Sanatan Samaj Australia (SSA) has been legally incorporated as an association by the ACT Government on 4th May 2020 under the Associations Incorporation Act 1991. Its main objectives are as follows:

• • to spread Sanatan culture and Sanatan religious scriptures,
  • to encourage observance and celebration of Hindu festivals,
  • to build Pashupatinath temple in ACT to perform Sanatan religious activities, and
  • to collaborate with other associations in organising activities in advancing welfare.

In recent years, the Nepalese community has become one the fastest growing immigrant populations in Australia. According to the ABS population estimation release, the number of Australian residents born in Nepal has increased 67 folds over the last 22 years, from 1,400 in 1996 to 94,500 in 2018. Around 58,000 Nepalese students are currently studying in Australia. The number of Nepalese community members has also increased from less than 100 in 1996 to around 10,000 to date in the ACT region. As a result, many Nepalese community members felt the need to establish Sanatan Samaj Australia in ACT to provide a platform to share their Sanatan views and also to organise Sanatan festivals and rituals for the Nepalese community members residing in the ACT region.

Although SSA has been incorporated only recently, it has been working as a community organisation since early 2019. It has organised very important Sanatan festivals such as Teej (31 August 2019), Dashain (Durga Puja on 4 October 2019), Mahashivratri (21 February 2020), Ashtami Puja (24 October 2020) and Tulsi Puja (29 November 2020) for people of Nepalese origin to come together and celebrate these festivals in the traditional way. These programs were a great success to bring together all community members and promote harmony among them.