These are the main findings of a Roy Morgan telephone survey conducted on the nights of April 8-10, 2015, with 598 Australian men and women aged 14 and over.
A very large majority, 92% (up 1% to its highest since 2003) of Australians aged 14 and over rate Nurses as the most ethical and honest profession – the 21st year in a row since Nurses were first included on the survey in 1994.
Of all 30 professions surveyed in 2015 a majority, seventeen, decreased in regard to ethics and honesty while ten professions increased and only three professions were unchanged.
Other professions that also gained high ratings for ethics and honesty in 2015, included Doctors 84% (down 2%), Pharmacists 84% (down 2%), School Teachers 78% (up 6%), Engineers 74% (up 2%), Dentists 71% (down 3%), Police 69% (down 2%), State Supreme Court Judges 69% (down 1%) and High Court Judges 68% (down 6%).
Amongst the biggest losers in 2015 were Bank Managers 34% (down 9%), Accountants 45% (down 7% – their lowest since 2002), Lawyers 31% (down 7%) and University Lecturers 61% (down 5%).
The biggest gainers in 2015 were School Teachers 78% (up 6%), with other gainers including Ministers of Religion 39% (up 2%), State MPs 14% (up 2%) and Union Leaders 14% (up 2%). The lowest ranked profession is once again Car Salesmen 4% (up 1%) – a position they have held for over 30 years with the next lowest being Advertising people 5% (down 3%) and Real Estate Agents 9% (unchanged).
Gary Morgan says:
“Roy Morgan’s annual Image of Professions survey for 2015 shows a majority of professions (17) recorded falls in their ratings for ‘ethics and honesty’ over the past year although Nurses 92% (up 1% from 2014) increased and are at their highest rating for over a decade since 2003 and still clearly leading the way as Australia’s most respected profession for very high or high ‘ethics and honesty’.
"The biggest losers this year were Bank Managers 34% (down 9%), Accountants 45% (down 7%) – their lowest rating for over a decade since 2002 and Lawyers 31% (down 7%). Another big loser was Financial Planners 24% (down 4%) – now at their lowest ever rating for very high or high ‘ethics and honesty’ following a series of scandals in the industry.
“There is still no love for our politicians with State MPs 14% (up 2%) only marginally favoured ahead of Federal MPs 13% (up 1%), but both in front of only a handful of professions including Insurance Brokers 11% (down 5%), Real Estate Agents 9% (unchanged), Advertising people 5% (down 3%) and right at the bottom of the heap – Car Salesmen 4% (up 1%) – a position they have held for over 30 years unchallenged as Australia’s least trusted profession.”
These are the main findings of a Roy Morgan telephone survey conducted on the nights of April 8-10, 2015, with 598 Australian men and women aged 14 and over.
Respondents were asked: “As I say different occupations, could you please say – from what you know or have heard - which rating best describes how you, yourself, would rate or score people in various occupations for honesty and ethical standards (Very High, High, Average, Low, Very Low)?”
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|
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"Very high" or "High" ratings for Ethics and Honesty: All Australians 14+ *Not included in poll
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|
|
Occupations
|
‘01
|
'02
|
'03
|
‘04
|
‘05
|
’07
|
‘08
|
‘09
|
‘10
|
‘11
|
‘12
|
‘13
|
‘14
|
‘15
|
Dif
|
|
|
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
|
1
|
Nurses
|
90
|
90
|
94
|
90
|
89
|
91
|
89
|
89
|
89
|
90
|
90
|
90
|
91
|
92
|
+1
|
|
2
|
Pharmacists
|
83
|
89
|
87
|
86
|
84
|
85
|
86
|
84
|
85
|
87
|
88
|
84
|
86
|
84
|
-2
|
|
2
|
Doctors
|
75
|
80
|
80
|
80
|
79
|
81
|
79
|
82
|
79
|
87
|
83
|
88
|
86
|
84
|
-2
|
|
4
|
School teachers
|
74
|
79
|
79
|
77
|
74
|
78
|
78
|
76
|
73
|
76
|
76
|
76
|
72
|
78
|
+6
|
|
5
|
Engineers
|
64
|
67
|
69
|
69
|
68
|
71
|
72
|
69
|
69
|
71
|
70
|
76
|
72
|
74
|
+2
|
|
6
|
Dentists
|
65
|
67
|
71
|
71
|
67
|
69
|
70
|
69
|
68
|
76
|
75
|
74
|
74
|
71
|
-3
|
|
7
|
State Supreme Court Judges
|
64
|
66
|
72
|
65
|
65
|
68
|
67
|
68
|
64
|
75
|
69
|
70
|
70
|
69
|
-1
|
|
8
|
Police
|
58
|
65
|
64
|
64
|
65
|
65
|
66
|
65
|
62
|
69
|
69
|
69
|
71
|
69
|
-2
|
|
9
|
High Court Judges
|
63
|
65
|
71
|
63
|
64
|
67
|
66
|
67
|
63
|
75
|
70
|
73
|
74
|
68
|
-6
|
|
10
|
University lecturers
|
64
|
66
|
64
|
66
|
64
|
67
|
67
|
61
|
60
|
61
|
65
|
68
|
66
|
61
|
-5
|
|
11
|
Accountants
|
51
|
45
|
50
|
51
|
50
|
48
|
54
|
51
|
50
|
54
|
49
|
49
|
52
|
45
|
-7
|
|
12
|
Ministers of Religion
|
54
|
48
|
48
|
53
|
52
|
51
|
50
|
45
|
44
|
51
|
43
|
44
|
37
|
39
|
+2
|
|
13
|
Public servants
|
*
|
*
|
*
|
*
|
*
|
30
|
29
|
28
|
28
|
30
|
33
|
36
|
34
|
35
|
+1
|
|
14
|
Bank Managers
|
30
|
29
|
35
|
35
|
35
|
33
|
33
|
33
|
33
|
40
|
37
|
38
|
43
|
34
|
-9
|
|
15
|
Lawyers
|
32
|
30
|
31
|
33
|
32
|
36
|
35
|
30
|
32
|
38
|
30
|
36
|
38
|
31
|
-7
|
|
16
|
Public opinion pollsters
|
27
|
29
|
38
|
31
|
31
|
27
|
29
|
23
|
27
|
34
|
28
|
33
|
32
|
29
|
-3
|
|
17
|
Financial planners
|
*
|
*
|
*
|
*
|
*
|
*
|
*
|
25
|
25
|
28
|
26
|
25
|
28
|
24
|
-4
|
|
18
|
Directors of Public Companies
|
17
|
16
|
17
|
23
|
18
|
21
|
22
|
17
|
19
|
24
|
20
|
26
|
24
|
22
|
-2
|
|
19
|
Newspaper Journalists
|
13
|
9
|
12
|
12
|
11
|
12
|
14
|
9
|
11
|
11
|
12
|
19
|
18
|
18
|
-
|
|
20
|
Business Executives
|
19
|
17
|
19
|
23
|
15
|
18
|
21
|
16
|
16
|
18
|
18
|
22
|
18
|
18
|
-
|
|
21
|
Talk-back radio announcers
|
17
|
17
|
21
|
17
|
19
|
17
|
18
|
15
|
19
|
17
|
17
|
16
|
15
|
16
|
+1
|
|
22
|
TV Reporters
|
18
|
18
|
17
|
19
|
17
|
13
|
16
|
14
|
16
|
14
|
14
|
18
|
18
|
15
|
-3
|
|
23
|
State MPs
|
14
|
17
|
17
|
19
|
13
|
16
|
20
|
18
|
16
|
12
|
10
|
13
|
12
|
14
|
+2
|
|
23
|
Union leaders
|
14
|
11
|
15
|
17
|
19
|
16
|
17
|
14
|
15
|
18
|
15
|
15
|
12
|
14
|
+2
|
|
25
|
Federal MPs
|
16
|
16
|
17
|
20
|
15
|
16
|
23
|
19
|
16
|
14
|
10
|
14
|
12
|
13
|
+1
|
|
26
|
Stock brokers
|
18
|
14
|
17
|
19
|
14
|
17
|
18
|
15
|
12
|
14
|
13
|
15
|
16
|
12
|
-4
|
|
27
|
Insurance brokers
|
14
|
10
|
15
|
15
|
13
|
11
|
15
|
11
|
14
|
12
|
10
|
13
|
16
|
11
|
-5
|
|
28
|
Real Estate Agents
|
8
|
8
|
11
|
10
|
10
|
9
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
7
|
9
|
12
|
9
|
9
|
-
|
|
29
|
Advertising people
|
8
|
10
|
13
|
12
|
10
|
9
|
9
|
6
|
8
|
5
|
8
|
9
|
8
|
5
|
-3
|
|
30
|
Car Salesmen
|
2
|
3
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
5
|
3
|
2
|
4
|
3
|
4
|
+1
|
Click here to view Full Table (1976-2015)
For further information:
|
Contact
|
Office
|
Mobile
|
|
Gary Morgan:
|
+61 3 9224 5213
|
+61 411 129 094
|
|
Michele Levine:
|
+61 3 9224 5215
|
+61 411 129 093
|
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. The following table gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. The figures are approximate and for general guidance only, and assume a simple random sample. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
|
Sample Size
|
Percentage Estimate
|
|
40%-60%
|
25% or 75%
|
10% or 90%
|
5% or 95%
|
|
500
|
±4.5
|
±3.9
|
±2.7
|
±1.9
|
|
1,000
|
±3.2
|
±2.7
|
±1.9
|
±1.4
|