 Over 250 Indigenous Australian languages are thought to have existed at the time of first European contact , of which less than 20 are still in daily use by all age groups . About 110 others are spoken exclusively by older people . At the time of the 2006 census , 52 @,@ 000 Indigenous Australians , representing 12 % of the Indigenous population , reported that they spoke an Indigenous language at home . Australia has a sign language known as Auslan , which is the main language of about 5 @,@ 500 deaf people . 
