Doctors are the most trusted professionals in Australia but many of their patients want them to face more tests and audits of their work, a survey has found.

International research suggests about 6 per cent of doctors (about 6600 in Australia) are underperforming at any given time, and in Australia there are no mandatory checks of their performance over time.

Doctors are the most trusted professionals in Australia, according to a survey. Credit:AFR

In the past year, more than 5000 complaints were made against doctors in Australia, according the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency's latest annual report.

Despite this, a survey of about 1000 members of the community commissioned by the Medical Board of Australia found doctors topped the list of trusted professionals, with 90 per cent of respondents backing them. They were closely followed by nurses, pharmacists and teachers. Politicians were at the bottom of the list, with just 7 per cent of survey respondents trusting them.