AUSTRALIANS are now less conservative in their social and political thinking than they were under Paul Keating.

The notion the country has swung to the Right under John Howard is challenged by the first major study of social attitudes since Labor lost power in 1996.

Australian Social Attitudes: The First Report finds most people are satisfied with the economic gains made since the Prime Minister's election, and that they enjoy their work, are proud of their families, and feel confident and optimistic about the future.

Most would happily give up tax cuts in exchange for more government spending on health or education, and support for immigration has more than doubled since the Keating years.

"There has been no big swing to the Right on social issues," says Shaun Wilson, a lecturer in sociology at Macquarie University, who helped write the report.

"There has been a long period of affluence, and that has taken the sting out of many social debates."

As an example of the more liberal mood, more than 80 per cent of the 4000 Australians who responded to the survey support choice on abortion and increasing numbers are willing to accept same-sex couples as families.

They are also more willing to forgo income to pay for major state services than at any time in the previous two decades.

"We need to go back to the 1960s to find a stronger mood for social spending," the report says.

A clear majority of people believe their standard of living is better than that of their parents.

Award wages are strongly supported as the foundation of industrial relations, only 12 per cent of voters support the full privatisation of Telstra, and more than two-thirds would prefer Australia Post and the prisons to be government services.

Dr Wilson said both sides of politics were now "focused on tax cuts, but the public has moved on. They would rather have services".

The survey suggests family is central to the identity of most Australians, and much more important than what they do for a living.

The vast majority are satisfied with their job and most agree that the relationship between management and employees at their workplace is good.

Almost 70 per cent of voters would be prepared to pay more tax to increase spending on Medicare, and a majority (54 per cent) would be willing to pay more tax for the environment and defence and national security (also 54 per cent). Australians retain protectionist tendencies, with 52 per cent saying tariffs should be maintained.

The data reveals that Australians have not lost faith in each other nor in their institutions. The armed forces remain the nation's most trusted institution, with four-fifths of respondents expressing great confidence. This is perhaps because of the military's successful mission to East Timor in 1999, and its rescue and reconstruction work after the December tsunamis.

There is also broad support for genetic testing, particularly if it assists in the development of cures for disease.

The survey is a product of the Centre for Social Research at the Australian National University. It is the official contribution by Australia to the International Social Survey, covering 39 countries, and the World Values Survey (90 countries).