Nearly two-thirds of Australians are now in favour of equal rights for all couples, a sharp rise in support over the past decade.

Australians are adopting more progressive attitudes, with 67 percent of women and 59 percent of men, now supporting universal marriage rights, a report says.

In 2005, 43 percent of women, and 32 percent of men, supported marriage equality.

“We’ve seen a very profound shift in attitudes to this statement,” Professor Roger Wilkins, the author of the report, said.

The startling statistics are a result of this year’s Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA), a long-running study headed by the University of Melbourne.

Since HILDA’s inception in 2001, the same 17,000 people have been interviewed each year on a wide range of topics, including marriage equality.

“We measure attitudes on a variety of things, and this really stands out.” Professor Wilkins said.

The report’s findings come as the Coalition faces internal split over the matter of same-sex marriage.

It’s been revealed this week that some Liberal MPs are considering crossing the floor in a bid to change Australia’s marriage laws.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is yet to comment on his plan to stabilise the government.

The Prime Minister has remained supportive of the Coalition’s policy to hold a plebiscite, which would give all Australians a vote on changing marriage laws. However, the senate blocked the bid last November,

Mr Turnbull is yet to say whether the Coalition will try again to pass the bill.