Living a vegan life in Australia

Vegan Society volunteer, Dr. Lee Hawkins, explains what it is like to live a vegan lifestyle in Australia

While Australia is known for its beautiful landscapes and beaches, unique wildlife, laid back lifestyle and diverse cultures, it might not be the first place you think of when it comes to friendly spots to live as a vegan.

Australia is home to a growing community of vegans and living a vegan life in Australia offers exciting opportunities but some challenges to navigate.

In this post, I’ll explore what it's like to live as a vegan in Australia based on my own experience of living near Melbourne and also travelling widely across the country.

The Australian vegan context – geographical

Australia is an enormous country but is home to only around 27 million people. Almost half of the population is concentrated in the cities of Melbourne (capital of the state of Victoria with around 5 million residents) and Sydney (capital of New South Wales, also with around 5 million residents). Based on various recent surveys, vegans account for 1-2% of the population, a similar number to most other developed nations.

Melbourne

I live in a small coastal town about 100 km from Melbourne, so I reap the benefits of a peaceful beachside lifestyle while still being close enough to the big city to regularly enjoy its many vegan delights!

Melbourne’s first purely vegetarian restaurant opened in 1886 and Australia’s oldest vegetarian restaurant (and now vegan for many years) is also in Melbourne, operating continuously from the same premises since 1972!

HappyCow (a mobile app and website which lists vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants) ranked Melbourne as the fourth most vegan-friendly city in the world in 2023 and there are many excellent vegan cafes and restaurants to choose from. The vegan dining scene has plenty of variety, from burger joints and junk food places through to fine dining, concentrated in the central business district (CBD) and inner city (particularly Fitzroy and Brunswick).

The multicultural nature of the Melbourne population means that we can enjoy almost any cuisine in the world here and vegan cuisine in Australia more generally benefits from the fact that modern Australia is built on immigration. In my extensive experience of travelling the world, Australian vegan food can be world class.

Unfortunately, the longevity of vegan cafes and restaurants is not good and the hospitality sector was especially hard hit during the pandemic (with Melbourne experiencing the longest period of lockdowns in the world). It’s good to see the scene coming back, though, and many new vegan eateries have emerged in the last couple of years.

World Vegan Day (WVD) – established in 1994 by Louise Wallis, the Chair of The Vegan Society, to mark the 50th anniversary of the organisation's founding – has been celebrated in Melbourne on the last Sunday of October since 2003. I remember attending the first small event and it grew in size every year. WVD eventually became a very significant event on the local vegan calendar, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to the Melbourne Showgrounds in the late 2010s. The last World Vegan Day event was in 2019 but this great opportunity to gather as vegans was sadly another victim of the pandemic that has yet to return – we remain hopeful that it will.

Sydney

The harbour city is also very well-served by vegan cafes and restaurants, with the main action being slightly outside of the CBD in trendy Newtown. The first all-vegan pizza shop in Australia is just one of many highlights in Newtown, after its massively successful transition from a non-vegan business. 

Higher end, fine dining options are more plentiful in Sydney than Melbourne and vegan places seem to enjoy greater longevity there too. Again, the range of cuisine on offer in Sydney is enormous with most places offering vegan options.

The Sydney Vegan Market has been a stalwart of the vegan scene for many years, attracting big crowds every month (although this too seems to have fallen victim to post-pandemic conditions).

Smaller cities and country towns

All of the state and territory capital cities have multiple vegan cafes and restaurants, from Perth in Western Australia to the nation’s capital, Canberra. 

With the vast majority of Australia’s population concentrated in the capital cities, the range of vegan offerings as you head into the regions falls dramatically. There are still many large country towns with no vegan cafes or restaurants. 

I live close to the second largest city in Victoria, Geelong (with a population of around 300,000), and it has no fully vegan cafes or restaurants at the moment.

There are a few vegan cafes dotted around regional areas and Castlemaine in Victoria was crowned the top vegan town in Australia by PETA some years ago. Travelling outside of the major cities generally requires careful planning to either make use of the few vegan places or being prepared with your own food.

The Australian vegan context – business

The availability of vegan options – whether in supermarkets, cafes, restaurants or fast-food joints – has increased dramatically in the last decade.

Eating out

It’s now unusual to find a menu without at least one vegan option on it, whether you’re in a big city or a smaller town, so finding vegan food is normally quite easy. ‘Chain’ businesses are particularly strong in this area and the big fast-food outlets have also come to the party.

Plant milks are ubiquitous and very popular amongst the general population (with soy and oat being clear favourites, including the high-quality Bonsoy range from Spiral Foods) – my regular barista said around 30% of all their coffees are now made with a plant milk. This move away from dairy is awesome to see – and especially worthy of note in a country with such a strong (and, sadly, ongoing) tradition of dairy farming. 

Shopping

As a global certification you can find The Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark on products across Australia. Vegan alternatives are common in the major supermarkets and they all have their own vegan ranges. Wholefood vegan essentials are readily available as are more indulgent offerings such as the decadent ice creams and chocolates from Melbourne’s Pana Organic.

With increased competition from the major supermarkets as they’ve upped their vegan games, fully vegan supermarkets have found it hard to survive in Australia. Melbourne no longer has a ‘bricks and mortar’ vegan supermarket, but both Sydney and Brisbane (capital of Queensland) still do.

Other businesses

If you’re looking for a vegan place to stay, there are a few fully vegan B&Bs, motels and farm stays around the country (the first vegan B&B in Australia was in Victoria). Vegan travel requires planning and booking well ahead as these tend to be smaller, boutique operations.

Vegan markets are increasingly common in the capital cities. Melbourne has a number of different vegan markets including a massive bi-annual affair in the beautiful Royal Exhibition Building in the city. Sydney and Adelaide have hosted popular markets for many years and there are similar events in the other capitals. These markets are not only a great way to keep up with the latest vegan products but also provide a real sense of community - and are a perfect way to meet the local vegan crowd as a tourist if you happen to be in the right place at the right time!

Australia is well-known for its wines and it’s great to see more producers now making their wines vegan by default (e.g. Cirillo Estate). I enjoy apple cider and the main cider of one local brand was vegan, then became non-vegan and has recently become vegan again! Labelling of alcoholic beverages can still be patchy, so vigilance and some research is often required.

The Australian vegan context –  ethics

Despite its history steeped in animal agriculture, Australia also has a long history of ethical vegans trying to improve the situation for animals in this country.

Animals Australia is a well-established animal protection organisation, fighting for the animals for more than 40 years. Its campaigns are featured in mainstream media (including TV) and have achieved some amazing results for the animals, including most recently the ban on live export (mainly of sheep and cows to the Middle East) after their exposés of the conditions on the shipping vessels.

Vegan Australia is an animal rights organisation that campaigns nationally for veganism in Australia.

Every state has animal sanctuaries and one of the best-known is Edgars Mission in Victoria. This farm animal sanctuary in the countryside north of Melbourne is a beautiful place to visit, to spend time with the animals living in freedom. I visit this sanctuary regularly and support them financially, both via donations and by buying their great merchandise. They also build amazing campaigns which often include billboards and TV adverts.

Challenges

Australia has frequently been said to be “built on a sheep's back”, referring to the economic benefits brought about by the wool industry. Sheep farming is still big business here, as are dairy and cattle. 

Politically, veganism is sometimes viewed as a threat to farming. A multi-city animal rights protest in 2019 resulted in the then Prime Minister, calling the vegans involved “un-Australian green criminals”. Protesters entering farms to showcase the poor conditions for animals were labelled “domestic terrorists” by the deputy premier of New South Wales.

Attitudes towards vegans in more rural communities don’t seem especially hostile, though, with the exception of those involved in more ‘direct action’ protests on farms. Vegan dining options can be limited or non-existent in remote farming communities.

The Coat of Arms of Australia features a kangaroo and an emu, both of which are killed for meat and other reasons to this day. The government-sanctioned culling of kangaroos is supposedly to protect farming concerns but is becoming more and more unpopular in the broader community.

Conclusion

While Australia has a tradition of animal agriculture, the shift towards kinder ways of life is happening here as it is around the world. As awareness grows and the vegan community continues to expand, Australia is becoming an increasingly vegan-friendly country for locals and visitors alike. You’re unlikely to go hungry as a vegan and the strong vegan community helps to provide support and information to vegans, new and old.

Take the plunge and explore the many benefits of living a vegan life in this amazing country. 

The Vegan Society is fortunate to work with volunteers from around the globe. If you would like to find out more about volunteering opportunities, then please visit vegansociety.com/volunteer. 

Dr Lee Hawkins is a mathematician and IT professional. He has been volunteering with The Vegan Society since 2020. He migrated to Australia from the UK 25 years ago and lives on the Bellarine Peninsula (near Melbourne) in the state of Victoria, with his wife and rescue dog.