Over the last few weeks, the two main parties have pledged to give millions in funding to numerous religious and cultural groups of the Indian community if they win this year's election.
Highlights:
- Political parties pledge to grant funds to numerous religious and cultural groups of the Indian community
- The Indian diaspora is the second-largest group of migrants in Australia
- The number of Indian-born residents in the country reached 710,000 in 2021
Given that the diaspora is Australia's second-largest group of migrants, it's no surprise that both political parties have been actively campaigning to attract Indian Australian voters. The number of Indian-born population in the country reached 710,000 in 2021, as compared to 373,000 in 2011.
Here is the list of election promises made during this campaign:
Liberal Party 
Liberal party has announced grant of $700,000 for the Sikh Volunteers Australia's new kitchen facility at Langwarrin. Source: Supplied by Office of Jason Wood
- Grant of $1.5 million announced for Hindu Community Hub at Sri Vakrathunda Vinayagar Temple located in The Basin (Victoria)
- $500,000 in funding for Gurudwara Baba Budha Sahib Ji in Pakenham (Victoria)
- $3.5 million for the Australia India House project in Brisbane (Queensland)
- $700,000 for Sikh Volunteers Australia's new kitchen facility
- $500,000 funds for BAPS Hindu Temple in Canberra (Australian Capital Territory)
- Individual grant of $500,000 to Gurdwara Sahib in Geelong (Victoria) and Gurudwara Siri Guru Nanak Darbar in Officer (Victoria)
Labor Party
Labor candidate Matt Keogh with Tamil community in Perth. Source: Supplied by Nimalakaran S
- $3.5 million for the Little India precinct (New South Wales)
- $700,000 for Sikh Volunteers Australia
- $6 million funding for Sri Om Care for aged care project (New South Wales)
- $3.5 million for the Australia India House project in Brisbane (Queensland)
- $1 million grant for Perth Sivan temple for education and cultural building (Western Australia)
Apart from community-related announcements, the Liberal Party announced an expanded superannuation policy to help attract voters in their official campaign. On the other hand, Labor pledged $1 billion to support advanced manufacturing.
Why are Indian Australian voters important?
According to Andrew Jakubowicz, an expert on ethnic communities at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Indian-born Australians have by far the highest uptake of citizenship in recent years, and therefore have a crucial role to play in this election.
"Politicians know how to count and in key electorates (especially but not only Parramatta and Greenway in NSW) they will shift the relative 'weight' of different interest groups," he says.
However, Mr Jakubowicz says the whole sub-continent is in motion in this election, including Nepalis, Pakistanis, Tamils, Sinhalese and Bangladeshis, due to significant immigration in the period from 2012 to 2017.
Who will Indian Australians vote for?
Issues relating to visa processing, parent visas and employment remain the focal point for the community.
Mr Jakubowicz points out that the growing ties with India and the recent Quad hold symbolic value for the Indian communities.
On voting trends, he says that pro-Modi groups are drawn to the Morrison government while anti-Modi are drawn to the ALP, and the educated second generation to the Greens.
"Hindi speakers are more likely to be Liberal than Punjabi speakers, for historical reasons," he adds.
Mr Jakubowicz explains that these findings are based on data collected from polling booths in areas with a high immigrant population, the Census and citizenship uptake.
While the statistics are complex, he said a better picture will be only available after the election.
Disclaimer: We have compiled party election commitments from multiple sources, including announcements posted on social media. Additional details may exist.
