Buddhism in Australia

A Snapshot of Buddhism in Australia Today

Since the Buddha began teaching in India 2600 years ago, Buddhism has grown to become the fourth largest religion in the world, with 507 000 million followers, or about 7% of the global population.

In Australia today, Buddhism is the fourth largest faith, with 615,800 people, or 2.4% of the population identifying as Buddhist in the 2021 census. About 222,770 Buddhists live in NSW, around 2.4% of the state’s population. 

Australian Buddhists come from more than 60 different countries; three quarters were born outside Australia, and more than 80% speak a language other than English at home.

All the major schools of Buddhism are present in Australia:

• Theravada: mostly found in Burma, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
• Mahayana: mostly in China, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
• Vajrayana: mostly found in Bhutan, China, Nepal and Tibet.

There are also emerging Western adaptions of Buddhism, including Engaged Buddhism and Secular Buddhism.

The mix of different ethnicities, cultures and languages makes Australian Buddhists a highly diverse community retaining links to countries of origin whilst adapting to new forms in Australia. Whilst practices and rituals may differ in Buddhist communities across Australia, the core Buddhist beliefs and values—the dharma—is shared by all groups.

There are now hundreds of Buddhist organisations across NSW. Discover a group near you using our Find a Buddhist Centre tool.

A Short History of Buddhism in Australia

The story of Buddhism in Australia reflects the waves of immigration of diverse communities from the 19th century till today, along with changing social attitudes to spirituality and well-being. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in interest in Buddhism, particularly mindfulness practices, as people seek methods to manage stress, enhance mental clarity, and promote overall well-being. 

Colonial Period

• 1848: Chinese miners arrive in Victoria during the gold rush practising a syncretic form of Taoism and Buddhism
• 1870: Sinhalese migrants arrive in Queensland to work on sugar plantations. 
• 1876: A Buddhist community is founded on Thursday Island.
• 1882: A group of 500 Sinhalese Buddhists leave Colombo for Mackay, Queensland.
• 1880’s: Japanese pearl industry communities in Broome regularly celebrate cultural activities including annual Shinto Buddhist festivals.
• 1890s: A temple was built on Thursday Island for about 500 followers. A visiting Sri Lankan monk was said to inaugurate the temple. Two surviving Bodhi trees from this period attest to the now missing temple.  
• 1891: American Buddhist, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, co-founder of Theosophical Society, visited Australia giving lectures on Buddhism and Theosophy.

Early 20th Century

• 1901: White Australia Policy enacted to restrict non-white immigration to Australia
• 1910: The British born monk, U Sasana Dhaja (born E.H. Stevenson) arrives from Burma.
• 1911: The first Australian census conducted records 3,269 Buddhists
• 1919: F.L. Woodward, former principal of Mahinda College, Sri Lanka, settled in Tasmania. For the next 33 years translated the Pali Canon for the Pali Text Society
• 1925: The Little Circle of Dharma, Australia’s first Buddhist organization, is founded in Melbourne 
• 1938: The Buddhist Study Group is founded in Melbourne
• 1939: Japanese Australians are classed as “enemy aliens” and interred in prison camps across Australia and deported after the war
• 1947: Only 411 Buddhists recorded in the census due to the effects of the White Australia Policy and post-war deportations
• 1952:The Buddhist Society of Victoria was formed
• 1956: The Buddhist Society of New South Wales was formed.

Mid 20th Century

• 1966: White Australia Policy is repealed, removing race-based discrimination from immigration intake 
• 1971: Census shows 11 000 Buddhists in Australia
• 1970s: Large numbers of ethnic Buddhists arrive as refugees from the from Vietnam and Cambodia
• 1971: Venerable Somaloka, a young Sri Lankan monk, arrives at the invitation of the Buddhist Society of New South Wales. On Vesak Day, 1973, the first monastery in NSW, the Australian Buddhist Vihara was opened at Katoomba.
• 1975: The first Thai temple in Australia, Wat Buddharangsee, in Stanmore was opened by the Crown Prince of Thailand in 1975 on Vesak Day
• 1976: The Sydney Zen Centre was established in Annandale
• 1978: British monk Phra Khantipalo and German nun Ayya Khema established Wat Buddha Dhamma in Wiseman’s Ferry.
• 1980: SN Goenka, founder of the Vipassana movement, visits Sydney, teaching a ten day course to 119 students. The first Vipassana centre in Australia opened at Blackheath in1983
• 1981: Senior Vietnamese monk, Most Venerable Thich Phuoc Hue, arrived in Australia to form the Vietnamese Buddhist Federation of Australia.
• 1981: The Buddha Sasana Association is formed in NSW with links to the Masashi method and emerging American insight tradition
• 1983: HH Dalai Lama visits Sydney to packed out crowds
• 1986: Elizabeth Gorski, later Ayya Nirodha purchases a property in Bundanoon, later to become Santi Forest MOnastery, another property purchased in 1989 became Sunnataram Forest Monastery.
• 1988: A property at Medlow bath is purchased by the Buddha Sasana Association, later becoming the Blue Mountains Insight Meditation centre,which helped spawn many smaller groups across Sydney, such as Golden Wattle and Blue Gum groups, under the Sydney Insight family.
• 1990’s: Interest in Buddhism continues to grow rapidly, due to Buddhist immigration and growing understanding of Buddhism in the broader community 
• 1994: The Buddhist Library opens in Lewisham, later relocating to Camperdown
• 1995: The Buddhist Council of NSW is established.

 21st Century 

• 2001: Census 360,000 Buddhists in Australia, which was about 1.6% of the population,  a 79% increase from the 1996 census. 
• 2009: First ordination of Bhikkhunis (fully ordained nuns) in Australia at Dhammasara Nuns Monastery, Perth
• 2010’s: the Mindfulness movement, emphasising awareness and secular meditation becomes increasingly popular
• 2021: The Monash Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies, and the University of Melbourne Contemplative Studies Centre open, showing the acceptance of meditation in academia and reflecting a broader social interest in the nature of the mind.