Australian Jewry is a vibrant community, confident of its role in a multicultural society and highly regarded within international Jewry. It has maintained its particular profile in terms of geographical concentration, family structures, education levels and employment. Its rich religious, educational, cultural and ethnic life, and its strong organisational structure, serve as a model for other ethnic communities. Nevertheless, concerns about the rise of antisemitism, and the pressures of assimilation, both challenge this positive picture.

Population distribution

Ninety per cent of the community continue to be concentrated in Melbourne and Sydney. In Melbourne, 51.4 per cent of the Jewish population live in the southeastern Glen Eira municipality (including Bentleigh, Caulfield, Caulfield South and Elsternwick), which has been described as Victoria's ‘Jewish hub’. This population increased between 1996 and 2001. Jews also live in the neighbouring municipalities of Stonnington (including Glen Iris, Malvern, South Yarra and Toorak) and of Port Phillip (including Balaclava, Elwood, Port Melbourne and St Kilda), whose populations have also increased since 1996. In the Manningham municipality (including Doncaster and Templestowe), Jewish population has further declined. Analysis of 2004 Census data shows that 40 per cent of Melbourne's Jews have moved since the 1996 Census: 31.4 per cent from another district in Victoria and 6.3 per cent having arrived as immigrants. In Sydney, 63 per cent of all Jews live in the eastern suburbs, in the municipalities of Waverley, Woollahra and Randwick, and Bondi has the highest concentration.