At the beginning of the 21st century, Chinese restaurants have been present in a significant majority of Australian cities and towns for over fifty years, and in many places for over one hundred and fifty years.

They emerged as commercial enterprises on the Victorian gold fields in 1854.

Chinese food began to be established in Australia during the middle of the 19th century by Chinese indentured labourers on outback stations, many found work there as cooks and also in country pubs.

Chinese migration to Australia massively increased with the gold rushes during the 1850s, and some of these migrants opened food stores providing hot meals to Chinese gold diggers. European gold diggers also sometimes used these stores. They were referred to as "cookhouses", or as "cookshops", and were often associated with other Chinese businesses.

One third of all cooks in Australia were Chinese by 1890.

Chinese migration to Australia essentially stopped from 1901 with the White Australia policy but cooks were granted exemptions and from 1934 Chinese traders with established businesses were able to bring non-relative workers in from China. Family members were brought in under different names, but were often not trained cooks and had to learn on the job. Chinese restaurants were established in many country towns and all cities by the 1970s.

The oldest Chinese restaurant in Canberra opened in 1962, and was still operating in 2016.

The first documented Chinese restaurant in Australia was at Bakery Hill, Ballarat, on the Victorian goldfields, owned by Chin Thum Lok, opening in 1854. The restaurant did not serve Chinese style food, but instead provided English style food such as roast beef.