What Parliament’s under-representation of Asian Australians says about workforce diversity

New findings have revealed that out of the 150 members of parliament, only about 7 per cent of federal parliamentarians are of Asian descent, in contrast to nearly 17 to 18 per cent of Australia’s total population identifying as Asian-Australian.

According to a report by the Asian Australian Lawyers Association (AALA), “there are now six MPs of Chinese heritage and eight MPs of south Asian background, totalling 14 federal MPs of Asian descent”.

This accounts for less than one in 10 (7 per cent) members of the total House of Representatives. Australia has a population that consists of around 17 per cent who identify as Asian-Australian.

AALA national vice-president Belinda Wong said: “This election delivered encouraging signs, but the job isn’t done.”

The association recognised that this number has increased over the years. For comparison, in 2019, Penny Wong was the only Labor MP with Chinese heritage.

The gap is closing between federal representation and our community’s makeup, but AALA’s Wong said, “our legal profession, communities, and voices must be fairly reflected”.

“Chinese-Australian representation includes returning members like Penny Wong, Sally Sitou, and Sam Lim, alongside newcomers Julie-Ann Campbell, Gabriel Ng, and Zhi Soon,” AALA said.

In 2022, Lawyers Weekly reported on a new cohort of culturally diverse MPs newly elected to Parliament. AALA said in this report: “This marks a milestone in Australia’s cultural change, having had a Federal Parliament dominated by 96 per cent of persons with a European background in the last decade.”

Back then, Lawyers Weekly found, “despite this improvement, Australia still significantly falls behind the rest of the world”.

Additionally, AALA said in 2022 that “countries such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom have progressed ‘far more’ than Australia in the last 21 years, with the UK having doubled its progress rate, despite starting at a similar position as Australia in 2001”.

“South Asian Australians are represented by eight federal MPs, contributing to the overall significant uptick in parliamentary diversity,” the organisation said.

Wong said: “We congratulate all newly elected MPs and wish them the best for this new parliamentary term.”

Despite the need for greater representation, Wong noted: “True representation isn’t just about numbers. It’s about meaningful inclusion at all levels of leadership.”

AALA said: “The Asian Australian Lawyers Association (AALA) acknowledges the historic increase in representation of Asian-Australian voices in the new 48th Parliament following the 2025 federal election, while stressing that representation remains below demographic parity.”

Inclusive policy making related to issues “central to multicultural Australia” can be cultivated by more diverse parliaments, said Wong.

She said: “Representative diversity leads to stronger trust in our democratic institutions and more equitable outcomes in public life.”