Its modern usage was popularised during the 1990s by Prime Minister John Howard and One Nation Party founder Pauline Hanson; however, Stanley Bruce used it in reference to striking workers in 1925 and Joseph Lyons during the 1930s to decry communists and migrants from non-British backgrounds.
It is used in a humorous TV advertising campaign by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), in which ex-AFL footballer Sam Kekovich declares that not including lamb in one's diet is "un-Australian".
Judith Ireland, writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, notes John Howard is perhaps most responsible for the proliferation of the word, having used it in the 1980s to describe the proposed Australia Card legislation.
Millionaire businessman, philanthropist and human rights campaigner Dick Smith also described the Howard government's policies towards convicted terrorism supporter David Hicks and asylum seekers as "un-Australian".
The artwork, "Proudly UnAustralian" was controversially removed from its public billboard display by local authorities, prompting much debate about free speech versus police powers.