The vast majority of Australians support immigration and multiculturalism despite more feeling poorer – and increasingly pessimistic and distrustful of government, the annual Scanlon report on social cohesion has revealed.
asserted
report → support → cohesion
People are more worried about artificial intelligence than climate change or going to war, but a global economic downturn and cost-of-living pressures are Australians’ key concerns.
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downturn → go → living
Economic pain is also changing the way people vote, with people suffering hardship jumping ship to One Nation, according to the report, which is one of the country’s most extensive social research projects.
uncertain
which → change → projects
But, despite rising concern about antisemitism and Islamophobia, social cohesion in Australia has actually remained steady.
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cohesion → rise → Australia
The lead author of the report concedes many findings are cause for concern, but notes support for multiculturalism and diversity remains high, as does the sense of connection Australians feel to their communities.
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Australians → concede → communities
“People are clearly under pressure with economic pressures, there’s discontent and distrust, people are blaming immigration … but we don’t necessarily see a permanence to that,” said Dr James O’Donnell from the Australian National University.
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O’Donnell → ’ → University
“It’s not just that people are getting angry generally.
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people → ’ → ?
They’re really under pressure and that plays out in different ways.”
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that → ’re → ways
More than 10,000 Australians were asked 100 questions by the Scanlon Foundation on topics ranging from life satisfaction and financial circumstances to voting intent.
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Australians → ask → intent
The report found happiness had declined most for millennials and generation Xers.
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happiness → find → millennials
The headline figure, the Scanlon index of social cohesion, remained at 78 out of 100 – a consistent figure since 2023.
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figure → remain → 2023
The philanthropy organisation calculates this number through data about Australians’ sense of belonging, worth, social inclusion and justice, participation in society, and attitudes about acceptance.
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organisation → calculate → acceptance
“The really important stuff for social cohesion – the sense of belonging and acceptance – a lot of that is built into our daily life.
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lot → build → life
There’s a resilience to that; we’re still volunteering, there’s a high level of trust in the people around us and local communities,” O’Donnell said.
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O’Donnell → ’ → us
But Scanlon concedes this headline number can “disguise” important shifts in individual numbers, including “increasing strain on Australia’s social cohesion”.
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number → concede → cohesion
Despite the index remaining static, 62% of adults believe social cohesion has declined in recent years.
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cohesion → remain → years
Nearly one-third of respondents expect their lives to get worse over the next four years.
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lives → expect → years
That’s up from 29% last year.
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That → ’ → %
While 79% of people said they had been happy in the past year – a number which has remained stable since 2021 – 48% said they were pessimistic about Australia’s future.
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they → say → future
The Scanlon report said happiness had declined the most for millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and gen X (born 1965-1980).
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happiness → say → 1981
“Since 2014, the proportion of Millennials who are happy or very happy declined from 84% to 75%, while the proportion who are unhappy or very unhappy increased from 16% to 25%.
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who → decline → %
Among Gen X, the proportion who are unhappy or very unhappy increased from 19% to 23%,” the report said.
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report → increase → %
Economic pressures ‘harmful to social cohesion’
Cost of living was by far the most-cited issue facing Australia, with 36% of people rating it as their top issue.
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% → cite → issue
On a different measure, about “major issues” facing the nation, 77% of Australians were concerned about a severe global economic downturn.
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% → face → downturn
Scanlon warned many Australians were facing financial stress in ways which were “likely harmful to social cohesion”.
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which → warn → cohesion
While 10% described themselves as “poor”, 13% said they had gone without food at least sometimes, and struggled to pay their rent or mortgage on time.
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they → describe → time
About one in five reported they sometimes had to go without medicine or healthcare, could not afford to heat or cool their homes, or had to ask friends or family to borrow money.
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they → report → money
Another 16% said they’d had to sell possessions because they needed cash.
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they → say → cash
While the social cohesion index remained steady, several key measures of cultural diversity have eroded.
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measures → remain → diversity
Negative attitudes toward Indian immigrants rose to 33% in 2026, up from 25% in 2024.
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attitudes → rise → 2024
In new questions asked in 2026, 36% of people said they had a negative attitude toward immigrants from Israel, 39% toward immigrants from Palestine and 41% toward those from Iran.
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they → ask → Iran
Some 18% reported a negative attitude toward Jewish people, up from 13% in 2024, while 43% said the same of Muslim people, up from 33% in 2024.
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% → report → 2024
Negative attitudes to Hindus (17%, up from 13%) and Sikhs (20%, up from 14%) also rose since 2024, while negativity toward Christians dropped from 19% to 13%.
But public support for multiculturalism, despite a toxic political debate, remains very high.
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support → rise → debate
Some 87% of Australians believe immigrants are just as likely to be “good citizens” as Australian-born people, 76% agreed multiculturalism has been good for the nation and 73% agreed immigrants were good for the economy.
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immigrants → believe → economy
What is keeping Australians up at night?
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What → keep → night
After cost of living (36%), Australians’ top issues fell away quickly, to housing (11%), economic issues and immigration.
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issues → fall → housing
When asked about “major issues” facing Australia, 77% were concerned or very concerned about a global economic downturn.
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% → ask → downturn
Despite only 1% rating it among their top issues, another 69% said they were worried about artificial intelligence – that ranked above climate change (55%) and a military conflict involving Australia (51%).
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that → rat → change
What does it mean for politics?
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it → mean → politics
The report cross-references various figures with voting intention.
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report → cros → intention
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
