🇦🇺

Understanding Social Class Structure in Australia

Apr 26, 2025

Social Class in Australia: Beyond the Working and Middle Classes

Overview

  • Authors: Dr Jill Sheppard & Dr Nicholas Biddle
  • Conducted by: Social Research Centre, an ANU Enterprise business
  • Sample size: 1,200 Australians, interviewed by telephone
  • Response rate: 21%
  • Margin of error: ±2.5%
  • Date: Interviews conducted between 13 and 27 July 2015

Vice-Chancellor's Message

  • Findings reveal greater social stratification than expected.
  • Australians mostly identify as working or middle class, but data shows five distinct classes.
  • Class mobility is more common in Australia compared to Britain.

Key Points

  • Most Australians consider themselves part of a social class.
  • Over half identify with the middle class; about 40% with the working class.
  • Only 2% identify as upper class.

Detailed Class Analysis

Self-Described Class Membership

  • Middle Class: 51.5%
  • Working Class: 40.3%
  • Upper Class: 2%
  • Young and old Australians tend to view themselves as middle class.

Objective Class Membership

  • Based on economic, social, and cultural capital:
    • Established Affluent
    • Emergent Affluent
    • Mobile Middle
    • Established Middle
    • Established Working

Characteristics of Each Class

  • Established Working Class:
    • Lowest incomes, occupational prestige, and education.
    • Mean age: 66
  • Established Middle Class:
    • Medium in income and capital.
    • Largest class at 26%.
  • Mobile Middle Class:
    • Higher educational attainment, transitioning toward affluence.
    • Younger and highly social.
  • Emergent Affluent Class:
    • High income, young, but with low savings.
    • Millennial stereotypes: social, culturally emerging.
  • Established Affluent Class:
    • Intergenerational advantage, diverse social networks.
    • Notably lower capital compared to British equivalents.

Attitudes and Behaviors

  • Political opinions vary by class.
  • Affluent classes less supportive of government redistribution.

Trends and Concerns

  • Economy is the most important issue for Australians, followed by government and immigration.
  • Satisfaction with the country's direction has decreased since March 2015.

ANUpoll Questions

  • Surveyed topics include economic conditions, social issues, household income, and personal demographics.

Conclusion

  • Findings aim to inform public debate and contribute to scholarly research.
  • Results highlight societal trends and class mobility dynamics in Australia.