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SenateSHJ has released its 2026 Togetherness Index, highlighting a tension between Australians' growing sense of national division and their continued belief in community resilience.

The annual study surveyed more than 1,000 Australians aged 18 and over across metropolitan and regional Australia, with the general population sample reflecting Australia by gender, age, state, and location. It found that 49 per cent of Australians believe Australia has become more divided over the past 12 months. Australians are also more likely to describe the country as divided, at 41 per cent, than united, at 32 per cent.

However, 69 per cent of Australians still believe communities pull together well when times get tough, virtually unchanged from 70 per cent in 2024.

Togetherness remains resilient

Australia’s Togetherness Index score is 56 in 2026. Since the Index began in 2020, the score has moved within a narrow range, from 59 in 2020 to 56 today.

SenateSHJ says this relative stability points to a more complex picture than division alone. While Australians increasingly recognise tension around them, they remain confident in their communities’ ability to respond collectively during difficult times.

Jodie Wrigley, Head of Social Change at SenateSHJ, said: "Australians can see and feel the pressures pulling the country apart. But beneath that, there remains a powerful belief that when things get tough, we will look after one another.

"That tells us something important about how Australians see themselves and the kind of country they want Australia to be. Coming together in difficult times is not simply something communities do. Australians see it as part of who we are.

"But this instinct should not be taken for granted. It is reinforced through the everyday relationships and connections that give people somewhere to turn and a way to contribute."

Local connections matter

The study shows that togetherness is closely linked to the relationships people have around them. While Australians' closest relationships remain their strongest sources of connection, the Index found these ties have weakened. Closeness to immediate family fell from 79 per cent to 74 per cent, close friends from 66 per cent to 58 per cent, and extended family from 46 per cent to 42 per cent.

Beyond people's closest relationships, these ties become weaker. Connections with neighbours are broad, but often shallow. The Index found 69 per cent of Australians recognise three or more neighbours by sight, while 53 per cent know three or more neighbours by first name. However, only 43 per cent have three or more neighbours they would feel comfortable asking for help.

SenateSHJ says these local connections matter. Among Australians with no neighbours they could ask for help, 57 per cent believe Australians pull together well when times get tough. Among those with more than 10 neighbours they could turn to, that rises to 85 per cent.

Participation also plays a role. The Index found 76 per cent of Australians involved in two or more community groups believe Australians pull together when times get tough, compared with 63 per cent of people who are not involved in any groups.

Isabel Zhang, Consulting Partner, Research and Intelligence at SenateSHJ, said the findings challenged the idea that a cohesive country must be one in which everyone agrees.

“Togetherness does not require consensus. Real social cohesion means we can disagree, recognise differing experiences, and still share an expectation that we will come together when it counts.

“The important question is whether people have the relationships, opportunities, and confidence to act on that expectation. Our findings show that stronger local connections are closely associated with greater confidence in Australia's ability to respond collectively to difficult times.”

Australians want leadership that brings people together

The study also found Australians see a clear role for leadership in strengthening national togetherness.

80 per cent of Australians believe it is important for governments to communicate messages that bring people together and encourage cooperation.

There are signs government communication is becoming more effective. In 2026, 44 per cent of Australians rated State Government communication that promotes togetherness as effective, up from 35 per cent in 2024. At Federal Government level, effectiveness rose from 36 per cent to 43 per cent. Local Government communication was also rated effective by 44 per cent of Australians.

However, SenateSHJ says there is still room for improvement, with less than half of Australians seeing any level of government as effective at communicating messages that bring people together.

Feeling heard remains a challenge

The Index found feeling heard remains one of the weakest points in Australian togetherness.

While 57 per cent of Australians believe they can and should contribute to improving their local community, only 33 per cent believe their own voice is heard in community debates and discussions.

Only around one-third of Australians believe government leaders genuinely try hard to listen to community needs, with 35 per cent saying this of Local Government, 33 per cent of State Government, and 31 per cent of the Federal Government.

What communicators need to know

The 2026 Togetherness Index points to the importance of connection, trust and visible listening.

The findings suggest messages that bring people together can make a difference, but they need to be supported by genuine opportunities for people to contribute and see that their input matters.

The Index also shows that togetherness does not require everyone to agree. Australians can recognise division, hold different views and still believe in each other when it matters.

For communicators, the opportunity is to strengthen that instinct by building trust through local relationships, making listening visible and helping people see the values and connections they still share.

Helmi Shemi has started a new role as Marketing Communications Manager at Dwimitra Listenlights.

Based in Jakarta, he manages a range of communications activities, including media engagement, content creation, reputation management, social media and events.

Helmi’s prior communications experience includes roles at Inspirasi Digital and Meorient Exhibition International.

PR and communications professionals are regularly expected to remain composed while navigating crises, restructures, criticism, competing stakeholder demands, and decisions that affect real people. The pressure to appear calm can sometimes blur the line between regulating difficult emotions and suppressing them.

As we approach R U OK? Day in 2026, Telum Media decided to explore what healthy emotional regulation looks like in practice. We spoke to three senior PR and communications practitioners, who shared why composure should not come at the expense of acknowledging emotions, how clear boundaries support sustainable empathy, why burnout can hide behind high performance, and how building recovery into the way teams work can protect both wellbeing and communications judgement.

Composure does not mean feeling nothing

PR and communications professionals are expected to remain calm during high pressure situations. However, emotional regulation is not about suppressing difficult feelings or pretending they don’t exist. It is about recognising an emotion and acknowledging it before deciding how and when to channel it.

Carrie Johnston, Founder and Director of The CommsConnector said: “Regulation is about timing. Suppression is about permanence.

“Regulation is deciding that the middle of a crisis briefing is not the moment to fall apart, and knowing when you will come back to it. Suppression is deciding you will never come back to it at all.”

Angela Malkin, Co-Founder and Managing Parter of VOCAL, agreed and added that emotional regulation means that you don’t have to let it dictate what you do next.

“To me, that’s regulation. I’m not pretending I don’t feel it, but I’m also not asking everyone else to carry it for me,” she said.

Bruce Madden, Executive Director and Founder of Madden & Assoc., shared that composure, which is part of being professional, does not mean communicators should hide their humanity.

“It’s actually about showing that you can feel something difficult and still think clearly,” he said.

“There’s a difference between a team that can hold its poise because its built emotional capacity to function, and one that has simply learned to shut down. The second group might look perfectly composed on a crisis call, but that composure can mask the fact that they’re quietly falling apart inside.

"If PRs only use suppression tactics because that’s the mode the job rewards, I feel they lose the ability to regulate at all."

Empathy requires clear boundaries

During crises, restructures, and sensitive announcements, communications professionals may find themselves taking on the concerns and emotions of stakeholders.

Bruce said understanding emotional responses is a fundamental skill but absorbing them can begin to compromise logic and judgement.

“Being a professional communicator doesn’t mean not feeling, and it also doesn’t mean having to feel all of it, all at the same time,” he said.

“Understanding or observing the empathic human response means you are better equipped to respond well.”

Healthy boundaries can look like handing over responsibility for emotionally demanding stakeholders during a crisis, rather than leaving one person as the sole point of contact throughout the process.

Angela added that she focuses on what remains within her control.

“Being honest, listening, being kind, and being consistent. If I’ve done those things, I have to accept that the other person’s response belongs to them,” she said.

“If someone is angry or disappointed, I can listen, acknowledge that it’s hard and make sure they feel heard. But I can’t always make the situation better, and I definitely can’t make everybody happy.”

Carrie shared that there’s a difference between empathy and being identified with someone’s emotions.

"Empathy is understanding what this feels like for them. Identification is feeling it as thought it were happening to you," she said.

"The first improves the work. The second degrades it."

Burnout can hide behind high performance

Someone who looks externally distressed is not only the indication that a professional is struggling. Leaders and colleagues should be able to recognise the less obvious signs and step in to support their teams before it reaches that point.

Angela said she pays attention when someone who would normally contribute an opinion suddenly becomes quiet, or when a warm and engaged colleague begins to communicate in a transactional manner.

"I actually worry less about the person who cries in my office than the person who suddenly stops telling me what they think," she said.

"I want my team to be able to tell me when they're struggling, that they disagree with me, that something isn’t working, or that I've handled something badly.

"It isn't always easy to hear, but if I’m not hearing that feedback, I haven't created the culture I think I have."

Carrie echoed Angela's observation of a lack of contribution as a sign of burnout and added that someone who tries to appear unusually polished can be a symptom.

"The most reliable sign isn't someone falling apart. It's someone becoming flawless," she said.

"Work quality goes up while contribution goes down… and the person has stopped saying anything in the meeting that wasn't asking for.

"Perfection is a very good hiding place, and in our industry it gets praised."

Bruce also identified over-functioning as a potential sign of "quiet burnout", particularly when an employee no longer asks questions or raises objections.

To encourage honesty and transparency, Bruce recommends asking specific rather than vague questions, as well as acknowledging a difficult time.

“Asking 'how's everything?' doesn't work," he said.

"Acknowledging briefly and honestly that something was hard without turning it into a therapy session gives people permission to recognise what they felt, make sense of it, and move forward."

Recovery protects judgment in communications

Emotional regulation affects the quality of communications decisions, especially when teams are working through prolonged periods of pressure.

Angela shared that as she becomes depleted, she becomes more defensive and begins to see situations in black and white terms.

"Communications is a judgement business, and when you're exhausted, your judgement gets worse," she said.

"When we're under pressure, we often feel like we need to move faster. Sometimes we absolutely do, but genuine urgency and reactivity are different things.

"I'm always highly suspicious of the email I want to send immediately. That's normally the one that needs to sit in drafts for half an hour."

To address depletion in the PR and communications space, Angela emphasised that recovery is part of doing good work, rather than something you're allowed to only do once the work is done.

Carrie warned that depleted communicators start to do the bare minimum or resist effort and innovation.

“They handle the fourth restructure the way they handled the first, minus the discomfort, and they read that as experience. Sometimes it is. Often, it's the point where the job has turned you into someone you didn't plan to become, and you can't see it from the inside.”

She then explained that when communicators are under pressure, regulating your emotions simply means making the time to pause and recover, as unregulated emotion produces can lead to more obvious failures.

“As you start closing off events, or after anything hard, take 15 minutes and write down what happened, what you did, and what you’d do differently.

Carrie also echoed Angela's point, suggesting that teams book the recovery before the pressure, not after: “Decide your limits while you’re well. A specific behaviour you won’t accept. A level of exhaustion. A thing you swore you’d never put your name to. Then keep it.”

According to Bruce, depletion is something that happens over time, which doesn’t just lead to poor judgement but compensation.

“The deeper risk is that when people are depleted, they can start optimising for relief rather than outcome, choosing the response that makes the discomfort stop rather than the one that actually serves the situation,” he said.

“Emotional regulation creates enough space to distinguish between urgency and importance, and that space is often where good communications judgement lives.”

Bruce added that it's important to have a colleague to lean on after a difficult task and should be able to identify intensity as it’s happening, rather than afterwards.

"The aim should be to recognise when the pressure is becoming unsustainable early enough to change how we work," he said.