<P> The Immigration Restriction Act 1901, known informally as the White Australia policy, restricted non-European immigration to Australia from 1901 to 1973 . The policy limited the ethnic and cultural diversity of the immigrant population . The policy was an attempt to preserve the British ethno - cultural identity of the Australian nation, promote European immigration, and to exclude persons who did not fit the European, predominately Anglo - Celtic, character of Australian society . As the twentieth century progressed and the number of migrants from the United Kingdom became insufficient to meet labour shortages, immigrants came increasingly from other parts of Europe, such as Italy, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, and the former Yugoslavia . </P> <P> Following the initial moves of the Whitlam Labor government in 1973, further official national multicultural policies were implemented by Fraser's Conservative Coalition government in 1978 . The Labor Government of Bob Hawke continued with these policies during the 1980s and early 1990s, and were further supported by Paul Keating up to his electoral defeat 1996 . CALD (or Culturally and Linguistually Diverse) policies continue to be implemented at all levels of government and public service, such as medical support systems which cater specifically to non-English speaking residents . </P> <P> The meaning of multiculturalism has changed significantly since its formal introduction to Australia . Originally it was understood by the mainstream population as a need for acceptance that many members of the Australian community originally came from different cultures and still had ties to it . However, it came to mean the rights of migrants within mainstream Australia to express their cultural identity . It is now often used to refer to the notion that people in Australia have multiple cultural or ethnic backgrounds . </P> <P> The overall level of immigration to Australia has grown during the last decades . Net overseas immigrants increased from 30,000 in 1993 to 118,000 in 2003--04, and 200,000 in 2015 . </P>

Australia is a multicultural country what does this mean
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