Australia and other advanced societies are undergoing far reaching changes that touch all aspects of social life, from work and politics to family and consumption patterns. An understanding of these changes is important to anyone who wants to make sense of contemporary Australian society. The subject traces the most significant changes from the 19th to the 21st centuries in the following areas: work and social inequality; the state and economic and social policy; urbanism, suburbanism and family life; culture and consumption. Contemporary change processes are compared to earlier stages of development and discussed in relation to prominent sociological concepts and models such as Fordism - postFordism, globalisation, industrialism - postindustrialism, modernisation - postmodernisation, reflexivity and risk society.