Almost one in two Australians still have confidence in big business despite recent concerns about corporate excesses, a new survey has found.

The Crosby-Textor survey conducted last month found that 45 per cent of Australians questioned have confidence in big business, although there was some concern that business chiefs do not always do the right thing.

This comes despite the recent furore surrounding $32.75 million payments by Commonwealth Bank of Australia to former Colonial First State chief executive Chris Cuffe.

As well, there is speculation that BHP Billiton chief executive Brian Gilbertson, who left the company at the start of the year, could receive a payout of $30 million.

However, the survey did note that confidence is lost if risks are taken or there is a reward for poor performance.

"Australians are looking for certainty in troubled times and they feel a sense of security from big business and other institutions," Crosby-Textor pollster Mark Textor said.

"They lose confidence when companies take risks or reward poor performance, because they believe it could jeopardise their investments, superannuation and even jobs for their children."

Still, Australians acknowledged that large companies created wealth and provided employment opportunities.

Big business confidence was higher among blue collar workers, with 50 per cent, compared to just 44 per cent of white collar workers.

Women also were more inclined towards big business, with 47 per cent having confidence, compared to 42 per cent of men.

The confidence in big business was higher than the confidence in the financial markets and accounting firms, which were both at 29 per cent. It was also higher than confidence in privatised utilities, which was at 30 per cent.