Islamophobia is distrust and hostility against Muslims and those perceived as following the religion, and occurs in Australia. It is often facilitated and perpetuated in the media through the stereotyping of Muslims as violent and uncivilised. Various Australian politicians and political commentators have capitalised on these negative stereotypes and this has contributed to the marginalisation, discrimination, and exclusion of the Muslim community.

Although the interior of the continent had been opened up largely through the assistance of "Afghan" cameleers, many of whom were Muslim, Muslim immigration to Australia was restricted under the White Australia policy, in existence from 1901 to 1975.

Muslims have a long history in Australia, from Makassan trepang traders from Sulawesi from at least the 18th century or earlier. The interior of the continent was opened up for telegraph and then railway communications largely through the assistance of "Afghan" cameleers from the 1860s.

Islamophobia may be described as distrust and hostility towards Muslims, Islam, and those perceived as following the religion. This social aversion and bias is often facilitated and perpetuated in the media through the stereotyping of Muslims as violent and uncivilised. Various Australian politicians and political commentators have capitalised on these negative stereotypes and this has contributed to the marginalisation, discrimination and exclusion of the Muslim community.

Anti-Muslim prejudices are thought to be sourced from a perceived lack of integration among Muslim migrants, and reconfiguration of community and ethnic politics. Muslims have sometimes been reduced to caricatures of misogynists and oppressed women; violent men were thought as inclined to terrorism. The Australian media is noted for presenting portrayals of Muslim immigrants in a negative manner, although in comparison to other Western countries, Australian media exhibits less bias as a result of its coverage of the everyday life of Australian Muslims.

According to some scholars, public discourse rectifying negative images of Islamic culture result in an unfounded fear of actual Muslims; public discourse focusing on the Western values of women's rights enabled Islam and Islamic clerics to be portrayed as misogynist and oppressive towards women.

Some theorists maintain that, increasingly since 11 September 2001, the Australian public has attributed Australian Muslims with a sense of "otherness", using social constructions and generic misrepresentations of Muslims as a way to regain existential control in a post-9/11 world. Some scholars have argued that the rise of militant Islam in Australia has led to the increase in Islamophobia and undone efforts by Muslims to foster positive relations with the Australian public.

Estimates of the prevalence of anti-Muslim sentiment in Australia differ. A large-scale poll published in 2011 found that 48.6 per cent of Australians had a negative opinion of Islam. Another survey published in 2014 found that a quarter of Australians held anti-Muslim views; this incidence was five times higher than that for any other religion. The latter survey also found that 27 per cent of Muslim Australians have experienced discrimination, which was also the highest of any of the religions covered in the study. A poll conducted by the University of South Australia's International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding released in 2016 found that 10 per cent of Australians have hostile attitudes towards Muslims. Older people, those who had not completed year 12 and people outside the workforce were more likely to report anti-Muslim attitudes in this poll. The accompanying report concluded that the poll shows that "most Australians display low levels of Islamophobia".