What was the White Australia policy?
The White Australia policy was a set of laws and practices that restricted non-European immigration to Australia from 1901 until it was gradually dismantled between the 1940s and 1973. It aimed to keep Australia predominantly white and British.
One of the first laws passed by the new federal parliament was the Immigration Restriction Act 1901. It allowed officials to give a dictation test in any European language to exclude unwanted migrants.
The policy grew out of colonial-era tensions, including hostility toward Chinese gold miners and Pacific Islander laborers in the 1800s.
Ending the policy
After World War II, Australia began accepting migrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. Restrictions on non-European migrants were gradually eased in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Whitlam government formally ended the policy in 1973, making race irrelevant in immigration decisions. The Racial Discrimination Act was passed in 1975.
Since then, Australia has become one of the most multicultural nations in the world, with large communities from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Pacific. The legacy of the policy is still discussed in debates about race and immigration.