While the Ethics Index - a cross-sector measure - has remained relatively stable, the importance of ethics is at an all-time high. This leads to a further increased expectation gap between the importance society is placing on ethical behaviour and broad ethical performance.
Millennials continue to have the highest Ethics Index score at 48 but they show declines in both the importance they place onethical behaviour (down 5) and Index score itself (down 3).
Baby Boomers still show the lowest Ethics Index score at 34, but the importance they place on Ethics has increased 5 points,overtaking Millennials.
While the score for Gen X remains steady, there has been an increase the overall importance of ethics, leading to a larger gap in the expectation deficit.
Unsurprisingly, cost of living tops the list for 2025, followed by the ethical challenges in housing affordability (a new statement in 2024). Emerging technologies and cyber security issues form a third tier of challenges, with climate action and the economy rounding out the top ethical challenges for 2025.
Rising cost of living and impacts of inflation (housing, healthcare)
Housing affordability*
Cybersecurity breaches and privacy protection
Ensuring climate change and environmental issues continue to receive attention and action
Harsher and swifter consequences for employees (at all levels) found to have engaged in inappropriate behaviour towards other employees
In light of cost-of-living concerns, Australians perceive supermarket pricing as the most unethical behaviour. The Government’s promise to lower utility bills has been viewed as positive (but ethically neutral).
Broken election promises, GPs not bulk billing and the RBA not lowering rates round out the “Somewhat Unethical” group.
The government promising to lower utility bills
The Government committing to an extensive defence budget including future involvement of nuclear power *
The RBA not lowering interest rates, even though inflation is lower *
GPs who don’t offer bulk-billing for medical appointments
The Government breaking its promise to deliver stage 3 tax cuts in full *
Breaking an election promise regardless of a change in circumstances or new knowledge
Data breach notification is felt to be an urgent ethical obligation, closely followed by the expectation on companies that AIwill not be used to mislead. In a related theme, there is a strong ethical expectation that AI users acknowledge the use of Generative AI in material production.
Companies who hold customer data to notify customers of ALL data breaches (Present laws only requires disclosure of serious breaches)
technology (%)
AI technology companies to ensure their technologies are not used by others to mislead or deceive
Users of generative AI, such as ChatGPT, to acknowledge that their material has been created using generative AI
Protections to be created for musicians, actors voices, artists etc *
Australian data to be held in Australia and not offshore in another country * The misuse of AI in academia (eg writing essays) *
In terms of promises likely to be made in the upcoming federal election, affordable housing, renewable energy and grocery prices are all considered ethical topics to campaign on. Interestingly, there is a quite stark perceived ethical difference in our future overseas relationships, depending on whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump are elected as President of the US. Immigration is also a key topic however it is unclear as whether people are in favour of increases or decreases of the cap.
Construction of affordable housing
Renewable energy
Grocery costs by addressing supermarket pricing practices
Changes to immigration caps A closer relationship to the US under a Kamala Harris government Negative gearing /capital gains tax changes Nuclear power
of Unions Use of Consultancy firms in government projects The use and deployment of Tech/AI The influence of Social media Gambling advertising A closer relationship to the US under a Donald Trump government
question added this year.
When looking at election promises by the parties our respondents are most likely to vote for, there are some very clear differences. Liberals are much more in favour of promises around nuclear power whilst Labour voters are more strongly inclined towards the top 3 issues and the actions of unions – with a very stark difference on US relations, depending on the election winner.
Grocery costs by addressing supermarket pricing practices
Changes to immigration caps
A closer relationship to the US under a Kamala Harris government
Negative gearing /capital gains tax changes
Perceptions of how ethical it is to pay CEOs high salaries have remained stable at the higher salary brackets (regardless ofcompany size) but there is more permissibility at the $300k bracket, showing sizable improvement vs 2023 for either organisational size.
Efforts in the workplace across gender diversity, cultural diversity, committing to achieving net zero on climate change andimprovements to corporate culture are all felt to be Somewhat Ethical (despite some softening in the response from businesses over the past 12 months). The ethicaluse of AI in the corporate workplace is something the Australian public is, as yet, undecided on.
Efforts to increase cultural diversity in the workplace
Efforts to improve corporate culture and conduct
Efforts to increase gender diversity in the workplace
Committing to achieving net zero on climate change
Corporate world using AI *
Negativity increases with age (i.e oldest cohorts feel far more negative vs younger)
*New statements added this year. Due to the changes in the list in 2024, data is not comparable vs last year. #T6_22. Ethical Government response
How ethical has the response been by business/ the corporate world in the last 12 months to:
Base: Australians 18-65, Ethics Index 2024 (n=1000) (excludes No Opinion and Don’t Know for each statement) (Individual statement n=819-836)
Significantly higher/lower shift vs previous year at 95% c.l. 22
When asked who has an ethical obligation to tackle climate change, perceptions are consistent with 2023, with all groups feltto have an ethical obligation. While the highest obligation is felt to be with the Federal Government, corporations and state governments are close behind, tied for second.
A majority of Australians feel that there is an ethical obligation for organisations to tackle climate change even if this results in a reduction of profits, job losses or fewer jobs in the future. The perception that there is an obligation to take action, even at the expense of jobs, is significantly higher than 2023.
#T5_21. To what extent is there an ethical obligation for organisations to take meaningful action on climate change, even if it results in the following consequences? Base: Australians 18-65,
Ethical behaviour continues to be seen as important for society, with all sectors seeing net scores of 70 or above. Since last year, most sectors have remained relatively stable, with the banking, health and trade association sectors showing the biggest movements.
By sector, there have been some notable shifts in perceived ethical behaviour this year. Resources/Mining gain 3 while charities, food production and, most notably, trade/worker associations (down 11) have fallen. It’s worth noting that charities, although they fall 5, return to where theywere in 2022 (following a gain of 5 in 2023).
Negativity increases with age (i.e oldest cohorts feel far more negative vs younger)
Within Occupation, several key movements are apparent. Senior Executives are up but those falling include Ambulance staff andGPs, Pharmacists, and CEOs. Despite the declines, all the medical field occupations are still perceived to lie in the Very Ethical space while Federal Politicians and Real Estate agents remain at the bottom of ethical perceptions.
Negativity increases with age (i.e oldest cohorts feel far more
Pay day lenders and social media platforms continue to have the weakest ethical perceptions - social media negativity is driven by age, with older cohorts feeling far more negative. Other major organisational declines include foreign companies and pharmaceutical companies.
(Sector Ethics Index: 69 – Down 5)
The education sector continues to be perceived as the most ethical sector, however this has fallen to an Index score of 69 (down 5). All occupations and organisations in the sector are felt to be ethical, with teachers outside of Higher Education seen as the most ethical. University lecturers, universities and private schools are driving the declines in the sector, all significantly lower than 2023
(Sector Ethics Index: 67 – Down 3)
The health sector is currently the second most ethical sector, with an overall Index score of 67. GPs, Pharmacists, and Dentists, have driven falls from an occupational perspective. Pharmacists had a significant increase in perception last year but haven’t been able to maintain those gains.
Younger cohorts are contributing to the negative perceptions, while older generations have a much more positive view of theseprofessions. Private Hospitals, Aged-care providers, Health funds, and especially Pharmaceutical companies have all seen significant declines compared to 2023.
Pathology
Public
(Sector Ethics Index: 58 – Down 5)
The charity and not-for-profit sector continues to be perceived as highly ethical but has softened, down 5, with a current index score of 58. Medical charities are seen to be the most ethical, closely followed by Social Welfare charities – but both have slightly softened vs 2023. The most major movement within this sector are the perceived ethical perceptions related to unions, with recent negative coverage most likely contributing to this significant shift (down 10).
(Sector Ethics Index: 48 – Down 4)
Membership associations continue to be perceived as somewhat ethical. The National Farmers’ Federation has overtaken Choice as having the strongest net ethical score while The Australian Medical Association falls by 5 to end up in 4th place. Beyond the AMA, key contributors to the overall softening include the Business Council of Australia, the MWU and the CFMEU. Another significant gain this year comes from perceptions around the GovernanceInstitute of Australia (up 10).
Ethical behaviour in member associations#
the member associations sector, how would you rate the level of ethical behaviour of each of the following groups?
Australians 18-65, Ethics Index 2024 (n=1000) (excludes No Opinion and Don’t Know for each statement) (Individual
)
(Sector Ethics Index: 44 – Down 2)
The public service and government sectors, although softening slightly, maintain most of the increase they saw between 2022 and 2023 (38 to 46 respectively) but are yet to reach levels seen in 2020 (an Ethics score of 56). Fire and ambulance services drove the climb in 2023 but softenthis year. CSIRO Scientists see the most significant jump in their net score, up 5 vs 2023.
Ethics Index: 44 – Down 2)
As an organisation, CSIRO maintains its position of most ethical organisation within the public services and government sector but suffers a slight softening vs 2023. Financial sector regulators have bounced back 4, following a decline in 2023. Ethical perceptions of local councils andshires, the State and Federal parliaments have all fallen, following gains in 2023.
(Sector Ethics Index: 11 – Down 2)
While the corporate sector overall has largely maintained its Ethics Index score, there have been some movements within occupations. Company secretaries continue to be seen as the most ethical occupation within the sector, with a net score of 29. CEOs and Directors both see declining perceptions.
In the Business sector, real estate agents veer on the edge of being perceived as unethical with a score of-18. Cafes and restaurants (52) and farmers and agricultural businesses (49) continue to be seen as the most ethical sectors of business. However, construction companies seethe biggest declines at -8, followed by retailers and telcos showing notable declines as well (-6 and -5 respectively).
(Sector Ethics Index: 11 – Down 1)
The banking, finance and insurance sector sees an overall Ethics Index score of 11. Accountants continue to be seen as the most ethical occupation in the sector (increasing by 4 to a score of 39). Ethical perceptions around banks and insurers have fallen, potentially due to cost-of-living concerns, pay day lenders have seen a positive jump but are still viewed negatively overall.
NET positivity amongst a younger audience – overall score driven by >35s
(Sector Ethics Index: -2 – Down 4)
Free-to-air TV, radio and podcasts continue to lead the table in ethical perceptions, however declines across each narrows the lead to LinkedIn and streaming services. Although still perceived to be in a more neutral space, newspapers, magazines and journalists have also seen improved perceptions of ethical behaviour. With ongoing stories and age limit discussions around social media, all platforms suffer declines in 2024.
There is a relatively more extreme negative reaction to social media platforms, with 1 in 4 through to 1 in 5 Australians feeling that they are Very Unethical
When asked what elements are important to ensure ethical conduct in society, Accountability (53%) remains important, but Transparency (56%) has regained the top spot. To ensure ethical conduct in society, there is increased belief that ethical education should begin in school (significantly up vs 2023 by 5)
When asked about top issues relating to unethical behaviour, corruption continues to be the leading issue, with a score of 61%. This is followed by misleading and deceptive advertising which has risen to second place at 52%. Company tax avoidance is seen as the 3rd biggest issue but notably falling.
Organisational influencers of ethics remain internal, although all groups are weaker vs last year, except for the perceived influence of the public. Top influencers remain the CEO and the Board.
Immigration continues to be seen as the most difficult area for ethical navigation, with a score of 45% (up 4 vs 2023). Indigenous Affairs and euthanasia now diverge, with euthanasia seen as the more difficult topic in 2024. While there is some general shuffling in rank order, mostother topics hold relatively stable.
Looking at the ethical difficulty surrounding future developments, ‘newer’ science is still deemed to be very difficult to navigate. Artificial Intelligence, embryo experimentation and gene manipulation for medical treatments all show improvement in perception. Self-driving cars and robots in the workplace remain future developments that see higher levels of ethical concern.
Bushfire management via fuel reduction buns
Crowdsourcing apps e.g. Uber, Airbnb
Increased connectedness to the internet
Use of big data to target consumers
#C2. Ethical difficulty of future developments#
How would you rate the level of ethical issues of the following likely future developments? Base: Australians 18-65, Ethics Index 2024 (n=1000) (excludes No Opinion and Don’t Know for each statement) (Individual statement n=878-922)
GPs and Pharmacists continue to have high perceived levels of ethical behaviour, but both have softened. Following a period of decline, perceptions of the police have stabilised while the elected local councillors, having experienced an increase of 10 in 2023, show a sizable drop.
Across a general range of potential ethical dilemma situations, Australians have a strong sense of ethical behaviour- the worst/least ethical of which is keeping a parcel that belongs to someone else, followed by not correcting a mistake on a food bill. All categories suffer a softening year on year, aligning to growing ethical expectations in society.
Opposition political parties and independents blocking legislation of a party which has won government
Taking a sick day when not actually sick
Categorising someone who offers an opposing view
Job losses resulting from gains in artificial intelligence
A “win at all costs” approach to sport
Collection of data by social media companies
Not correcting a restaurant bill when it does not include an item that you have ordered and consumed
Keeping a parcel that has been wrongly delivered to you
#C5. Ethical behaviour in everyday situations# How would you rate the level of
The Ethics Index survey was conducted online across a broad spectrum of Australians (to nationally representative age, genderand location quotas by ABS census data) between 13 September - 23 September 2024.
The
The
The
Some other party or candidate
Don't know
The Ethics Index survey was conducted online across a broad spectrum of Australians (to nationally representative age, genderand location quotas by ABS census data) between 13 September - 23 September 2024.
Single Couple or single parent with children under 18
Chart heading - to indicate topic/ theme of chart (i.e. what the data is)
Statements –occupations, or organisations displayed by descending order of score or rank based on Net Score (Top 2 box Ethical NET minus Bottom 2 box Unethical NET).
Net score % = Percentage of those who selected ‘Very Ethical’ or ‘Somewhat Ethical’ (Ethical NET) minus those who selected ‘Very unethical’ or ‘Somewhat unethical’ (Unethical NET)
Number indicates score on Ethics Index (weighted results output). Colour of text indicates which range the Ethics Index Score is in (e.g. Very Ethical / Somewhat Ethical / Neither Ethical nor Unethical, etc).
Previous year’s net score for comparison
Shift YoY – difference between current year’s net score vs last year’s net score. Coloured red or green only if significant difference.
Question text and total number of respondents who answered the question
#C2. Ethical difficulty of future developments#
How would you rate the level of ethical issues of the following likely future developments? Base: Australians 18-65, Ethics Index 2024 (n=1000) (excludes No Opinion and Don’t Know for each statement) (Individual statement n=893-928)
Significantly higher/lower shift vs previous year at 95% c.l.
The Ethics Index shows many Australians have a strong understanding of ethics and its main definitions, with 97% agreeing with one of the three ethics definitions provided in the survey. Ethics continues to be seen as important to a well-functioning society, with a strengthening of the net importance of ethics in 2024 vs 2023 (83% up from 80%). When posed with an ethical dilemma scenario, 61% stated they would take an option resulting in safeguarding the life of a child over their own.
Well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribes what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues (Markkula Centre for Applied Ethics)
Moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity (Oxford Dictionary)
A set of concepts and principles that guide us in determining what behaviour helps or harms sentient creatures (The Thinkers Guide to Ethical Reasoning, published 2006)
None of the above
‘You are travelling along a single lane mountain road in a new driverless car that is fast approaching a narrow tunnel. Just before entering the tunnel, a child attempts to run across the road but trips in the centre of the lane, effectively blocking the entrance to the tunnel. The car has only two options: to either hit and unfortunately kill the child, or to swerve into the wall on either side of the tunnel, thus unfortunately killing you.' 2023 2024
The car should have been programmed at the factory…
The occupant should be required to set their preferences before using the car…
#S6. Understanding of ethics# There are many definitions of ethics. Below are several current definitions that may be found. Which of the below most closely matches your definition of ethics? #G2.Ethical scenario# Keeping in mind that there is no right or wrong answer, what is your opinion on how the driverless car should react? #E1. Importance of ethics# How would you rate the importance of ethics to a well-functioning society?
Base: Australians 18-65, Ethics Index 2024 (n=1000) (excludes No
and Don’t Know for each statement)
Over half of Australians (54%) state that they have personally experienced an ethical dilemma. Financial matters were seen asthe easiest to deal with, followed by work matters, vs personal and family matters, which were seen as more challenging. One in five state that having faced an ethical dilemma, they would now change their decision on how they handled it. Of those who said they would change their handling of the situation, the benefit of hindsight was the leading reason for around a third, followed by a change in personal values – however, individuals would change for their own reasons in 2024 vs 2023, the change in society’s beliefs and values has fallen away as a reason.
Personal (non-family) matters/ relationships Work related Financial
Family matters/ relationships
allows me to see it was the wrong decision I did not have enough information at that point in time to make an informed decision
personal beliefs/ values have changed
beliefs/ values have changed
