Australia is a multicultural country by policy and practice but not legally defined as a multicultural country.

Multiculturalism in Australia is recognised, promoted and supported by legislations and government policies such as:

  • the section 116 of the Australian Constitution (provides religious freedom to all Australians),
  • the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (prohibits certain discrimination among Australians),
  • the National Multicultural Framework (establishes the basis for the multiculturalism in Australia), and
  • the Australian Multicultural Council (advises the federal government on multicultural principles for all Australians).

The Australian Constitution

The Australian Constitution does not define Australia as a multicultural country. It doesn’t contain any section that mentions multiculturalism at all- either by name or concept.

There is no Act of Commonwealth Parliament that declares Australia as a multicultural country at law.

The Constitution was written in the 1890s, when the prevailing political mindset was focused on British heritage and, unfortunately, policies like the White Australia Policy effectively came into force in 1901, the same year Australia became a federation.

This policy was fully abolished by 1973 under the Whitlam Government, with multiculturalism becoming official policy soon after.

Indirectly, the Australian Constitution contains sections that touch on multiculturalism such as:

  • immigration (Section 51(xxvii)),
  • race (Section 51(xxvi)),
  • citizenship (Section 52 (xxvi)), and
  • rights of residents (Section 117)

But these were not originally designed to promote cultural diversity and multiculturalism.

Unlike the Commonwealth Government, several States and Territories have given legal recognition to multiculturalism through their own multicultural legislations. These are:

  • Victoria (Multicultural Victoria Act 2011),
  • NSW (Multicultural NSW Act 2000),
  • Queensland (Multicultural Recognition Act 2016),
  • South Australia (South Australian Multicultural Act 2021) and
  • Australian Capital Territory (ACT Multicultural Recognition Act 2022).

Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory do not have a dedicated legislation on multiculturalism. However, they still have policies, councils, and strategies that promote multiculturalism in their respective jurisdictions.

Recognising and supporting legislation, policies and institutions

Multiculturalism is recognised and supported by section 116 of the Australian Constitution, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, the National Multicultural Framework and the Australian Multicultural Council.

Section 116 of the Australian Constitution

This section states “The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.”

As a consequence, The Commonwealth Parliament (federal government) can’t establish an official religion, force people to follow religious practices, ban people from practising their religion (people have religious freedom) and require a religious test to hold federal office.

It is to be noted that this section only applies to the Commonwealth, not to state governments. By implication, states and territories can technically pass laws about religion unless restricted by anti-discrimination and human rights laws. No state or territory in Australia has enacted religious law as part of its legal system. The entire country (federal, states and territories) maintains a secular legal system.

Religious vilification laws are not religious laws. They are secular Common laws, touching on religion.

Several states have enacted religious vilification laws- Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania. The rest of the states and territories either cover race only, or rely on general anti-discrimination protections, but no religious vilification protections.

Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA 1975)

This legislation does not prohibit all forms of discrimination among Australians. It only prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin and immigrant status.

The RDA 1975 is a race-specific law. It does not cover other types of discrimination, for example, discrimination based on religion, sex, disability, age, political opinion, and so on.

These are covered by other specific Commonwealth laws, like Sex Discrimination Act 1984, Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and Age Discrimination Act 2004.

The RDA 1975 applies to both direct discrimination (treating someone worse because of their race) and indirect discrimination (policies that appear neutral but disadvantage a racial group). It applies across public life: employment, housing, education, goods and services and so on.

National Multicultural Framework (NMF)

The NMF is essentially the current policy basis for multiculturalism in Australia, but it is not a law and not part of the Australian Constitution.

It’s a government policy framework adopted in 2024 to guide how Australia supports cultural diversity and multiculturalism. It sets principles, priorities, and actions for inclusion, cultural harmony, and equal opportunity for people of all backgrounds.

It emphasises the importance of social cohesion, cultural identity, equality of opportunity, and strong leadership in fostering a successful multicultural society in Australia. It provides a strategic basis for programs, funding, and services that promote multiculturalism.

Australian Multicultural Council (AMC)

The AMC is an advisory body to the Australian Government and members are appointed by Federal Government.

Its roles include providing independent advice on multicultural affairs, social cohesion, and citizenship to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, promoting the value of cultural diversity in Australia, engaging with community groups to understand challenges and opportunities in multicultural policy and supporting public awareness of multiculturalism and inclusion.

The AMC does not directly administer multicultural principles. Instead, The Department of Home Affairs (through its Multicultural Affairs branch) implements multicultural programs and services.

Amendment recommendations

The following law amendment and policy recommendations are made:

  1. Enact a federal law to define Australia as a multicultural country: Australia is not legally defined as a multicultural country in its Constitution or any single Commonwealth legislation. The current multiculturalism in Australia is a policy position which could be changed by any successive government.
  2. Establish a Department of Multicultural Affairs- there is federal minister for Multicultural Affairs and, given its wide service offering requirements, Australians should have a seperate Department, which is currently managed through a Multicultural Affairs Branch under the Department of Home Affairs.
  3. Amend the Racial Discrimination Act 1975of the Commonwealth to cover religion as a ground for discrimination: currently, it is a race-specific anti-discrimination law which doesn’t include religion as a ground for discrimination.
  4. Amend the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977of NSW to cover religion  as a ground for vilification: presently it includes only racial vilification. The relevant laws of South Australia, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory should also be amended to include religion as a ground for vilification.
  5. Enact multicultural laws in Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory: these jurisdictions do not have a dedicated legislation on multiculturalism.