Employees in Australia continue to show a sustained positive trend in their perception of many aspects of ethics at work. Compared to the global average employee, those in Australia generally have a positive view of their line manager’s commitment to ethics and how their organisation engages with external and internal stakeholders.

Awareness of ethics programmes seems to be relatively common among employees in Australia and more common than in previous surveys, particularly around awareness of a confidential means of reporting misconduct. The percentage of employees who have been aware of misconduct increased but is still relatively low in comparison to the global average. Employees in Australia are as likely as in 2021 to speak up when they are aware of misconduct and to experience retaliation as a result.

Data for Australia were first collected in 2018 as indicated in the global report. The findings in this country-specific report compare 2024 data against 2021 data, the last data point.

 

Organisational culture

  • Around eight in ten employees in Australia say that honesty is practised always or frequently in their organisation (83%), remaining consistent with findings in 2021 (86%) and with the percentage of employees who say so globally (84% global average).
  • Around one in seven employees in Australia feel pressured to compromise on ethical standards of behaviour (14%), remaining consistent with findings in 2021 (11%) and the 2024 global average (15%). Around half of employees in Australia who have felt pressured to compromise on ethical standards cite time pressure/unrealistic deadlines (46%) as the main source of pressure. Notably, around a third of employees in Australia report peer pressure to be a team player (31%) as the other main source.
  • Around a fifth of employees in Australia reported being aware of conduct by their employer or colleagues that they thought violated either the law or their organisation’s ethical standards in the last year (20%). Employees in Australia are among the least likely to say this, alongside those in Japan (20%), France (19%), Germany (18%) and the UK (18%). The figure in 2024 (20%) is statistically higher than in 2021 (14%) but lower than the 2024 global average (25%).

Speaking up

  • Around two-thirds of employees in Australia who were aware of misconduct in the last year at work raised or spoke up about them with management, another appropriate person, or through any other mechanism (66%). This figure is similar to findings in 2021 (63%) and the percentage of employees who say so globally (64% global average).
  • Of all those who did not report a concern, around half cited a lack of belief that corrective action would be taken (43%) as the key deterrent to speaking up. Notably, around a third cited not wanting to be seen as a troublemaker by management (35%), a fear of jeopardising their job (35%), and a fear that it might alienate them from their colleagues (35%) as other key deterrents.
  • Nearly two-thirds of employees in Australia say they were satisfied with the outcome after raising or speaking up about their concerns (63%). This figure is similar to the findings in 2021 (62%) but below the 2024 global percentage of employees (71% global average).
  • Of those reporting a concern, around half (48%) say that they experienced a form of personal disadvantage or retaliation as a result of raising or speaking up about their concerns. This figure is similar to findings in 2021 (53%) and similar to the 2024 global average (46%).

The ethics programme

  • Employees in Australia are more likely than the 2024 global average to say that they are aware of their organisation providing four building blocks of an ethics programme. For example, 76% of Australian employees are aware that their organisation has written standards of ethical business conduct that provide guidelines for their job, compared to a global average of 71%.
  • Compared to 2021, employees in Australia are more likely to say that they are aware of their organisation providing four building blocks of an ethics programme. The biggest increase has been recorded in relation to the awareness of organisations providing employees with a means or reporting misconduct confidentially (74% vs 66% in 2021).

Embedding ethics through a supportive environment

  • In Australia, 77% of employees (vs 72% global average) agree that their line manager sets a good example of ethical business behaviour, 69% (vs 68% global average) agree that their line manager explains the importance of honesty and ethics in the work they do, 78% (vs 72% global average) agree that their line manager supports them in following their organisation's standards of ethical behaviour. While 75% (vs 71% global average) agree that senior management takes ethics seriously in their organisation, 42% (vs 38% global average) also agree that their line manager rewards employees who get good results, even if they use practices that are ethically questionable.
  • 78% of employees in Australia (vs 76% global average) agree that their organisation acts responsibly in all its business dealings and 73% (vs 72% global average) that it lives up to its stated policy of social responsibility.
  • Employees in Australia are also likely to have positive views about how their organisation engages with employees on ethics. They are more likely than average to agree that people in their organisation know what is expected of them in terms of ethical behaviour (83% vs 77% global average), that in their organisation decisions about people are made fairly (70% vs 67% global average) and that issues of right and wrong are discussed in staff meetings (63% vs 62% global average).
  • 66% of employees in Australia agree that their organisation disciplines employees who violate its ethical standards. A similar percentage of employees agree globally (65% global average).