Confidence in the federal government has risen as Australia is still basking in the "honeymoon period" of the Albanese government, according to new Australian National University data.
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But Australians have more faith in the public service than they do in the federal government, after confidence levels in the government plummeted just before last year's federal election.
An ANU study analysed the view of more than 3300 adults in January 2023 as part of a COVID-19 Impact Monitoring survey.
It found that in January this year, more than half of the recipients were confident in the federal government at 51.2 per cent, up from 35.6 per cent in April 2022.
But confidence in the public service is greater at 57 per cent, up from 48.7 per cent in January 2020.
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Study co-author Professor Nicholas Biddle said institutions with the highest confidence included defence, the health system, police and universities.
"People have more day-to-day interaction with the public service, the public service is seen as apolitical and delivers services separate to the political process," Professor Biddle said.
"During COVID, we saw services and support put in place reasonably quickly and effectively, and we avoided more of the negative consequences of the pandemic that we saw in other countries."
Professor Biddle accredited the rise in confidence in the federal government to the Albanese government's "honeymoon period".
Professor Biddle said these levels had almost doubled since January 2020, when people may have been unimpressed with how the former Morrison government responded to the Black Summer bushfires.
He said confidence went up at the start of the pandemic when people viewed the former federal government working with the states and territories and public service to provide support.
But then it waned again when issues began to arise with quarantine and the vaccine rollout, and then plummeted the month before the May 2022 federal election.
"Now we are seeing people are more willing to cut the new government some slack and are impressed with what they are doing so far," he said.
"But this won't last forever and people will start to judge the Albanese government on its outcomes."
Professor Biddle said looking forward, the Albanese government's response to economic pressures, housing and the cost of living would determine how confidence levels continued.
Those groups with the lowest confidence in governments included young people, the unemployed, people with low education levels, or people on disability support.
"This reflects the fact these groups are not benefitting as much from the current system as others," he said.
