Trust in Australia’s federal politicians has fallen to just 30.5 per cent, while fewer than half of voters believe people like them have a meaningful say in government, according to the 2026 McKinnon Index.
The assessment of Australia’s democratic health also found that almost three-quarters of people believe the country has become more divided over the past year. Its findings reveal a pronounced education divide, with university graduates significantly more satisfied with democracy and more confident in election outcomes than those whose education ended at high school.
Trust in state and territory politicians has dropped six percentage points to 32.7 per cent, while confidence in the federal government has fallen from 37.6 per cent to 33.1 per cent. Fewer than one in four Australians expressed high trust in political parties.
The results come during a major realignment of Australian politics, as Pauline Hanson’s One Nation gains support in national opinion polls and the major parties struggle to retain voters. Political debate has also intensified around immigration, antisemitism and social cohesion following the December 2025 Bondi massacre.
The education divide in democratic confidence
Overall satisfaction with democracy has slipped from 54.5 per cent to 50.7 per cent, although more than three-quarters of those surveyed still believe democracy is preferable to any other system of government.
Among Australians whose education ended at high school, 39.7 per cent said they were satisfied with democracy. The figure rose to 59 per cent among university graduates.
The gap was wider on confidence in elections, with almost three-quarters of graduates expressing confidence in election outcomes compared with fewer than half of those with a high school education or below.
Only 41.7 per cent of people without tertiary qualifications believed people like them had a say in government, compared with 54.6 per cent of university graduates. Fewer than half felt confident accessing reliable information about public policy, against almost two-thirds of graduates.
More than 80 per cent of university graduates said they understood how Australian democracy worked, compared with fewer than two-thirds of those whose education ended at high school.
The findings suggest educational attainment is a stronger dividing line than income across several measures of democratic confidence and participation, raising questions about whether political institutions are equally accessible to all citizens.
Political division and falling trust
Confidence that Australians can freely express their political opinions has fallen by almost 10 percentage points, from 67.9 per cent to 58.1 per cent. More people now view political discussion as unhealthy, while 74.4 per cent believe the country has become more divided.
Among 18 to 24-year-olds, 21.8 per cent of men and 21.2 per cent of women said they could not be friends with someone whose political views differed from their own. That compared with 4.5 per cent of men and 6.3 per cent of women aged over 65.
The survey also found that 27.5 per cent of men aged 18 to 24 believed extreme measures, including violence, could sometimes be justified to advance a cause they cared about. The figure was 16.9 per cent among women of the same age and 10.1 per cent across the population as a whole.
Broken promises were identified as the main reason for distrust by 25 per cent of respondents, followed by dishonesty at 22.1 per cent and politicians being out of touch at 19 per cent. Self-interest was cited by 15.5 per cent, while 5.8 per cent nominated the cost of living.
The research, based on interviews with 4,273 Australians conducted by Roy Morgan between June 19 and July 21, was carried out amid heightened concern about political hostility following the alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines outside her Wangaratta electorate office.
John Thwaites, the McKinnon interim executive chairman and a former Victorian deputy premier, said rebuilding trust required politicians to demonstrate integrity and show voters that their views mattered.
“People need to know their voice matters,” Mr Thwaites said. “They also need to see leaders acting with integrity, keeping their promises and delivering outcomes that make a difference to their lives. Both matter if we want to rebuild trust.”
Despite the decline in confidence in political leaders, trust in the Australian Electoral Commission has risen to 72.9 per cent. Confidence in the public service, courts, independent regulators and anti-corruption commissions remained stable or improved.
