For the first time in almost a decade, Australia has a new most reputable charity

Aeromedical charities win the nation’s trust

The Royal Flying Doctor Service has lost its crown as the country’s most reputable charity, with fellow aeromedical charity CareFlight topping an annual reputation index.

CareFlight ranked first in the 2019 Australian Charity Reputation Index, followed by RFDS which led the index eight years in a row.

Guide Dogs, CanTeen and The Fred Hollows Foundation rounded out the top five of the Global Reputation Institute’s (RI) index, which ranks Australia’s 40 largest charities using a scoring system measuring areas such as trust, admiration, respect and overall esteem.

RI managing director Oliver Freedman said the reputation of these top charities remained extremely strong in the eyes of all Australians year on year.

“The latest results show that not only do Australians view these organisations positively because of the outstanding essential service they provide, but also for having good cost management, plus strong citizenship and governance – all important drivers of reputation,” Freedman said.

CareFlight has shown continuous improvement since it debuted in the third spot in 2017, rising to second place in 2018 and first this year.

CEO Mick Frewen said being recognised as Australia’s most reputable charity was a fantastic reflection of just how hard the organisation had worked to help Australians with its fleet of rescue helicopters, turboprop aircraft and jet air ambulances.

“This great honour is recognition of all the work our medical teams and flight operations teams are doing every day in urban, remote and regional areas to save lives, speed recovery and serve the community,” Frewen said.

“As an organisation dedicated first and foremost to delivering on our social purpose, it’s rewarding to know the community we serve have placed such trust in CareFlight.”

A nationally representative sample of more than 9,000 people were interviewed for the study.

CanTeen was the biggest improver in the rankings, rising 16 places from last year to finish fourth.

CARE Australia saw the largest fall in reputation in this year’s index, dropping 10 places to rank 38th. 

UNICEF Australia fell four places from last year to rank at the bottom of the index.

With low rankings for Greenpeace Australia (39), World Vision Australia (37), and Oxfam (36), Freedman said it seemed like the public preferred charities that focused their work in Australia.

“It appears that Australians still have greater levels of trust, admiration and respect for charities perceived as local than those with a more global footprint, even if those global organisations are doing good community work,” he said. 

“However, this appears to be unique to the charity space; Australians still view corporations with a global association very positively, with Air NZ, Samsung and Toyota having our country’s strongest corporate reputations despite not having local headquarters.”