The Australian Census report shows that slightly more than 16,000 people use Auslan.
This number includes people for whom Auslan is their primary or only language, and also people such as children of Deaf adults who use Auslan at home to communicate with native Auslan users.
The SBS Australian Census Explorer is an incredible resource that allows you to find rich detail. All the information comes from the most authoritative and accurate survey of Australian households – the Government Census of 2021.
Learn about their:
- Ancestry
- Birthplace
- Locations
- Age
- Education
- Work
- Income
- Families and relationships
- Religion
Australian and English are the main ancestral backgrounds – that’s about 15% greater in comparison to the whole population. A long way behind come Scottish, Irish and Australian Aborigine.
5% identify as First Nations people compared to 3% of Australia overall who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Nearly 50% say they have no religion. 17% Catholic and 10% Anglican. 1% for both Islam and Buddhism. Australian Aboriginal Traditional religions and Chinese religions were less than 0.1%.
How old are they?
- 770 females and 755 males aged 0-4.
- 630 females and 594 males aged 10-14
- 539 females and 388 males aged 20-24
- 806 females and 442 males aged 30-34
- 717 females and 442 males aged 40-44
- 448 females and 639 males aged 50-54
- 396 females and 290 males aged 60-64
- 142 females and 159 males aged 70-74
Read more about the Deaf Census snapshot at https://www.deafnessforum.org.au/auslan-users/