As in other English speaking countries [17,28], the current study found strong evidence of
negative attitudes towards welfare recipients in the Australian population. The negative views
of welfare recipients are striking when compared to the relatively strong support for the existence
of a welfare system as a social safety net. Moreover, the current study found these views
of welfare are not held equally across all segments of the population, nor for each potential
recipient group in the population. Future research may find that this is explained as a self-serving belief that one belongs to a group deserving of welfare. The present study provides a concrete evidence base against which policy makers can critically examine whether proposed
welfare reform directions indeed reflect community attitudes as has been suggested [1,2], and,
perhaps more importantly, identify the segments of society who hold alternate views. Finally, it
is important to consider that the patterning of attitudes indicates the plausibility of negative
attitudes toward welfare recipients being translated into prejudicial and discriminatory actions.This possibility warrants further direct testing.