Ishtartv.com - syriacpress.com

20/11/2025

AUSTRALIA — In line with its long-standing policy of welcoming diverse communities, promoting their representation, and supporting the formation of cultural and political organizations that reflect their heritage, Australia has now recognized the Syriacs as a distinct ethnic people. This step follows the July 2025 decision by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters to add the Syriac language to its roster of officially recognized languages—an inclusion that opened the way for broader institutional acknowledgment. 

Building on that development, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has now formally recognized the Syriacs as an ethnic group. This recognition did not arise in isolation; during its 2025 review, the bureau had already identified the Syriacs as a distinct ethnic and cultural community. It assigned them the code 4917 in the Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG), a classification granted following a request submitted by the Syriac Social and Cultural Association. 

Prior to this recognition, the ABS had already acknowledged the Mandaeans (4912), Assyrians (4908), and Chaldeans (4911) as independent ethnic and cultural groups, with their languages officially classified as Mandaean, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, and Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, respectively. In 2011, the ABS had removed the general classification of “Assyrian language,” which had previously encompassed several Neo-Aramaic languages, including “Assyrian”, “Chaldean”, and Mandaic. With the formal recognition of the Syriacs as a distinct cultural identity, the Syriac language has now been officially added to the list of recognized languages. 

Census Data and Religious Affiliations 

According to the 2021 Australian census, the number of Neo Assyrian-Aramaic speakers was 38,534 (up from 28,349 in 2016), and Neo Chaldean-Aramaic speakers numbered 21,684 (up from 17,172 in 2016). By 2025, assuming an annual growth rate of 1.5%, the Syriac population in Australia reached:

Syriac Maronites: 49,899 

Assyrian Church of the East: 16,407  

Chaldean Catholics: 14,969 

Syriac Orthodox: 13,891 

Mandaeans: 9,742 

Melkite Catholics: 3,275 

Assyrian Apostolic: 2,306 

Ancient Church of the East: 1,586 

The ABS, through the ASCCEG, regularly updates its database to reflect the communities residing in Australia. The system classifies groups into three categories: broad groups (comprising subgroups), narrow groups, and specific ethnic/racial groups. Since its introduction in 2000, the ASCCEG has undergone around 15 reviews and updates by 2025, applying strict criteria for ethnic group classification. 

In a report published on 18 November 2025, the Bureau clarified that “ethnicity” refers to a shared identity or similarity among a group based on one or more defining characteristics, including a long-shared history, collective memory, familial and social traditions, common geographical origin, language, literature, religion, and vulnerability to persecution or discrimination. 

These criteria are fully met by the Syriac (Chaldean–Assyrian–Aramean) people. Historically, they are among the oldest peoples of Beth Nahrain (Mesopotamia), and their diaspora worldwide continues to preserve this heritage through their language, both Eastern and Western dialects, as well as literary, artistic, and Christian religious traditions.

The Syriac people have endured numerous historical atrocities, most notably the Sayfo Genocide, during which hundreds of thousands were martyred by the Ottoman Empire and its allied Kurdish tribes during World War I. These massacres are commemorated annually by the descendants of the victims around the world, including in Australia, where several states— such as Victoria— have recognized the massacres, their consequences, and their impact on the Syriac (Aramean-Assyrian–Chaldean) people.