Australia's Most Trusted Professions 2008

It’s basic-need-driven, says Vanessa Hall. In an emergency situation we revert to our survival instincts, and ambulance officers literally hold our life in their hands. “If you’re bleeding to death from a car accident, you really don’t have the opportunity to state, ‘I’m not quite sure whether I can trust you or not.’The same professions that occupied the bottom of the list last year are still underachieving: real estate agents, sex workers, car salesmen and politicians. Telemarketers came in last for the second year in a row. “They really don’t appear to have the best interests of people at heart,” says Hall, who cites their pushiness and need to reach targets as the key impediment to trust. To redeem themselves, we suggest they change their approach, put the best interests of their customers first, and don’t ring at mealtimes. Until next year…

Australia’s most trusted professions list

1. Ambulance officers
2. Fire fighters
3. Pilots
4. Nurses
5. Pharmacists
6. Doctors
7. Veterinarians
8. Farmers
9. Armed Forces
10. Police officers
11. Teachers
12. Dentists
13. Scientists
14. Childcare providers
15. Locksmiths
16. Bus/train drivers
17. Electricians
18. Chefs
19. Psychologists/Counsellors
20. Judges
21. Hairdressers
22. Social Workers
23. Plumbers
24. Accountants
25. Domestic cleaners
26. Bartenders
27. Financial planners/advisers
28. Religious ministers
29. Mechanics
30. Sales Assistants
31. Lawyers
32. Taxi drivers
33. CEO's
34. Psychics/Astrologers
35. Journalists
36. Real estate agents
37. Sex Workers
38. Car salesmen
39. Politicians
40. Telemarketers



To conduct our Trust Poll we commissioned an independent research firm, The Leading Edge, to survey a representative sample of  750 Australian adults. They were asked to rate how much they trusted 100 well-known people on a scale of one to ten. They were also asked to rate professions and brands in the same way.