The level of trust in the Abbott government has soared in three months as public attention shifts from the budget to a heightened sense of nationalism in the context of national security, a new survey indicates.

In the middle of the year only 26 per cent of people thought the federal government could be trusted to do the right thing for the Australian people.

At the end of October the figure had climbed to 36 per cent - the highest level of trust in the federal government recorded since 2009 by the Mapping Social Cohesion survey.

The increase in trust coincides with a realignment of what the public considers "the most important problem facing Australia today".

In June and July, more than a third of respondents nominated the economy as the biggest problem, and government/politicians second.