# Bosnian Australians

Bosnian Australians are Australians of Bosnian ancestry. At the 2021 census, 28,246 people stated that they had Bosnian ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry). At the 2021 census, 26,171 Australian residents were born in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

## History

There have been three major influxes of Bosnians to Australia. The first period occurred in the aftermath of World War II, and the second occurred in the late 1960s/early 1970s following an economic depression and open border policy in the former Yugoslavia.
The most recent wave of migration was during the 1990s when many Bosnians sought refuge from the Bosnian War. This migration was assisted under the refugee scheme of the Red Cross in Australia.
By 1996, a year after the Bosnian War had ended, almost 14,000 migrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina were living in Australia. Most of the new arrivals settled in Victoria and Bosnia and Herzegovina was the fifth-largest source of migrants to Victoria in 1995-96.
By 2011, Victoria was home to 8,486 people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a predominant concentration in the Dandenong area.
Bosnian migrants who arrived in Australia in the 1960s made important contributions to modern-day Australia through their role in the construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme in New South Wales.

## Demographics

The majority of Bosnians reside in the south-east and west of Melbourne and in the south-west of Sydney.
Bosnian established mosques can be found in Deer Park (VIC), Noble Park (VIC), Penshurst (NSW), Smithfield (NSW), Eight Mile Plains (QLD) and Caversham (WA).

## Media

The SBS broadcasts a Bosnian-language program on SBS Radio 2 from 2 PM every Tuesday and a repeat from 3 PM on Sunday. It also broadcasts BHT1 Dnevnik news program every Friday morning from 8 AM to 8:30 AM as part of its WorldWatch programming block.
Other community radio stations such as 3ZZZ (Melbourne), 4EB (Brisbane), 6EBA-FM (Perth), 2000FM (Sydney), VOX FM (Wollongong), 1CMS (Canberra), 5EBI (Adelaide) also broadcast in Bosnian.

## Language

In Sydney there are 5 Saturday schools for Bosnian Australian youths.
* Bosnian Ethnic School (Amity College) – Auburn
* Bosnian Ethnic School, Australian Bosnian & Herzegovinian Cultural Association – Leppington
* Bosnian Ethnic School (Liverpool Public School) – Liverpool
* Bosnian Ethnic School, Australian Bosnian Islamic Society Gazi Husrev-beg – Penshurst
* Bosnian Ethnic School, Australian Bosnian Islamic Society Gazi Husrev-beg – Smithfield

## Sport clubs

* Balmoral FC Ðerzelez
* FC Bossy Liverpool
* FC Gazy Auburn
* Heatherton United FC
* Maribyrnong Greens FC - Bosna Melbourne

## Notable people

* Amir Alagic, soccer coach
* Almir Pandzo, handball player
* Ajdin Hrustic, soccer player
* Azra Hadzic, tennis player
* Andreja Pejic, model
* Bernard Tomic, tennis player
* Ed Husic, politician, Member for Chifley
* Reshad Strik, actor
* Husein Alicajic, filmmaker
* Harley Balic, former AFL footballer
* Hana Basic, sprinter
* Katarina Carroll, Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service
* Dino Djulbic, soccer player
* Dijana Alic, academic
* Inga Peulich, politician
* Ned Catic, former professional rugby league footballer
* Omar Jasika, tennis player
* Mirza Muratovic, soccer player
* Monika Radulovic, model
* Esma Voloder, model
* Sasa Sestic, barista
* Selma Kajan, middle-distance runner