Doctors remain the most trusted professionals in Australia, according to newly released research.
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) commissioned a survey late last year, which was conducted by independent market research firm Dynata.
A total of 1500 people were surveyed across Australia and New Zealand.
The findings were released this year and show that 91 per cent of respondents said they trusted their doctors.
This was followed by 84 per cent saying they trusted teachers, 83 per cent trusting engineers, and 75 per cent saying they trusted accountants.
Political parties were the least trusted institution, with only 20 per cent of respondents indicating they trusted them.
While the survey was conducted partly to gauge current sentiment of financial institutions in light of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, the results are another firm vote of confidence in the medical profession.
CA ANZ Thought Leadership and Research Leader, Geraldine Magarey, said that while trust in institutions was falling, trust in experts and specialists appears to be rising.
“Who and why we trust is changing, but a high level of trust in experts remains constant,” Ms Magarey said.
“That may be because experts are seen as objective – speaking from their expertise – rather than from an ideological or self-serving position which often undercuts trust in institutions.”
Banks are trusted by only 42 per cent of Australians according to the survey. By contrast, 67 per cent of New Zealanders trust banks.
The least trusted institutions among the 16 groups in the survey are political parties at 20 per cent, then the news media at 39 per cent and religious institutions at 40 per cent.
Another key report finding is that the shift towards increased use of technology to communicate is not damaging trust in the delivery of professional services, but the accompanying move away from face-to-face contact is.
“As we move towards more electronic communication, we must be conscious of also maintaining the more traditional ways of building relationships, such as meeting people face-to-face, and speaking on the phone,” Ms Magarey said.
CHRIS JOHNSON
The full report can be found at: https://www.charteredaccountantsanz.com/news-and-analysis/insights/research-and-insights/the-future-of-trust
The Who do we trust? graph shows the combined percentage of respondents saying they either trust a great deal, tend to trust or somewhat trust each profession and institution.
