When it comes to passive income, ASX dividend shares are a no-brainer for any investors' portfolio.
By holding onto a quality stock for a long period of time, investors can benefit from the power of compounding and long-term business growth.
But finding ASX dividend shares which have grown their dividends consistently over a long period of time is harder than you'd think.
The Aussie sharemarket doesn't have many "long-timers", but the few that do exist have proven they can keep paying, and increasing, their dividends even amid market crashes, covid-incuded recessions and sharemarket lulls.
Here are 5 ASX dividend shares with over 20 years of growth.
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Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL)
Soul Patts is Australian dividend royalty. The company has increased its annual ordinary dividend every year since 1998, which is the longest-running record of dividend growth on the ASX. That's 27 years of consecutive dividend growth.
The diversified Australian investment house pays its fully-franked dividends twice per year and has offered a consistent yield of 2.3% to 2.4% since 2016. In FY25, it paid a total $1.03 per share, 100% fully franked.
APA Group (ASX: APA)
Energy infrastructure group APA is a quiet achiever when it comes to passive income. The gas and energy infrastructure pipeline owner and operator also hiked its out semi-annual dividends consistently for over 20 years. Its yield is usually much higher than the wider market, too, which makes it an appealing option for investors seeking an ongoing passive income.
In FY25, the company increased its annual dividend distribution by 1.8% to 57 cents per security. Dividend growth is never guaranteed to continue, but it looks like increases are likely for FY26 and beyond.
Computershare Ltd (ASX: CPU)
Computershare has a history of paying consistent dividends to its shareholders and has not lowered its dividend payment for 25 years. The difference is that unlike Sol Patts and APA, there have been some years where Computershare has kept its dividend payment stable, meaning that while overall its dividends have generally been rising, there hasn't been a strict 20+ number of year-on-year increases.
For FY25, the ASX dividend share has paid out a final dividend of 48 cents per share, and its total FY25 dividend was 93 cents, up 14.3%.
Sonic Healthcare (ASX: SHL)
In terms of the dividend, Sonic has grown its payout in most (not all) years over the past 30 years. There were a few years between 2010 and 2012 where the Aussie passive income stock maintained its dividend at 59 cents, although they've increased each year ever since.
The company paid a total total dividend of $1.07 per share in FY25, a 1% increase from FY24. This consisted of a 44-cent interim dividend paid in March 2025 and a 63-cent final dividend paid in September 2025.
