Australia’s most trusted brand wins for third straight year

Bunnings has held onto Australia’s trust crown, taking out Roy Morgan’s ‘Best of the Best’ Most Trusted Brand award for a third consecutive year.

The hardware retailer also extended its unbeaten run as Retail Brand of the Year to eight years, having won the category every year since the Trusted Brand Awards began in 2019. Roy Morgan recognised 22 category winners for 2026, with 19 retaining their titles from last year.

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Bunnings extends its winning streak

Bunnings has remained among Australia’s top three most trusted brands throughout the past eight years. Roy Morgan said Australians cited its prices, staff, product quality, customer focus and range among the reasons they trusted the retailer.

Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine said: “There are several standouts for the year and once again the ‘Best of the Best Most Trusted Brand’ has been awarded to Bunnings – a third straight victory for the hardware retailer.”

“Just as impressively, Bunnings has an unblemished record with eight straight victories as the ‘Most Trusted Retail Brand of the Year’ (2019-2026) – an outstanding result amidst a challenging economic environment.”

Eight brands remain unbeaten since 2019

Bunnings is one of eight brands to win its category in every year of the awards. Kmart, Toyota, Australia Post, Samsung, NRMA, CSL and the ABC have also recorded eight consecutive category victories.

ALDI has now been named Supermarket of the Year for three years running. The Salvation Army, CSIRO and HBF returned to the winners’ circle after previously holding their respective titles.

The Salvation Army was named Charity of the Year for the first time since 2023. CSIRO reclaimed Government Services Brand of the Year after last winning in 2024, while HBF returned as Private Health Insurance Brand of the Year after a previous win in 2023.

Roy Morgan Trusted Brand Awards 2026 winners

• Retail: Bunnings
• Department and Discount Department Stores: Kmart
• Charities: The Salvation Army
• Services: Australia Post
• Automotive: Toyota
• Superannuation and Wealth Management: AustralianSuper
• Consumer Products: Samsung
• Technology: Apple
• Food and Beverage: Cadbury
• Payments, Cards and Loans: PayPal
• Pharmaceutical: CSL / CSL Limited
• Insurance: NRMA
• Private Health Insurance: HBF
• Banks: Commonwealth Bank
• Government Services: CSIRO
• Utilities: Red Energy
• Media: ABC
• Mining and Petroleum: BHP
• Travel and Tourism: Virgin Australia
• Telecommunications: Aussie Broadband
• Video Sharing Services and Social Media: YouTube
• Supermarkets and Convenience Stores: ALDI

How Roy Morgan measures brand trust

The 2026 awards cover the 12 months to June and are based on Roy Morgan’s Risk Monitor. The ongoing survey conducts approximately 1,500 to 2,000 interviews each month and measures trust and distrust across more than 1,000 brands in 27 industry sectors.

Respondents are asked, without prompting, which brands and companies they trust or distrust and why. Winners are determined by their levels of trust and distrust, producing Roy Morgan’s ‘Net Trust’ measure.

Levine said maintaining trust remained an important factor for major Australian brands: “The Roy Morgan Trusted Brand Awards show that building and maintaining high levels of trust – and importantly preventing distrust – is a key ingredient in the success of many of Australia’s most prominent brands.”