This document provides an overview of migration to Australia, outlining the key phases of government policy over time: 1) The White Australia Policy from 1880-1973 restricted non-European migration. 2) From 1946-1960s, an Assimilation Policy required new migrants to adopt Australian culture and identity. 3) The Integration Policy of the 1960s-early 1970s recognized cultural diversity but promoted adaptation. 4) Since the late 1980s, a Multiculturalism Policy embraces cultural maintenance and participation in society. 5) Reactions to multiculturalism emerged in the late 1990s related to Asian migration and integration issues.

1. Overview of Migration to
Australia

2. Government Migration Policy
• The policy of the government of
the day is a major factor in
determining who can settle in
Australia
• What influences a government’s
policy?
• Is it legitimate to use policy as a
tool to break history into
periods?

3. 5 Key Phases of Australian Migration Policy
1. White Australia Policy (1880-1973)
2. Assimilation Policy (1946-1960s)
3. Integration Policy (1960s-early 1970s)
4. Multiculturalism Policy (late 1980s-present)
5. Reactions to Multiculturalism (late 1990s-present)

4. Timeline of Australia’s Immigration Story – C19th
1800 1825 1850 1875 1900
1831 Assisted
migration from
UK begins 1888 Chinese
1838 Immigrants
flee religious
persecution
Immigration
Restricted in all
States
1860 Anti-
Chinese riots at
Lambing Flat
1775
1788 Ongoing
Aboriginal
resistance to
European
Colonisation
1788
Colonisation
party lands in
NSW
1867
Transportation
of convicts ends

5. Timeline of Australia’s Immigration Story - C20th
1900 1925 1950 1975 2000 2025
White Australia
Assimilation
Integration
Multiculturalism
Reaction to Multi.

6. Timeline of Australia’s Immigration Story - C20th
1900 1925 1950 1975 2000 2025
White Australia
Assimilation
1945 Populate
or perish
Integration
Multiculturalism
Reaction to Multi.
1901
Immigration
Restriction Act &
Dictation Test
introduced
1947 Limited
admittance of
non-Europeans
1947 Displaced
persons scheme
1952 Refugees and
Japanese war brides
accepted
1916
Registration of
aliens
1973 End of
White Australia
Policy
1975 Racial
Discrimination
Act
1986 HREOC Act
1995 Racial
Hated Act
1977 Australia as a
Multicultural
Society
2001 MV Tampa
2005 Cronulla
Riots
2007 Citizenship
Test Introduced
1997 Pauline
Hanson’s One
Nation Party
1975 SBS
established
1978 Review of Post-
Arrival Programs and
Services to Migrants
(Galbally report)

7. White Australia Policy (1880-1973)
• Origins in anti-Chinese activism on the goldfields in mid-1800s and use of
Pacific Islander labour in Qld.
• An Act ‘to place certain restrictions on immigration and to provide for the
removal from the Commonwealth of prohibited immigrants’.
• Also restricted migration of criminals, disabled, mentally ill, those likely to
be a welfare burden, and ‘those of loathsome character’.
• Recent historians such as Alison Bashford and Henry Reynolds connect it to
the Eugenics Movement.
• Enforced with a dictation test that could be given in any European
language.
• In the first half of the 20th Century, the White Australia Policy was in full
force and widely popular.
• In 1919 PM Billy Hughes hailed it as ‘the greatest thing we have achieved’.

8. Assimilation Policy (1946-1960s)
• Immigration Department established in 1945.
• After WW2 ‘Populate or Perish’ became a key slogan
• New arrivals of diverse European origins (‘New Australians’ or ‘reffos’)
required as quickly as possible to:
• learn English
• adopt Australian cultural practices
• become indistinguishable from the Australian-born.
• The Good Neighbour Movement provided support at a
neighbourhood level help to new arrivals adopt the Australian
lifestyle.

9. Integration Policy (1960s-early 1970s)
• At the 1959 Citizenship Convention the notion of integration was first
introduced.
• Reflected an awareness that the first generation of immigrants was
unlikely to assimilate completely and their adaptation would be more
effective if their cultural needs were recognised.
• Began to recognise that:
• bilingualism was an advantage
• "older" Australians could learn from new migrants as well as teach them
• migrants should be recognised for their contribution to the development of
the Australian economy.

10. Multiculturalism Policy (late 1980s-present)
• First introduced at a federal level with state and territory governments
have subsequently developing their own multicultural policy.
• Key policy shift for Whitlam and then Fraser governments who were facing
increased migration from Asia.
• Core ideas:
• Individuals and communities should maintain their cultural/ethnic/religious identify
• Australian society more broadly should be tolerant and welcoming of diversity
• Barriers to full participation in society on the basis of ethnicity/religion/culture
should be removed
• Needs of migrants should be met by programs and services available to the whole
community and special services.

11. Reactions to Multiculturalism (late 1990s-present)
• Multiculturalism has been a contested policy and concept since its
introduction in Australia in the 1970s.
• Late-1990s debate focused strongly on Asian migration and
integration.
• One Nation Party
• Cabramatta as a hotbed of Vietnamese gang crime
• 2000s debate shifted to concern about Islamic terrorism and the
challenges of ensuring social cohesion.
• Cronulla Riots
• Boat People, Queue Jumpers, Border Protection