This article attempts to forge new links between social attitudes and social policy change in Australia. Drawing on four survey waves of international social survey data and using multivariable regression analysis, this article sheds new light on the determinants of Australian attitudes towards the welfare state in a comparative perspective. It examines their variations across time and social groupings and then compares Australian welfare attitudes with those found in other leading western economies. While there is popular support for government actions to protect Australian citizens in old age and sickness, views about social protection and labour market policy for the working-age population are divided. The comparative analysis and the focus on class-attitude linkages allows for further critical reflection on the nature of social relations and recent social reforms enacted by the Liberal-National coalition government.