Very few Laotians lived in Australia before 1976. Then with the new communist government in Laos and the poor economy, many Laotians decided to leave for other countries.

In the early 1980s, many Laotians had come to the state of Victoria and many more came in the 1990s. Most were from Lao (which is in the lowlands of Laos) as well as the Hmong. The Laotians here have remained more or less the same in numbers since then.

There are not many professional workers among them. Most of those that are work in business and in finance. Regards the other Laotians they work in industry and retail. Many of the Lao live in Melbourne.

The Laotians in Australia have organizations that support them. They are mainly Buddhists by religion and there are several Buddhist temples in Melbourne.

Lao people do not like emotions to be shown too much. They do not like to be touched on the head or have a foot pointed at them. The leader of the family must be spoken to first and it is not considered nice if visitors leave too soon. They look to family members first in health matters and they use herbal medicines.

The largest number of Laotians in Australia live in the state of New South Wales. There are Buddhist temples in a few places as well as in Melbourne, such as in Sydney. The Laotians in Australia as well as speaking in Lao can speak in English.

* Scripture Prayers for the Lao in Australia.

* Pray that Australian and Laotian Christians will give the Laotians in Australia the gospel message.
* Pray that there will be freedom for the gospel in Laos.

museumvictoria.com.au/origins/history.aspx?pid=35
miceastmelb.com.au