Malay labourers were brought over to Australia to work mainly in the copra, sugarcane, pearl diving and trepang industries.

In the case of Cocos Islands, the Malays were first brought as slaves under Alexander Hare in 1826, but were then employed as coconut harvesters for copra.

Possibly the first Malay immigrant to Australia was a 22-year-old convict named Ajoup who arrived in Sydney on 11 January 1837.

[1]: 111  In Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Malay pearl divers were recruited through an agreement with the Dutch.

From these statistics, it is clear that migration from Malaysia to Australia has not reflected a cross-section of Malaysia, but rather, is heavily skewed away from the Malay natives and towards the ethnic Chinese community and to a lesser extent the ethnic Indian community.