Lao people
In mid-1976, there were over 400 Laos-born people in Australia, and by 1986 this figure expanded to over 7000. The Lao constituted a small portion of Indochinese refugees, compared to over 80,000 Vietnamese and 13,000 Cambodians who resettled in 1986. During this migration period, Lao people crossed the Lao-Thai border by boat or by swimming and settled in Thai refugee camps. Most Lao people who migrated by boat were accompanied by their spouses, relatives and/or friends, in contrast to the experiences of other Indochinese refugees who were often separated from their family and friends during their journey to the Thai refugee camps.