagree” before the method changes. See Appendix “Method changes” for more details.

[8] Q44 – Life satisfaction is the proportion of people who answered “Completely satisfied” or “Satisfied” when asked “Overall how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with life as a whole these days?” It also includes a proportion of people who answered “Somewhat satisfied” before the method changes. See Appendix “Method changes” for more details.

[9] Q45 – Trust in other people is the proportion of people who answered “Strongly agree” or “Agree” when asked “How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement – ‘Most people can be trusted’”. It also includes a proportion of people who answered “Somewhat agree” before the method changes. See Appendix “Method changes” for more details.

[10] . Q25 – Dissatisfaction with a service is the proportion of people who answered “Completely dissatisfied” or “Dissatisfied” when asked “Thinking about your experience with the services you accessed from each of the following, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you?”.

[10] Q26 – Proportion of people who answered each statement in the graph for at least one service they accessed when asked “Thinking about your experience with each of the services you accessed, what were you most dissatisfied with?”. The question was only asked of people who answered “Completely dissatisfied” or “Dissatisfied” to Q25 (see note 10). This question was included in the survey between November 2023 and June 2024.