Wyndham will welcome more than 15,000 new Australians this year after local citizenship law reforms

It’s the Victorian LGA more Aussie than sunburn, Vegemite and traffic delays — and its location will surprise you.

Could a municipality in Melbourne’s west be the fastest growing ‘Aussie’ community in the country?

Wyndham City Council will fast-track its Australian citizenship process this year, with more than 15,000 people to go ‘true-blue’ — more than triple the intake from the year before.

Already this year, about 3000 new Aussies have taken the pledge across 16 ceremonies.

Wyndham Mayor Susan McIntyre said fast-tracking the citizenship process was a council priority.

“Participating in these ceremonies is both an honour and a privilege. We know how important citizenship is to our residents, so we are planning to supercharge the program,’’ she said.

“Our residents are from many different countries who bring with them different life experiences, traditions, faiths, customs, languages and dreams that contribute to our city’s richness, vibrancy and uniqueness.”

“As a community, we are proud to be a welcoming nation promoting acceptance and inclusion.”

Wyndham’s population is growing by 12,000 each year, and will be home to 358,000 by 2026, reaching half million by 2050.

According to the 2021 census, Australia’s three most multicultural suburbs are all in Wyndham.

Point Cook is Australia’s most multicultural suburb, with 86 different countries represented, with neighbouring suburbs Tarneit and Werribee the next highest with 79 countries.

Earlier this year, Ajay Kaushik and his family became Australian citizens at a ceremony in Wyndham.

The Kaushiks migrated from India in 2017 and Mr Kaushik said the family now felt “more connected” to their new country and community.

“I now call myself a proud Australian,” he said.

“It’s a very proud moment to become an Australian citizen and we will look to follow those values and are excited to be involved in the community as much as we can.”

One of Melbourne’s biggest multicultural centres is also based in Wyndham, which has experienced significant growth since it opened in 2018.

Dr Rafiqul Islam, from Melbourne Multicultural Centre, said regardless of background, everyone who walks into the centre was united by being Australian.

“We like to say that Melbourne Multicultural Centre is a place for all Australians and for everyone to be Australian,” he said.

Point Cook Cultural Committee president and former mayor Robert Fairclough said the decision to fast-track citizenships was a “great result”.

“I love how we are going out of our way to include people and cultures from around the world. It creates a real excitement to the community to have the opportunity to learn about different cultures,’’ he said.

“It also really benefits the local scene having so much diversity.”