Chinese Australians (simplified Chinese: 华裔澳大利亚人; traditional Chinese: 華裔澳洲人; pinyin: Huáyì àodàlìyàrén or Huáyì àozhōurén) are Australians of Chinese origin. Chinese Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Chinese diaspora, and are the largest Asian Australian community. Per capita, Australia has more people of Chinese ancestry than any country outside Asia. As a whole, Australian residents identifying themselves as having Chinese ancestry made up 5.5% of Australia's population at the 2021 census.
The very early history of Chinese Australians involved significant immigration from villages of the Pearl River Delta in South China, with most such immigrants speaking dialects within the Yue dialect group. The Gold rushes lured many Chinese to the Australian colonies in the 19th century. As with many overseas Chinese groups the world over, early Chinese immigrants to Australia established several Chinatowns in major cities, such as Adelaide (Chinatown, Adelaide), Brisbane (Chinatown, Brisbane), Melbourne (Chinatown, Melbourne), Perth (Chinatown, Perth), and Sydney (Chinatown, Sydney). In the Australian external territory of Christmas Island, Australians of full or partial Chinese origin form the plurality of the population.
