The Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils (FABC) is Australia’s peak Buddhist council body, providing a Buddhist voice to the Australian Federal Government and international Buddhist organisations.¹ 

In the 1990s, following a meeting in Brisbane to support the establishment of the Buddhist Council of Queensland, Graeme Lyall and Brian Ashen began discussions on forming a federation of Buddhist councils. Not only was there a need for Buddhist representation at the national level, but also a growing awareness and readiness among Buddhist communities for representation in dialogue with government and other faith groups. The FABC was established in May 2003 by delegates representing New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland in a meeting at Toon Place, Queensland. The Buddhist Councils of Western Australia and South Australia joined later, bringing the number of member councils to five.² 

The FABC primarily advocates on issues affecting Buddhism and Buddhist communities, while also working with other faith-based, government and non-government organisations on issues affecting the broader Australian community. Through its member Buddhist councils, the FABC supports the Australian Buddhist community. It also partners with the Australian Sangha Association (ASA) under a Memorandum of Understanding to work towards the shared objectives of preserving and disseminating the Buddha’s teachings in Australia. Together, the two organisations have helped bridge gaps between Asian and Western, as well as monastic and lay Buddhists in Australia. ³ The two organisations co-hosted the first celebration of Vesak at Federal Parliament House on 10 May 2017.⁴ 

By: Juewei Shi and Sioh Yang Tan

References: 

¹ “About,” Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils, accessed August 6, 2026, https://www.buddhistcouncil.org.au/index.php. 

² “About,” Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils; Brian Ashen, “Buddhist Life Stories of Australia | Brian Ashen,” conducted by Deakin University, interview, 2015, posted May 13, 2026, by Nan Tien Institute, YouTube, 42 min., 52 sec., https://youtu.be/5dWozEmxOCY?si=QJ_YnfoHul5kURun; Australian Sangha Association and Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils, “Memorandum of Understanding,” Memorandum, October 2008, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NFrJtQTUncwd354kF02QOEncYkPh8CZL/view.

³ “About,” Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils; Australian Sangha Association and Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils, “Memorandum of Understanding,” Memorandum, October 2008, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NFrJtQTUncwd354kF02QOEncYkPh8CZL/view; Anna Halafoff et al., “Women and Ultramodern Buddhism in Australia,” Religions 9, no. 5 (2018): 147, https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9050147. 

⁴ “President’s Report 2017”, Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils, 2017, accessed  August 26, 2026, https://www.buddhistcouncil.org.au/index.php/president-reports/president-report-2016-2017-cecilia-mitra.