Slovenians in Australia can now again tune in for a radio show broadcast partly in the Slovenian language after a minority-themed programme was cancelled last year. The new show on a Sydney-based radio station may soon be joined by another aimed at the Slovenian minority in Melbourne.

Voice of Slovenian Australians, which is in English and Slovenian, airs every Saturday on the 89.3 2GLF radio station, whose signal covers areas of southwestern Sydney, where most Slovenians in the city live, according to the Office for Slovenians Abroad. Listeners can tune in online as well.

The first programme was aired a week ago. The show runs for an hour, but the plan is to extend it to two hours a week from April.

It reports on important events in Slovenia, but it is mainly dedicated to the community's events and other developments. A part of the show is in English in order to attract second- and third- generation Slovenian immigrants who are not as fluent in Slovenian as their parents or grandparents.

Representatives of Slovenian organisations in Sydney decided to launch the programme after Slovenian Australians lost their weekly show on the national SBS radio station in April last year.

The cancelled show, which had been broadcast since 1975, was an important source of news for Slovenians in Australia, especially first-generation immigrants, reporting on events in Slovenia and within the community.

Meanwhile, another radio show is in the works, as the Slovenian community in Melbourne would like to have its own programme. This one is expected to be launched on 3ZZZ, a local ethnic community radio station, this month. It will air every Sunday, the Office for Slovenians abroad said.

According to information available on the website slovenci.si, between 20,000 and 25,000 people of Slovenian descent live in Australia by unofficial estimates, which compares to 17,863, according to the 2016 census.

Statistics as of October 2023 show that 5,565 Slovenian citizens live in Australia, 5,491 of whom are registered as permanent residents.

Most Slovenians live in the state of Victoria, followed by New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, then Western Australia, the Australia Capital Territory, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

Currently, there are 11 Slovenian associations and three religious centres in Australia, and Slovenian language schools in Melbourne, Geelong and Brisbane, according to the portal.