The meeting brought together community figures and business representatives for a direct discussion with the Premier about the contribution Indian Victorians make to the state and the issues affecting families, professionals and entrepreneurs.

Mr Carroll used the gathering to deliver a clear message to the community.

“Victoria’s Indian community contributes so much to our state, to our economy, our culture and to the success of modern Victoria,” he said.

“You are small business owners, teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs and community leaders — helping to build the Victoria we’re all proud to call home.

“We trust Victoria’s Indian community.

“We respect you.

The political importance of the Indian-Australian community in Victoria has grown rapidly alongside its population.

Victorian government data based on the 2021 Census records 371,901 Victorians with Indian ancestry, including more than 258,000 people born in India. More than half of the community arrived in Victoria between 2011 and 2021, with large populations now established across Melbourne’s west, north and south-east.

Indian Victorians are heavily represented in healthcare, technology, education, professional services, transport, hospitality and small business, while Victoria’s economic ties with India have also expanded. Merchandise trade between Victoria and India reached $3.67 billion in 2023-24, according to the state government’s India Strategy.

But the roundtable comes at a time when sections of the community have become increasingly vocal about feeling targeted in the wider migration debate.

Anti-Indian rhetoric has emerged as a serious concern both online and in public places.

Earlier this year, the announcement of a proposed Little India precinct in Melbourne triggered a wave of racist commentary on social media, including threats directed at the Indian community. Indian Victorians interviewed by The Australia Today spoke about racism in rental housing and fears that highly visible community initiatives could become targets for abuse.

Those concerns have also reached the Victorian Parliament.

MPs have reported Indian and South Asian residents raising incidents involving racial slurs, threats and anti-immigration abuse in Melbourne. One parliamentary contribution described racism and xenophobia against Indian Victorians as a concern being raised “consistently” both online and on the streets.

The issue became particularly visible during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Melbourne visit in July.

Victoria has since strengthened its anti-vilification laws, with new civil protections applying from April this year and criminal provisions targeting serious vilification already in force.

Cost of living and the cost of doing business are another major concern.

Indian-Australian families are concentrated in rapidly growing mortgage-belt suburbs including Tarneit, Truganina, Point Cook, Werribee, Craigieburn, Mickleham, Cranbourne, Clyde and Pakenham, where housing costs, fuel prices, commuting expenses and access to services can have an outsized impact on household budgets.

The Victorian Government itself acknowledged that household budgets remained under pressure in its 2026-27 Budget, announcing measures including cheaper public transport.

For business owners, the challenges are broader.

Many Indian Victorians operate restaurants, grocery stores, professional services, construction businesses, transport companies, franchises and other small enterprises.

Business Victoria says award wages rose 4.75 per cent from July, adding to labour costs, while businesses are also preparing for changes including payday superannuation.

The 2026 Victorian Budget drew criticism for offering relatively little new targeted relief for small businesses, despite businesses dealing with many of the same inflationary pressures affecting households.

For Indian business leaders, this creates a straightforward question for the government: how does Victoria remain attractive for investment and entrepreneurship while operating costs, taxation and regulation continue to rise?

Community safety is another politically sensitive issue.

Many Indian families live in outer suburban communities where concerns about home burglaries, car theft and youth offending have dominated local conversations over recent years.

The latest statewide figures show a more complicated picture than the political debate sometimes suggests. Recorded offences fell 1.9 per cent in the year to March 2026, and criminal incidents declined 1 per cent, while youth alleged-offender incidents fell 6 per cent. However, retail theft continued to rise, and overall alleged-offender incidents increased.

For households and businesses, perceptions of safety can remain deeply personal regardless of statewide trends, particularly when families have experienced burglary, theft or threatening behaviour themselves.

Infrastructure pressures are equally important because so much of Victoria’s Indian population is concentrated in Melbourne’s growth corridors.

The west in particular has experienced rapid population growth while residents have repeatedly called for better roads, rail capacity, schools and hospitals.

The government has recently announced another $550 million towards widening the Western Freeway between Melton and Caroline Springs, adding to $1 billion in federal funding. The project will expand sections of the freeway to three and four lanes and upgrade major interchanges.

Those projects are likely to be welcomed, but the challenge for governments remains keeping services ahead of population growth rather than continually attempting to catch up.

There are also calls for stronger recognition of the community’s cultural infrastructure.

Victoria has funded plans for Indian community centres in Melbourne’s west and south-east, while Melbourne City Council is pursuing a Little India precinct in Docklands.

Community leaders have argued such projects are not simply about festivals or cultural symbolism. They can provide permanent spaces for seniors, young people, language programs, community support services and cultural organisations.

Mr Carroll’s roundtable also carried a clear electoral message.

The Premier used the meeting to warn Indian Victorians about the prospect of One Nation having greater influence after the November election.

“A Liberal-One Nation Government will hurt working people,” he said.

“Labor will always back our multicultural and multi-faith communities.”

That characterisation is contested politically.

Victorian Liberal Leader Jess Wilson has previously ruled out an alliance with One Nation, although debate about preference arrangements and the possibility of a hung parliament continues as One Nation seeks to increase its representation.

For Indian Victorians, however, the roundtable is likely to be judged less by the political warnings exchanged during the campaign and more by what follows from the meeting.

Community concerns are increasingly practical: families want to feel safe in their homes and on the street; business owners want relief from escalating operating costs; commuters want roads and trains that keep pace with population growth; professionals want their skills recognised; and community organisations want protection from racism alongside meaningful representation in government decision-making.

There is also a growing expectation that politicians engage the community beyond festivals, election campaigns and ceremonial events.

The Indian diaspora is now too large, economically active and geographically concentrated to be treated as a peripheral multicultural constituency.

For Mr Carroll, who grew up in Melbourne’s west and has made working families and outer-suburban communities central to his pitch as Premier, the roundtable was an opportunity to make that acknowledgement explicit.

“As Premier, I will always stand with you.”

With Victoria heading to the polls on 28 November, Indian Victorians will now be watching closely to see how that promise translates into policy on the issues affecting their homes, businesses and communities.

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