With 8 in 10 Australians demanding integrity and transparency, what’s really at stake for Australian business when dealing with government?
Leading with integrity has never been more important for Australian business. With a peak of 84% agreement, it’s now an enduring universal truth: 8 in every 10 Australians expect business must act with integrity and transparency when dealing with government - with a reward and punishment dynamic to follow.
Openly exists to champion businesses leading with integrity when dealing with government, and tasked Jim Reed, founder of Resolve Strategic, one of Australia’s leading independent researchers to explore public attitudes to integrity, over the last 18 months. Starting at the time of some of the largest business/government scandals, Openly research has charted the growth and consolidation of this consumer, voter, investor and employee integrity demand. Jim kindly agreed to put the findings in context.
“In late 2023, we asked about ethical dealings between corporate Australia and government and we got a very clear 76% saying “yes ethical dealing was important” to them. In research, it’s rare to have such a strong consistent “yes” on a topic, but it was at a time when we had some scandals with leading business, so it was to be expected,” said Jim Reed.
“What wasn’t expected was the cumulative effect of all that going on, so when we asked a similar question on ethical and transparent dealings in late 2024, we had fully 84% telling us it was important. In statistical terms, that’s nearly universal support for ethical and transparent dealing. In fact – it’s not a fad, it’s growing.”
These numbers were further confirmed in February 2025 with increasing intensity – with 50%, for the first time, saying ethical dealing was not just important, but very important.
| How important is ethical dealing between Government and business? | 76% Yes | 84% Yes | 81% Yes |
| How important is transparency to these ethical dealings? | 84% Yes | 82% Yes |
“As Australians we all wear a lot of hats, we are citizens, voters, taxpayers, workers, investors, customers and consumers. So what the research is finding is that having transparent and ethical dealings with government is actually a consideration for people in all those guises. So having confidence on this score makes around 70% of people more likely to invest, buy, to work for you, to stay with you, to accept government support coming your way and for them to advocate on or support those decisions.
“But more powerfully, if you get that sort of thing wrong, it really withdraws all that goodwill and permission for those things to happen. So we are really looking at “reward and permission” versus “punishment” at play in terms of support for those causes,” Mr Reed said.
In terms of business consequence, specifically, the research found:
- Consumers, investors and employees remain predisposed to punish ethical misdeeds but reward ethical behaviour:
- Around half of people would avoid using (46%) or recommending (44%) the products and services of companies engaging in unethical dealings, while 70% would be more likely to purchase from a proven ethical company. (Oct 23)
- More than half of investors (55%) would not invest or divest in a company that had behaved in such a way, a danger more than balanced by the three-quarters of investors (74%) who would prefer an investment opportunity where the organization could prove ethical dealings. (Oct 23)
- Nearly half of active employees (46%) said they would not consider or stop working at a company which had been unethical, and almost three-quarters (72%) said they would be more likely to work at a company with proven ethical dealings. (Oct 23)
Openly assists and advises businesses to lead with integrity when dealing with government, helping to build trust, enhance reputation, and drive financial outcomes.
For more information, download Openly’s full research report.
Learn about our inaugural ASX50 Transparency Index to learn more about the current transparency practices of Australia’s leading companies and best practice opportunities.
Openly offers both assessment and advisory services for companies seeking to improve their transparency practice or transform their integrity performance when dealing with government.
