UN General Assembly
2016

We are one of the most successful multicultural societies in the world. We are both as old as the oldest continuous human culture of our first Australians and as young as the child in the arms of her migrant parents. We are not defined by race, religion or culture, but by shared political values of democracy, the rule of law and equality of opportunity — a “fair go”. More than a quarter of us were born overseas, almost half of us have a parent born overseas, and each year we welcome around 200,000 permanent migrants to join our 24 million. We have a long experience of, and commitment to, settlement services to ensure that our immigrants, especially refugees, become successfully integrated into our society. We are indeed a nation of immigrants who are as diverse as the society that they have joined.