Australians are overwhelmingly supportive of migration and multiculturalism, and they value the nation’s diverse cultural life, a new study shows. 

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest ‘Measuring What Matters’ report found 71 per cent of people agree that accepting immigrants from many different countries makes Australia stronger – a decline from the value reported in 2023 (78 per cent) – but still higher than pre-pandemic levels.  

And the proportion of people who have suffered discrimination in Australia has also felled from 19 per cent in 2014 to 13 per cent in 2020, the report said. 

It found 5.7 million people reported using a language other than English at home (23 per cent). This was an increase from 4.9 million people in 2016 (21 per cent). 

Of the 1.5 million Australian-born people who reported using a language other than English at home, most had one or both parents born overseas (83 per cent), and almost half were children aged under 15 years (47 per cent). 

The top five most common languages other than English were Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Punjabi. 

“Cultural diversity is one of the greatest assets of Australian society. It provides a basis for the future integration of migrants from varied ethnic, linguistic and faith backgrounds into our social fabric,” the report says. 

“Australia is a society that supports connections with family, friends and the community, values diversity, and promotes belonging and culture. 

“Cultural diversity also plays an important role in our prosperity, enriching our schools and workplaces and deepening our connections with the world. 

“Linguistic ability is a proxy for whether a society celebrates diversity. 

“Ongoing acceptance of multiculturalism and immigrants from a diverse range of countries is a key indicator of cohesion, helping protect our society from social divisions,” the report says. 

The ‘Measuring What Matters’ report is an attempt to assess things beyond the mere economics, the government says. 

They follow on from the ABS’ first attempt to measure productivity in the non-market sector and raise questions about what Australians value beyond pure economic data. 

And it includes a wellbeing framework that tracks Australia’s progress towards a more healthy, secure, sustainable, cohesive and prosperous Australia. 

Wellbeing frameworks are used internationally to report on progress in an integrated way, moving ‘beyond GDP’.  

The 2025 dashboard includes data updates to 44 of 50 indicator pages, with headline metrics updated in 35 of these. Where possible, for indicators with no updates to headline metrics in the 2025 dashboard report, supplementary information has been included to provide contemporary context.  

From 2026, the expanded General Social Survey will increase the number of indicators and metrics updated annually. 

Read thee full report: 

Acceptance of diversity | Australian Bureau of Statistics 

Measuring What Matters | Australian Bureau of Statistics