A year of political and financial upheaval across the world has helped contribute to a global decline in confidence in government and CEOs, according to a recently-published study of public trust.

The annual trust survey, released by PR firm Edelman, found that just 33% of Australians 18 and over trust their government, with 60% responding that they do not have faith in their leaders to tell the truth.

Amongst 'informed' respondents (high income, tertiary-educated Australians who are politically aware), however, the figure was higher, with those who trust government coming in at 47% (down 5% from last year).

"There is a complete misalignment between the public's expectations of government and what they think is actually being delivered," said Edelman Australia CEO Michelle Hutton in a statement.

According to the study (which comprised of interviews with 1200 people), the most prominent issue the general public feels the government has failed to effectively deal with is 'listens to citizen's needs and feedback' (71% importance compared with 13% performance).

Other hot button issues for the general public were 'effectively manages the financial affairs of the country' (71% compared with 18%) and 'communicates honestly and frequently' (70% compared with 13%).

Globally, trust in government was down a record nine points from 52% to 43% with the biggest falls occurring in Spain (down 23%), Japan (down 26%) and Brazil (down 53%).

Closer to home, Australia's most trusted industries reflect our love of gadgets and booze, with the top scoring fields being technology (83%), food and beverage (75%), and brewing and spirits (70%).

And in what is a win for journos, trust in media jumped 11% over the year amongst the informed public to 43%. However, it's still the least trusted institution in Australia, with just 33% of the general public saying they believe the media.

Confidence also rose in the business community (up to three points to 57%), making it more respectable than the media and government but behind NGOs (65%). 

However it's not all beer and skittles: CEOs were rated as some of the least credible spokespeople (35%) by the general public, with academics (64%), technical experts (63%) and "people like me" (57%) ranking at the top end.

And if you're looking for a hot tip on how to build trust in your company, the most important issues for the public were: 'listens to customer needs and feedback' (70%), 'has ethical business practices' (69%), and 'offers high quality products or services' (69%).

Most Australians Don't Trust Govt To Tell The Truth