Connecting With the Vietnamese Community in Australia

The Vietnamese community is one of the largest and longest-established Asian-heritage communities in Australia, with a history that began with the wave of refugees after 1975 and has continued to grow through later generations of economic migrants and international students who stayed on. Reaching out to the community is one of the smartest things you can do when you first settle in.

Where the Vietnamese community is concentrated

Sydney

Cabramatta (NSW) is the heart of Australia’s longest-established Vietnamese community, especially for the generation who arrived before 1990. Bankstown, Fairfield and the rest of south-western Sydney also have large Vietnamese populations. Vietnamese grocers, restaurants, beauty salons and other services are heavily concentrated in these areas.

Newer arrivals (students who stayed on, more recent economic migrants) tend to be more spread out, particularly near universities and inner-city areas.

Melbourne

Richmond and Footscray are two suburbs with large, long-established Vietnamese communities. The Spring Street and Victoria Market area in the CBD also has many Vietnamese restaurants and businesses. Springvale, in the south-eastern suburbs, is another major Vietnamese community hub.

Brisbane

Inala is the area with the largest concentration of the Vietnamese community in Brisbane. Darra and Sunnybank are also home to many Vietnamese residents and businesses.

Adelaide, Perth and Canberra

These cities have smaller communities, but they still have active networks of associations and community groups.

Connecting online

Facebook groups

Facebook is where Vietnamese people in Australia connect the most. Search for groups by city name, for example “Vietnamese in Sydney”, “Vietnamese community in Melbourne” or “Vietnamese in Brisbane”, or by specific topic: housing, jobs, study, settling in, and so on.

Local Facebook groups are often a good source of practical advice on rentals, local services, doctor recommendations and job opportunities.

Zalo

Zalo is popular within the Vietnamese community in Australia, with many groups organised by state, profession or interest. If you already have connections in the community, ask to be added to relevant groups.

LinkedIn

For professional purposes, many Vietnamese professionals in Australia connect through LinkedIn. Join Vietnamese professional groups or connect directly with others in your field.

Associations and community organisations

The Vietnamese community in Australia has many long-running organisations:

• Free Vietnamese Community associations in each state — long-established organisations founded by the refugee generation, usually running cultural and social activities
• The Vietnamese Association in each state — broad-based organisations with a wide range of cultural activities
• Vietnamese Student Associations (VSAs) at universities — a good way for students who have recently stayed on to connect
• Vietnamese business and professional associations — for those who want to build professional and business networks

Search Google for “[city name] Vietnamese community” or ask in Facebook groups to find an organisation that suits you.

Community events

Lunar New Year (Tet)

Lunar New Year is the biggest community event of the year. Almost every major city with a large Vietnamese population holds a community Tet event in January or February. It is a wonderful chance to meet people, connect and feel a sense of home.

Markets and cultural events

Many areas have weekend markets, food festivals and Vietnamese cultural events throughout the year. Follow community Facebook groups to keep up with the local events calendar.

Vietnamese language classes

If you have young children, weekend Vietnamese classes help them maintain their heritage language and culture, and they are also a place for your family to connect with other Vietnamese families.

Practical support from the community

The Vietnamese community in Australia has an especially strong tradition of mutual support:

Finding work: Many job opportunities are never advertised publicly and instead spread by word of mouth within the community. For many kinds of roles, networking within the Vietnamese community is often more effective than applying online.

Finding housing: People in the community often hear about rentals before they are listed online, or can introduce you to a trustworthy landlord.

Local services: Recommendations for Vietnamese-speaking doctors, accountants, insurance brokers and migration lawyers spread very quickly within community groups.

Emotional support: Settling in a foreign country is not always easy. Meeting people in the same situation and hearing the stories of those who have come through the hard stage is a far more practical source of motivation than any guide.

Balancing community and integration

Connecting with the Vietnamese community matters, but you also should not live only inside the community “bubble”. Integrating with the broader Australian society opens up career opportunities, a more diverse circle of friends, and a deeper understanding of the society you live in.

Ideally, you have both: the Vietnamese community to preserve your culture and support one another, and wider relationships with Australians and Australia’s multicultural communities.

Next steps

For a list of things to do in your first month in Australia, see the related guide on the first 30-day checklist for new arrivals.

For common mistakes that new settlers make, including isolating yourself, see the related guide on common mistakes when first settling in Australia.