The Whitlam government renounces White Australia and builds official multiculturalism, 1973-1975
The Racial Discrimination Act closes out seven decades of racial immigration law
Quick facts
- Race removed from immigration selection
- 1973
- Racial Discrimination Act enacted
- 31 October 1975
- Citizenship residency requirement equalised
- 3 years for all migrants (from 5 years for non-British)
What happened
The Whitlam Labor government, elected in 1972, removed race as a factor in immigration selection in 1973 and reformed citizenship law so that all immigrants, regardless of origin, could apply after three years' residence rather than the five years previously required of non-British migrants. On 31 October 1975, in the final month of Whitlam's government, Parliament enacted the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, making it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of race, colour, or ethnic origin, and formally closing out the last legal remnants of the White Australia Policy first legislated in 1901. The government paired these legal changes with practical policy, funding new translation and interpreter services, multicultural radio broadcasting, and multicultural content in health, welfare, and education programs.
Why it matters
The shift from a policy explicitly designed to keep Australia white to one legislating against racial discrimination, within the same generation, marked one of the most significant reversals in the country's social policy, and later governments of both major parties maintained the multicultural framework it established for the following half-century.
How we know
The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 is a matter of statute; the Whitlam Institute documents the citizenship and immigration reforms of 1973 and the associated services rolled out in the years immediately following.
Sources
- Whitlam Institute, Western Sydney University. Whitlam Legacy: A Multicultural Australia · Primary source (author-declared)whitlam.org · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- The Conversation. Australian politics explainer: the White Australia policy · General sourcetheconversation.com · Cited as a "reference" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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