Expat Kiwis least likely to identify as Aussies

Those from New Zealand were the least likely - just 32 per cent identified as Australian. Photo / APN

New Zealanders living across the Ditch are the least likely migrants to identify themselves as being "Australian", a new study has found.

And it found that although most Australians support multiculturalism and recent migrants are positive about life there, there are "occasional pockets" of community dissatisfaction where new migrants report being subjected to racism.

The findings come in the latest Mapping Social Cohesion Research, written by Monash University's Professor Andrew Markus and produced by the Scanlon Foundation.

It is Australia's largest study of social cohesion, attitudes to immigration and cultural diversity.

Immigrants, the study concluded, tend to embrace multiple identities: six out of 10 considered themselves as "world citizens" as well as Australians, and also identified with their country of birth.

Those from India or Sri Lanka were most likely to identify as being Australian (75 per cent).

Those from New Zealand were the least likely - just 32 per cent identified as Australian.

Report authors suggested the low number of Kiwis who call themselves Aussies could likely be "the result of their terms of entry, which for New Zealanders provides an easy path to permanent residence but not to full citizenship".

The study also found that 46 per cent of people from India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia reported an experience of racism, and listed the prejudice as the least desirable aspect of Australians.

A quarter (26 per cent) of Kiwis also reported discrimination.

Professor Markus said overall Australia was a socially cohesive nation - and the immigration programme, which prioritises immigrants with high education levels and in-demand skills, was a world leader.