Australia's multicultural market works in an overseas brand's favour. About one in three people living here were born overseas, and almost half have a parent born overseas. That means there are communities who already know brands like yours and can be reached in their own language, and being from somewhere else is normal here. Start with one community, prove the product there, then grow into the wider market.
How multicultural is Australia's market, really?
About one in three people living in Australia were born overseas, and almost half have at least one parent born overseas.
At 30 June 2025, 8.8 million people in Australia, or 32.0% of the population, were born overseas, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The largest groups were born in India (971,020), England (970,950), China (731,540), New Zealand (637,680), the Philippines (412,530) and Vietnam (326,630). The 2021 Census found that 48.2% of Australians had at least one parent born overseas. In the mosaic above, every coloured square is one person in a hundred who was born somewhere else. Your future customer's neighbour may well come from the same country as your brand.
Why does a multicultural market make a new overseas brand easier to reach?
Because communities have their own languages, media and groups, so you can find a clearly defined first audience that already understands what you sell.
In the 2021 Census, 5,663,709 people used a language other than English at home, across more than 350 languages. Mandarin was the most common, with 685,274 speakers. These communities follow their own social media, join their own parent groups and ask each other for recommendations. For a baby, toy or home brand from China, a family who already knows similar brands from home is far easier to convince than someone who has never seen the category. You can reach them in Chinese on Xiaohongshu or through WeChat group buying, without advertising to the whole country at once.
Will Australians accept a brand from another country?
Being from somewhere else is normal in Australia. What parents check is whether the product is safe, clear and backed up locally.
In the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute's Mapping Social Cohesion 2025 survey, 84% of respondents agreed that multiculturalism has been good for Australia. That does not mean any product sells itself, but an overseas origin is rarely the barrier founders fear. The questions that decide a sale are practical: does it meet Australian safety standards, is the English on the box clear, and who handles a fault or a return? Our guide to localising your brand for Australia covers those.
“Nobody here has heard of us.”
Some communities already know brands from your country. Start with them.
“Australians won't trust a foreign brand.”
One in three residents was born overseas, and 84% say multiculturalism has been good for the country.
“We'd have to advertise to everyone at once.”
Communities have their own languages, media and groups: a clear first audience you can reach on its own.
Left column: common worries. Right column: our reading of ABS and Scanlon Foundation figures.
Where should an overseas brand start in Australia's multicultural market?
Start with one community that already understands your product, prove it there, then use those families' reviews to reach the wider market.
A practical first step is a small trial with a few dozen families from one community, followed by honest reviews in their language and in English. Once those reviews exist, mainstream shoppers and retailers have something to go on. The diversity that helps you begin does not replace the basics: English packaging and labels, local safety rules and a clear returns address apply to everyone. Our six-step Australia market-entry process shows how the pieces fit, and our page on reaching Asian-Australian consumers explains the communities in more detail.
Worried nobody in Australia knows your brand?
The answer is not to shout louder at everyone. It is to start with the people most likely to understand you, and let them introduce you to everyone else.
- 1
Find your first families: we can trial your product with parents in Baby Island, our community of more than 10,000 members, before you spend on wider marketing.
- 2
Reach them in their own language: Xiaohongshu and creator marketing and day-to-day Chinese social media management.
- 3
Bridge to the mainstream: packaging and label localisation support and our six-step market-entry process, so the next shoppers and retailers can say yes.
DAY Concept has helped 6 brands enter Australia.
Talk to us about your first community →Keep reading
Questions brands ask
- What percentage of Australia's population was born overseas?
- 32.0% at 30 June 2025, or about 8.8 million people, according to the ABS. The largest groups were born in India, England, China and New Zealand.
- Do I need a separate campaign for every community in Australia?
- No. Most brands do better starting with the one community that best matches the product and expanding from there. Trying to reach every group at once spreads a small budget thin.
- If I start with the Chinese-Australian community, will mainstream shoppers still buy?
- They can, if the basics are in place: English packaging, local safety compliance and reviews in English as well. Community trust is a starting point, not a ceiling.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia's Population by Country of Birth, reference period June 2025 (released 29 April 2026).
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, “2021 Census: Nearly half of Australians have a parent born overseas”, media release, 28 June 2022.
- Scanlon Foundation Research Institute, Mapping Social Cohesion 2025, as reported by AMES Australia, 1 December 2025.
This article is general information about Australia's multicultural market, not legal or business advice. Population figures are the latest available at the time of writing.