The Top 10 Languages Spoken in Australia and What Marketers Need to Know About Each Community

Australia is one of the most linguistically diverse countries on earth. Walk down the main street of virtually any Australian capital city, and you’ll hear Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Punjabi, sometimes all within the same block. Yet the majority of advertising budgets are still being spent as though English is the only language that matters. It isn’t. And the data proves it. With the 2026 Australian Census approaching, now is exactly the right time for marketers to get serious about who Australia’s communities actually are, what languages they speak at home, and how to reach them in a way that lands. We’ve spent nearly 50 years doing this at Leba. What follows is what we know.

What Are the Top 10 Languages Spoken in Australia?

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), approximately 22% of Australians speak a language other than English at home. That’s roughly 5.5 million people. The top ten languages spoken at home in Australia, after English, are:

• Mandarin
• Arabic
• Vietnamese
• Cantonese
• Punjabi
• Greek
• Italian
• Filipino/Tagalog
• Hindi
• Spanish

Each of these communities has its own media landscape, its own trusted voices, its own media consumption habits, and its own response to advertising. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t just underperform. It often doesn’t land at all.

1. Mandarin – Australia’s Most Spoken Non-English Language

Community size: Approximately 685,000 Australians speak Mandarin at home, making it the country’s most spoken non-English language (ABS, 2021 Census). Mandarin speakers in Australia are not a monolithic group. You have recent migrants, long-established families, international students, and business professionals, all with different media habits and different relationships to their cultural identity. What they have in common is a deep preference for consuming news and information in Chinese. The landscape here is particularly diverse and powerful: Chinese-language platforms like WeChat and Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) operate almost entirely outside the mainstream Australian media ecosystem. In addition to Chinese Publications, Radio stations, TV Channels and Chinese OOH placements. If your campaign isn’t showing up here, it isn’t showing up for a significant portion of this audience.

For advertisers: Chinese media in Australia is a specialist discipline. The channels, the formats, the influencer ecosystem, it all operates differently. Print titles, digital publishers, radio, and pay TV are well-established in this community, with a combined reach that mainstream media can’t touch. Leba works with the full spectrum of Chinese-language media in Australia, from major digital publishers through to community organisations.

2. Arabic – A Community Built on Trust

Community size: Approximately 528,000 Australians speak Arabic at home (ABS, 2021 Census). Arabic speakers are concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne but have a significant presence across all major capitals. Arabic-speaking communities in Australia are largely made up of migrants and their descendants from Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and other Arabic-speaking nations. The community is multigenerational, which means media preferences span from Arabic publications to digital platforms, TV and community radio. Trust is everything here. The Arabic-language media in Australia has earned its credibility over decades. Readers and listeners don’t come to these outlets because they have to, they come because they want to. That trust transfers to the advertisers who appear alongside that content. If you’re advertising to Arabic-speaking Australians in English, you are almost certainly leaving reach on the table. If the message isn’t in Arabic, through Arabic media, the opportunity is being wasted.

For advertisers: Arabic radio, press, TV and digital advertising in Australia is well-developed. Translation quality matters enormously. A poorly translated ad does more damage than no ad at all. Leba provides Arabic advertising translation and production services alongside media placement.

3. Vietnamese – Loyal Audiences, Loyal Consumers

Community size: Approximately 334,000 Australians speak Vietnamese at home (ABS, 2021 Census), predominantly in Melbourne and Sydney. The Vietnamese-Australian community is one of Australia’s most established multicultural communities, with roots going back to the late 1970s. That longevity has produced a deeply settled community with strong internal networks, trusted local media, and a high level of brand loyalty once trust is established. Vietnamese-language radio is particularly strong in Melbourne. The press and digital sectors are also active. This is a community that follows local news closely and responds to advertising that respects their culture rather than speaking around it.

For advertisers: Vietnamese advertising in Australia rewards consistency. Show up regularly, in the right media, with the right message, and the community responds. Sporadic or tokenistic campaigns rarely cut through. Leba has worked with Vietnamese media for decades and understands what works and what doesn’t.

4. Cantonese – Often Overlooked, Never Small

Community size: Approximately 280,000 Australians speak Cantonese at home (ABS, 2021 Census). Cantonese and Mandarin speakers are frequently grouped together in campaign planning. This is a mistake. They are distinct communities with different media, different cultural references, and different media consumption habits. Cantonese speakers are often longer-established in Australia, with strong communities in Sydney and Melbourne. Many have family roots in Hong Kong. Cantonese-language media in Australia includes newspapers, radio, pay television and of course digital options. These are well-established outlets with loyal audiences who expect to be spoken to in their language, not lumped in with a Mandarin campaign and assumed to follow along.

For advertisers: If your Chinese-language campaign only covers Mandarin, you are missing a substantial and economically active community.

5. Punjabi – Australia’s Fastest Growing Language Community

Community size: Punjabi has been one of the fastest-growing language communities in Australia over the past decade. The 2021 Census recorded approximately 193,000 Punjabi speakers at home, and growth since then has been significant. Indian migration to Australia has accelerated sharply in recent years, and Punjabi speakers largely from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, make up the largest single language group within that migration wave. This is a young, ambitious, and economically active community. The Punjabi and broader South Asian media landscape in Australia is growing to match that community growth. Radio, digital publications, SVOD, social platforms, and community networks are all expanding.

For advertisers: This is one of the biggest opportunities in multicultural advertising right now. The community is large, growing, and largely underserved by mainstream advertising. Those who get in early and get the message right will build brand loyalty with a community that is only going to grow in economic significance. Leba offers Indian media advertising across radio, press, TV and digital channels.

6. Greek – Heritage Communities Still Respond

Community size: Approximately 237,000 Australians speak Greek at home (ABS, 2021 Census). The Greek-Australian community is one of the oldest and most established multicultural communities in Australia, with migration going back to the early-to-mid twentieth century. What that means for advertisers is a community with deep roots, strong internal networks, and a genuine connection to Greek-language media that has been maintained across generations. Greek-language television, radio, and press remain active in Australia. This is not a community in decline, it is a community with strong community pride, active media consumption, and real purchasing power.

For advertisers: Heritage communities are sometimes written off as too old or too small to matter. The numbers suggest otherwise. Consistent presence in Greek-language media builds genuine brand recognition in a community that remembers who shows up and who doesn’t.

7. Italian – A Mature Market That Rewards Respect

Community size: Approximately 167,000 Australians speak Italian at home (ABS, 2021 Census). Like the Greek-Australian community, the Italian-Australian community is well-established and multigenerational. Italian-language radio is particularly strong and enjoys loyal listenership from a community that treats its media as a genuine connection to culture and identity.

For advertisers: Financial services, healthcare, real estate, and retail sectors have historically performed well in Italian-language media. The community is mature, the audiences are engaged, and the advertising environment is less cluttered than mainstream media.

8. Filipino/Tagalog – Growing, Engaged, and Digitally Active

Community size: Approximately 159,000 Australians speak Filipino or Tagalog at home (ABS, 2021 Census), with the community growing steadily. Filipino-Australians are a young, engaged community. Community ties are powerful, the Filipino community in Australia is tight-knit, with events, gatherings, and community media that reach deeply into the community. English fluency is high within this community, but in-language advertising still outperforms. There’s a difference between an ad that can be understood and an ad that feels like it was made for you.

For advertisers: Filipino advertising in Australia spans community media, TV, social platforms, and events. This is a community that responds warmly to brands that bother to show up in their space. Leba provides Filipino media advertising and translation services.

9. Hindi – Reaching the Broader Indian Community

Community size: Approximately 160,000 Australians speak Hindi at home (ABS, 2021 Census), though the broader Indian-Australian community, across Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and other languages, is considerably larger. Hindi-language media in Australia is growing alongside Indian migration. Radio, digital, and community publications are all active. For brands seeking to reach the broader Indian community, a combined strategy across Hindi and Punjabi often makes sense.

For advertisers: The Indian-Australian community is one of the most economically significant multicultural communities in the country. Reaching them in their preferred language, through media they trust, is increasingly a competitive necessity.

10. Spanish – A Community Often Forgotten

Community size: Approximately 134,000 Australians speak Spanish at home (ABS, 2021 Census), drawn from across Latin America and Spain. The Spanish-speaking community in Australia is often overlooked in multicultural advertising conversations. It shouldn’t be. This is a geographically spread community with strong cultural identity, active media consumption habits, and real economic weight. Spanish-language radio and digital media operate in Australia, serving a community that appreciates being spoken to in its own language.

For advertisers: Spanish-language advertising in Australia is genuinely underutilised. That means less competition for attention and a real opportunity for brands willing to invest.

A Note on Indigenous Languages and Communities

No list of languages in Australia is complete without acknowledging First Nations communities and Indigenous languages. There are hundreds of distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and dialects. For advertisers, reaching First Nations communities requires cultural sensitivity, genuine respect, and media that is trusted within those communities. Indigenous advertising is a specialist area, and one that matters more, not less, as Reconciliation moves from rhetoric to action. Leba provides Indigenous media advertising and translation services in key First Nations languages.

Why Does This Matter for Advertisers?

Here is the most important thing to understand about all of these communities: they are not watching your mainstream campaign and making a mental adjustment. They are watching media that speaks to them, in their language, and they are engaging with the advertising that appears there. CALD communities in Australia represent a consumer market estimated at $240 billion annually (Deloitte Access Economics, 2021). Nearly one-third of all Australians were born overseas. Of those, 73% speak a language other than English at home (ABS, 2021). These are not niche numbers. This is mainstream Australia. The print market alone is made up of approximately 160 titles spanning 47 communities. There are over 13,000 hours per week of multicultural radio programming. Digital publishers, pay TV, Chinese social platforms, community networks, the CALD media landscape in Australia is large, dynamic, and deeply engaged. Brands that show up consistently, in the right language, through the right media, build something that a mainstream campaign cannot: genuine trust within a community.

The Bottom Line

The top 10 languages in Australia after English represent millions of consumers, billions in purchasing power, and a genuine advertising opportunity that most brands are still leaving largely untouched. We’ve been working in this space since 1975. The communities change, the platforms evolve, the numbers grow, but the fundamental truth stays the same. If you make the effort to talk to people in their own language and through their own trusted media, they respond. If you don’t, you’re invisible.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the most spoken language in Australia after English?

Mandarin is the most spoken language in Australia after English, with approximately 685,000 Australians speaking it at home, according to the 2021 Australian Census. This is followed by Arabic, Vietnamese, and Cantonese.

2. How many languages are spoken in Australia?

Australia is one of the world’s most linguistically diverse countries. The 2021 Census recorded over 300 languages spoken in Australian homes, with approximately 22% of Australians speaking a language other than English at home.

3. How can businesses advertise to multicultural communities in Australia?

The most effective approach is to advertise through CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) media. Ethnic newspapers, radio stations, digital publishers, pay TV, and Chinese social platforms, with properly translated, culturally appropriate messaging. Generic English-language campaigns rarely achieve meaningful reach within these communities.

4. What is CALD advertising in Australia?

CALD advertising refers to advertising campaigns targeted at Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities in Australia. This involves advertising in community languages, through ethnic media outlets, with messages tailored to cultural context rather than simply translated from English.

5. What languages should I advertise in for multicultural campaigns in Australia?

The right answer depends on your target audience, geography, and campaign objectives. Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Punjabi, Greek, Italian, Filipino, Hindi, and Spanish are the largest language communities. We can help identify which communities and channels are most relevant for your brief.

6. Does in-language advertising outperform English-only campaigns in multicultural communities?

Yes. Research consistently shows that in-language advertising generates significantly higher engagement, trust, and conversion in non-English-speaking communities. A brand that speaks to a community in its own language, through media it already trusts, achieves a depth of connection that English-only campaigns cannot replicate.