Asian Australians

Asian Australians are Australians who trace their ancestry to Asia.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics and Australian Census do not collect data on races or ethnicities. Instead, they collect information on distinct ancestries of which census respondents can select up to two. For the purposes of aggregating data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics in its Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG) has grouped certain ancestries into certain categories, including: Notably, Middle Eastern ancestries are separately classified under Middle Eastern and North African and not as a subset of Asian ancestries.
 * East Asian (e.g. Chinese Australians, Korean Australian, etc);
 * Southeast Asian (e.g. Vietnamese Australians, Filipino Australian, etc); and
 * Southern and Central Asian (e.g. Indian Australians, Sri Lankan Australian, etc).

In general Australian English parlance (rather than statistical usage), 'Asian' generally refers to persons of East Asian and Southeast Asian ancestry, with persons of South Asian ancestry generally referred to by their specific national ancestral origin, e.g. 'Indian' or 'Pakistani'.

Given that ancestry is the primary statistical measure of ethnicity or cultural origins in Australia, and that the distinct ancestry groups may be historically, culturally and geographically far-removed from each other, information on Australians with ancestry from Asia are found at the respective articles for each separate article (e.g. Chinese Australian, Indian Australian, etc).

At the 2016 census, there were 3,550,882 nominations of ancestries classified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as falling within the ASCCEG geographical categories of East Asia, Southeast Asia and Central and Southern Asia. This represents 16.3% of the 21,769,209 persons who nominated their ancestry, and therefore represents the maximum proportion of the population with ancestry from one of the above Asian geographical categories given that some respondents may have nominated two ancestries from the Asian geographical categories.

2,665,814 persons claimed one of the six most commonly nominated Asian ancestries, namely Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and Sri Lankan, at the 2016 census. Persons claiming one of these six ancestries alone represented 12.25% of the total population who nominated their ancestry.

Gold rush
Although the Chinese had been arriving in Australia as early as 1818 (e.g. John Shying), Chinese immigration to Australia increased dramatically as a result of the Victorian gold rushes (c. 1850s to 1860s). New Chinese and Australian communities came into conflict due to prejudice and misunderstanding, resulting in several riots at Lambing Flat and Buckland. Earlier anti-Chinese laws enacted by the individual Australian colonies were the background to the White Australia policy (1901-1973).

Immigration restriction
In the 1870s and 1880s, the trade union movement began a series of protests against foreign labour. The union movement was critical of Asians, mainly Chinese, who did not join unions, and who were prepared to work for lower wages and conditions. Wealthy land owners in rural areas countered with the argument Asians working on lower wages and conditions were necessary for development in tropical Queensland and the Northern Territory. It was claimed that without Asian workers these regions would be abandoned. Under growing pressure from the union movement, each Australian colony enacted legislation between 1875-1888 excluding further Chinese immigration.

Post-war immigration
The government began to expand access to citizenship for non-Europeans in 1957 by allowing access to 15-year residents, and in 1958 by reforming entry permits via the Migration Act 1958. In March 1966, the immigration ministry began a policy of allowing the immigration of skilled and professional non-Europeans, and of expanding the availability of temporary residency to these groups. These cumulatively had the effect of increasing immigration numbers from non-European countries. In 1973 Whitlam took steps to bring about a more non-discriminatory immigration policy—temporarily bringing down overall immigration numbers. The eventual evolution of immigration policy has been along a trajectory of non-discrimination, dismantling European-only policies, and the broadening of pathways to citizenship for Asians. During the Fraser government, with the increasing intake of Vietnamese refugees in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Australia experienced the largest intake of Asian immigrants since the arrival of the Chinese gold miners during the gold rush of the 1850s and 1860s. In 1983, the level of British immigration was below the level of Asian immigration for the first time in Australian history.

Demographics
Notably, Australia does not collect statistics on the racial origins of its residents, instead collecting data at each five-yearly census on distinct ancestries, of which each census respondent may choose up to two..

At the 2016 census, there were 3,550,882 nominations of ancestries classified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as falling within the ASCCEG geographical categories of East Asia, Southeast Asia and Central and Southern Asia. This represents 16.3% of the 21,769,209 persons who nominated their ancestry, and therefore represents the maximum proportion of the population with ancestry from one of the above Asian geographical categories given that some respondents may have nominated two ancestries from the Asian geographical categories.

2,665,814 persons claimed one of the six most commonly nominated Asian ancestries, namely Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and Sri Lankan, at the 2016 census. Persons claiming one of these six ancestries alone represented 12.25% of the total population who nominated their ancestry.

30% of Asians in Australia go to university, 20% of all Australian doctors are Asian, and 37% of Asian Australians take part in some form of organised sport. Second and third generation Chinese and Indian Australians are already present in large numbers. Sydney and Melbourne have made up a large proportion of Asian immigration, with Chinese Australians constituting Sydney's fourth largest ancestry (after English, Australian and Irish). Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese-Australians are among Sydney's five largest overseas-born communities.

Notable people
For principal lists of notable people, see the relevant articles for each relevant ethnicity, for example: Chinese Australians, Indian Australians, Vietnamese Australians, Malaysian Australians, Filipino Australians, Korean Australians.


 * Usman Khawaja, Cricketer
 * Luke Nguyen, Chef
 * Ashton Agar
 * Mahalia Barnes
 * Peter Bell, Australian rules footballer
 * Chen Shaoliang, Australian rules footballer
 * Brian Castro, writer
 * Kate Ceberano, singer
 * Christabel Chamarette
 * Jason Keng-Kwin Chan, Actor
 * Stuart Clark, Cricketer
 * Anne Curtis, actress and model
 * Jasmine Curtis, actress and model
 * Jason Day, golfer
 * Shiori Kutsuna, Actress
 * David de Kretser, former Governor of Victoria
 * Trent Dennis-Lane, Australian rules footballer
 * Anh Do, Australian author, actor, and comedian.
 * Samantha Downie
 * Jamie Durie
 * Andrew Embley, Australian rules footballer
 * Andrew Everingham
 * David Flint
 * Jessica Gomes
 * Kevin Gordon, rugby league player
 * Adam Hollioake, Australian-born England international cricketer
 * Ben Hollioake, Australian-born England international cricketer
 * L. Janusz Hooker, Chairman of LJ Hooker Limited and 1996 Olympic Bronze Medalist
 * Sir Leslie Joseph Hooker, real estate magnate, founder of L.J. Hooker
 * Geoff Huegill
 * Nadya Hutagalung
 * Dami Im, singer-songwriter
 * Michael Johnson, former politician, Member of Parliament, Federal Parliament
 * Lin Jong, Australian rules footballer
 * Eddie Jones, rugby union player
 * Daniel Kerr, Australian rules footballer
 * Roger Kerr
 * Sam Kerr, IAustralian international soccer player
 * Wally Koochew, Australian rules footballer
 * Nick Kyrgios, Tennis player
 * Dichen Lachman
 * Benjamin Law, writer
 * Simone Lazaroo, writer
 * Michael Letts, rugby player (Filipino mother)
 * Adam Liaw, chef; winner of MasterChef Australia 2010
 * Jessica Mauboy, singer; actress (Indonesian father)
 * Jordan McMahon, Australian rules footballer
 * Paul Medhurst, Australian rules footballer
 * Bobby Morley, actor from Home and Away TV series (Filipino mother)
 * Bill O'Chee, former Senator (Queensland), Federal Parliament
 * Rosé Park, Korean singer and model
 * Clancee Pearce, Australian rules footballer
 * Eric Pearce, field hockey player
 * Julian Pearce
 * Hoa Pham, Writer
 * Gemma Pranita
 * Fred Pringle, Australian rules footballer
 * Iain Ramsay
 * Jordan Rodrigues, actor and dancer known for Dance Academy
 * Van Thanh Rudd
 * Guy Sebastian, Singer
 * Rex Sellers
 * Dannie Seow, Australian rules footballer
 * Alex Silvagni, Australian rules footballer
 * Billy Sing, World War I soldier, Gallipoli and Western Front
 * Lisa Singh, Senator (Tasmania)
 * Maria Tran, Vietnamese actress, filmmaker
 * John Williams, guitarist
 * Rhys Williams
 * Craig Wing, Rugby League player (South Sydney Rabbitohs) (Filipino mother)
 * Anthony Brandon Wong, actor
 * Penny Wong, senator (South Australia), Federal Parliament, Member of Cabinet, Minister for Climate Change and Water 2007-2010, Minister of Finance and Deregulation 2010-2013
 * Vanessa Woods, Scientist, author and feature writer for the Discovery Channel
 * Deepak Vinayak, Public figure from Melbourne
 * Natalie Tran, video blogger
 * Matthew Victor Pastor, writer, film director
 * Richard Chee Quee, cricketer

Asians in other countries

 * Asian Americans
 * Asian Argentines
 * Asian Canadians
 * Asian Brazilians
 * Asian New Zealanders
 * Asian Peruvians
 * Asian South Africans
 * Asian French
 * Asian people
 * British Asian
 * East Asians in the United Kingdom

Cultural and social perceptions

 * Stereotypes of East Asians in the United States (Also applies to East Asians in other parts of the Western world.)
 * Stereotypes of South Asians