Where Australia's communities live, city by city
Census data shows which suburbs have the largest Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Lebanese, South African, Italian and Greek communities in each capital. Harris Park, Tarneit, Eastwood, Box Hill and Cabramatta lead their cities, and older migrant communities now show more in ancestry than in country of birth.
The census asks three questions that show where a community lives: ancestry, country of birth and the language spoken at home. We rank every suburb of at least 2,000 residents in each capital on them, in lists of where each community is most established. This is a summary of what those lists show for the Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Lebanese, South African, Italian and Greek communities.
| Sydney | Melbourne | Brisbane | Perth | Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian (born in India) | Harris Park, 45% | Tarneit, 29% | Pallara, 16% | Cannington, 16% | Greenacres, 22% |
| Chinese (ancestry) | Eastwood, 49% | Box Hill, 47% | Rochedale, 41% | Waterford, 29% | Adelaide, 26% |
| Vietnamese (ancestry) | Cabramatta, 38% | Sunshine North, 34% | Inala, 28% | Marangaroo, 10% | Mansfield Park, 26% |
| Filipino (ancestry) | Woodcroft, 27% | Derrimut, 11% | Fitzgibbon, 6% | Midvale, 16% | Ottoway, 7% |
| Lebanese (ancestry) | Old Guildford, 34% | Campbellfield, 19% | |||
| South African (born there) | Dover Heights, 14% | Caulfield South, 6% | Kenmore Hills, 6% | Burns Beach, 9% | |
| Italian (ancestry) | Haberfield, 30% | Keilor Park, 32% | Stirling, 22% | Newton, 36% | |
| Greek (ancestry) | Bardwell Park, 23% | Oakleigh, 16% | Highgate Hill, 7% | Torrensville, 15% |
The suburb with the largest share of residents in each community, and that share, from the 2021 Census. Blank where no suburb in the city reaches 5%. Each list ranks on one measure, shown in brackets after the community.
Indian: the newest suburbs on the city edge
Australians born in India are 5.2% of Melbourne's residents, 4.0% of Sydney's and 3.8% of Canberra's. In Sydney the community is centred near Parramatta: Harris Park, where 45% of residents were born in India, then Westmead and Wentworthville. In Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane, the top suburbs are new estates on the growth fringe: in Melbourne Tarneit, Truganina and Aintree, in Canberra Taylor, Moncrieff and Throsby and in Brisbane Pallara. In Perth, Cannington is followed by Piara Waters and Harrisdale. For the Indian community we rank on country of birth, because Indian ancestry is reported across Punjabi, Tamil, Gujarati and other separate categories.
Chinese and Vietnamese: the highest concentrations
The highest shares in the table are Chinese. Close to half the residents of Eastwood in Sydney (49%) and Box Hill in Melbourne (47%) reported Chinese ancestry, and about 42% in each speak Mandarin or Cantonese at home. Burwood, Hurstville, Doncaster East and Glen Waverley follow. In Brisbane it is Rochedale, at 41%.
The Vietnamese community is centred on Cabramatta in Sydney, Sunshine North in Melbourne, Inala in Brisbane and Mansfield Park in Adelaide. In Cabramatta, 43% of residents speak Vietnamese at home.
Italian and Greek: more ancestry than birth
The older migrant communities show the gap between ancestry and country of birth. In Adelaide's Newton, 36% of residents reported Italian ancestry but 8% were born in Italy; in Sydney's Haberfield, it is 30% and 11%. Most of these residents are second or third generation. Keilor Park in Melbourne and Stirling in Perth lead their cities.
3.8% of Melbourne's residents reported Greek ancestry, and 3.4% of Darwin's, more than in Adelaide (2.7%) or Sydney (2.5%). The top suburbs are Oakleigh in Melbourne, Torrensville in Adelaide, Bardwell Park in Sydney and Wagaman in Darwin.
Filipino, Lebanese and South African
The largest Filipino community is in Sydney's west: Woodcroft, where 27% reported Filipino ancestry, then Plumpton and Rooty Hill. In Perth it is Midvale, at 16%.
Lebanese ancestry is concentrated in Sydney (3.6% of residents, against 1.1% in Melbourne and less than half a percent in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide). The top suburbs are Old Guildford, Greenacre and South Granville; in Melbourne, Campbellfield.
1.9% of Perth's residents were born in South Africa, more than twice Sydney's share. They cluster in the northern coastal suburbs of Burns Beach and Iluka. In Sydney it is the eastern suburbs: Dover Heights, Rose Bay and Vaucluse.
How we measured
- All figures are from the 2021 Census (Australian Bureau of Statistics): ancestry, country of birth and language spoken at home, for suburbs with at least 2,000 residents.
- Each community is ranked on one measure: country of birth for the Indian and South African communities, ancestry for the others. Each list also shows the other measures. Ancestry is a multiple-response question, so a resident can report more than one.
- City-wide shares are for residents of suburbs with at least 2,000 residents in that capital.
- These are descriptions of where people live, not recommendations. The lists will be updated with results from the 2026 Census when they are released.
Each capital has lists for up to 23 communities, linked from the "Where communities live" section of its city page.