Lebanese Australians

Lebanese Australians refers to citizens or permanent residents of Australia of Lebanese ancestry. This Australian community is extremely multicultural, having a large Christian religious base, being mostly Maronite Catholics and Greek Orthodox, while also having a large Muslim group of both the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam.

Lebanon, in both its modern-day form as the Lebanese state (declared in 1920, granted independence in 1943) and its historical form as the region of the Lebanon, has been a source of migrants to Australia for over two centuries. Some 203,139 Australians claim Lebanese ancestry, either alone or in combination with another ancestry. According to 2011 Estimates 76,459 Lebanese-born people in Australia, with 72% of all people with Lebanese ancestry living in Sydney,

In New South Wales, the Western Sydney suburbs of Bankstown, Lakemba, Auburn, Granville, Strathfield, Parramatta, Punchbowl and Redfern (From 1840s to 1960s), Marrickville (From 1870s to 1950s) and Surry Hills (From 1840s to 1940s) are largely associated with the Lebanese population, as in Victoria are the Northern Melbourne suburbs of Coburg, Brunswick, Fawkner and Altona.

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service

The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service was the Australian federal government agency responsible for managing the security and integrity of the Australian border. It facilitated the movement of legitimate international travellers and goods, whilst protecting the safety, security and commercial interests of Australians.

At the time of its dissolution, the agency formed part of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service employed over 5,800 people around Australia and overseas and was headquartered in Canberra.

Agency role

The Service defined its role as follows: “Our role is complex and diverse and requires a very considered and increasingly targeted approach to conducting our business. If we do not manage our responsibilities effectively, the potential impacts… may negatively affect the Australian community, international travellers and trade relations both here and overseas”