Page 65 - Invited Paper Session (IPS) - Volume 1

IPS57 Joanne H.
global average and have declined over the past decade. The barometer
reported the percentage trust in Government in Australia has fallen from 53%
in 2009 to 42% in 2019, with a low of 35% in 2018. In comparison, the global
level of trust in Governments was 47% in 2019. 4
5
A study on Data Governance in Australia has shown that citizens are
concerned about Government use of their data, particularly public trust in
keeping their data safe. Citizens also desire transparency in data use, and for
new data uses to be fair. The study reported that 29% of Australians think the
Government can be trusted to use data responsibly and 27% believe the
Government is open and honest about how data are collected, used and
shared. The study also reported that, of the organisations asked about, the
ABS is the most trusted with regard to data.

3. What is Public Trust in Data Use?
Public comfort or community acceptance with how their data is used is
often referred to as “social licence”. ABS prefers to use the term “trust” or
“community acceptance” in data use rather than social licence as we believe
trust is a more general term that is readily understood by the public. It also
avoids any possible connotations that social licence can be bought. Trust must
be built and maintained through behaviours and actions.
Diagram 1 outlines what trust looks like from various perspectives for the
ABS. From the provider perspective (i.e. the people and business that provide
their data to the ABS), high levels of trust mean they would experience a strong
customer focus from ABS and be willing to provide accurate data. High levels
of trust in ABS from the general public perception would be shown by a
positive brand/image, a good level of understanding about how data is used,
and a strong alignment of our values with public perceptions.

4 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer. https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2019-
03/2019EdelmanTrustBarometerGlobalReport.pdf?utmsource=website&utmmedium=globalre
port& utm campaign=downloads (Link as of 24/04/2019.)
5 Biddle, Edwards, Gray and McEachern, Public Attitudes Towards Data Governance in Australia,
2019. http://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/research/publications/public-attitudes-towards-data-
governance-australia-1 (Link as of 24/04/2019.)
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