Quick Summary: New Report Finds Australians More Anxious About Global Events Than During COVID-19
- 79% of Australians report higher distress — economic pressures and personal debt are major contributors.
- 45% of Australians cite cost-of-living as a key factor — highlighting financial strain as a primary cause of anxiety.
- Trust in institutions has declined since 2020 — only 50% of Australians believe others can be trusted.
- Life satisfaction has dropped to 6.22 out of 10 — lower than during the 2020 COVID lockdowns.
- Geopolitical tensions influence public mood — shifting concerns from public health to economic and global instability.
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Australians anxiety: Key Takeaways
Australians are grappling with anxiety levels that now eclipse those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent survey by Suicide Prevention Australia reveals that 79% of Australians report increased distress, with economic pressures and personal debt as significant contributors.
The economic divide is stark, with 48% of lower-income Australians attributing their distress to financial pressures, compared to 37% of high-income earners. This disparity highlights the growing economic challenges many Australians face. Trust in institutions has also plummeted, with only 50% of Australians believing others can be trusted, down from 61% in 2020.
Life satisfaction has reached a new low, with an average score of 6.22 out of 10, lower than during the 2020 COVID lockdowns. The survey indicates that 34.9% of Australians find it difficult to manage on their current income, and 26.8% of employed Australians fear losing their jobs, reflecting economic insecurity and job market volatility.
Geopolitical tensions further exacerbate public anxiety, shifting concerns from public health to economic and global instability. This sentiment is a political challenge for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as Australians express dissatisfaction with the country’s direction and a longing for the past.
” That finding now sits alongside broader official social data published this week and picked up in reporting on May 7, showing deterioration across everyday life since the 2020 COVID-era benchmark. The refreshed Australian Bureau of Statistics General Social Survey showed that only 50% of Australians now agree other people can be trusted, down from 61% in 2020, while trust in the healthcare system has fallen to 61% from 76%.
The same reporting said 9% of Australians now report very high mental distress, rising to 17% among women aged 15 to 24. At the same time, the General Social Survey found cultural openness remained relatively high at 75%, though that too was down from 85% in 2020, indicating that Australians are not simply becoming uniformly more hostile, but are becoming more strained, less trusting and more financially exposed.
Separate ANU national-security research released recently found fewer than half of Australians, 46%, now feel a great sense of belonging in the country, down from 63% in 2020, underscoring how the story has widened from mental strain to a broader erosion of confidence and cohesion. Suicide Prevention Australia explicitly tied its May 6 release to pressure on the federal government ahead of the Federal Budget, calling for “cross-portfolio, whole-of-government action,” while Murray said the government’s earlier fuel-excise reduction showed it already understands the connection between economic pain and mental distress.
Financial stress also worsened, with 25% of households reporting at least one cash-flow problem in the past year, up from 21%, and for single parents with dependants the figure is 48%. 6%, household cash-flow strain, record-low life satisfaction and distress levels that large parts of Australia now say are worse than during COVID.
52 recorded in April 2020 during lockdowns. 1 out of 10 in survey results collected in May and June 2025, roughly similar to 2020, yet the more current ANU March 2026 polling shows a much sharper deterioration, suggesting the slide accelerated more recently rather than being a simple long-run comedown from the pandemic.