Mobility of the Vietnam-born in Sydney : a re-assessment after the 2001 census

Vietnamese migrants to Australia have congregated in the poorer suburbs of Western Sydney, especially around Cabramatta in Fairfield. Scholars have argued about how this phenomenon should be interpreted. Is Fairfield a zone of transition, where new arrivals establish themselves among compatriots and then move on? Or is it becoming an ethnic enclave where residents remain trapped, unable or unwilling to integrate into the wider society? The author uses census data, including 2001 data, to search for answers. He finds that, though overseas migration from Vietnam is now very low, 82 per cent of Vietnam-born people in Sydney still live in what he calls the 'core region'. Some established Vietnam-born residents have moved out of the core region since the last census - a few shifting to more affluent areas. However, their places have been taken by migrants from Vietnam and by other Vietnam-born people moving in from elsewhere in Sydney. Copyright. Monash University and the author/s