In brief
The survey, conducted in June and July with over 4,000 respondents, shows that 74.4% of Australians believe Australia is more divided than a year earlier. Trust in federal politicians and parties has dropped, and satisfaction with the country’s direction is at a new low, with stark disparities along education lines.
A McKinnon think‑tank survey released on Nov. 2 found that more than seventy percent of Australians say the country is more divided than a year ago, citing a sharp drop in trust and satisfaction with the political system.
The independent survey, conducted by the McKinnon Institute in June and July, polled more than 4,000 respondents across the country about their views of Australian political institutions, leaders and the overall direction of the nation.
Among the respondents, 41.9 percent strongly agreed that the nation is more divided today, while another 32.5 percent somewhat agreed, bringing the combined total of those who see increased division to 74.4 percent.
Satisfaction with the country’s direction fell, with only 26.1 percent of participants reporting they were very or somewhat satisfied, down from 28.8 percent in 2025. At the same time, 7.2 percentage points higher respondents reported they were very dissatisfied with the way Australia is heading.
Trust in federal politicians also slipped, with just 30.5 percent of Australians reporting a high degree of trust in politicians, compared with 35.9 percent a year earlier. Meanwhile, confidence in political parties fell sharply, with only 24.4 percent indicating a high degree of trust versus 31.2 percent previously.
Findings on Trust, Satisfaction, and Education
John Thwaites, McKinnon’s interim executive chair and former deputy premier of Victoria, explained the findings in a statement, noting a particular divide along education lines.
Australians have considerably more confidence in the institutions of democracy than they do in the politics conducted within them. One of the findings I found most striking is the divide by education. Satisfaction with democracy is 59 percent among Australians with a university degree or higher. Among Australians whose highest qualification is high school or below, it is just 39.7 percent.
In the survey respondents’ sense of representation, 34.6 percent strongly disagreed that they feel understood and represented by Australia’s federal politicians, up from 27.0 percent a year earlier.
The proportion of people reporting low trust in the federal government rose sharply, from 46.3 percent in 2025 to 52.8 percent in 2026, underscoring a growing erosion of confidence in national leadership.
These survey results paint a picture of a country where a majority view division as worsening, trust in individual politicians and parties is weakening, and satisfaction with the nation’s trajectory is at a historic low, especially among those with lower levels of formal education.
With the survey’s findings released in November, analysts warn that the trends could signal increased polarization and challenges to democratic governance in Australia, prompting calls for reforms that address both institutional trust and civic engagement across all segments of society.