Real estate agents officially have the least trusted occupation in Australia according to a major new report — as emergency workers like firies and ambos are named the most trusted and ethical professions.
The Governance Institute of Australia released its latest Ethics Index report, with Aussies taking part saying they are valuing ethics more than ever.
While real estate agents came last, the report shows fire workers are seen as the most ethical, with ambulance services not far behind and pharmacists in third place.
The least trusted types of organisations were payday lenders and social media platforms.
Organisations that are seen as the most ethical were pathology services specialists, primary schools and medical charities.
The education sector continued its trend as a highly ethical sector, with primary and secondary school teachers taking the top two spots. Private colleges and private schools were ranked low.
Within the health sector, it’s a close race to the top with pharmacists, nurses and GPs taking the top three spots, while pharmaceutical companies and aged-care providers organisations placed at the bottom.
Politicians on all levels were ranked among the five least ethical occupations within the public service and government sector.
Within the media sector, free-to-air TV is seen as the most ethical media platform, with radio, podcasts and streaming services closely following.
An extremely negative reaction to social media platforms was seen as a quarter of Aussies perceiving them as unethical.
TikTok is seen as the least trusted social platform, with Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, tied for second place.
Looking into the future, developments in artificial intelligence and embryo experimentation were seen as very difficult ethically to manage.
Governance Institute chief executive Megan Motto noted that the overall importance we as a country place on ethics remains at an “all-time high”.
“It is clear from this year’s results that the impacts from the rising cost of living are proving to be a major ethical challenge for society, with 54 per cent of respondents ranking it as the top issue,” she said in the report.
“Cyber security breaches, privacy protection and the increasing use of AI are also at the forefront of people’s minds, indicating the desire for stronger protections and regulations in this space.”