Social cohesion holds steady but cost of living bites, survey finds

A big yearly survey of more than 10,000 people shows many Australians are worried about the future.

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A major survey says Australia's social cohesion has held steady, but money stress is high. The Guardian Australia reported that the Scanlon Institute's Mapping Social Cohesion 2026 index stayed at 78 out of 100. More than 10,000 people took part. Nearly half said they felt pessimistic about Australia's future, the Guardian said. About one in five had gone without medicine or health care. One in five (20%) were unhappy with their finances. And 13% had gone without food at least sometimes. The survey also asked about attitudes to different groups. Negative attitudes towards immigrants were 33%, up from 25% in 2024, the Guardian reported. Negative attitudes towards Muslim people were 43%, up from 33%. Negative attitudes towards Jewish people were 18%, up from 13%. These are survey answers, not counts of incidents. The Scanlon Institute's research page did not show the figures when we checked, so we have not been able to confirm them from the full report.