The year 2013 is the 40th anniversary of the end of the 'White Australia policy'. In these four decades Australia's immigration policy has shifted from a primary concern with cultural homogeneity or Britishness to a focus on demand-based skills through an increasingly fine-tuned system of points tests, occupation lists and employer-sponsored visas.

Despite disproportionate politicisation of asylum seekers in recent public discourse, the intake of refugees and humanitarian entrants has remained relatively small. While Australia's contemporary migrant and refugee intake is truly multicultural, and governments continue to adhere to an official multicultural policy, integration into the Australian community and culture has been the dominant process, especially for second and third generation Australians. Australian identity and citizenship have changed in the last forty years, making Australia and its people more pluralistic and richly diverse.

Becoming Australian focuses on the ways in which migrants and refugees meet the challenges of 'becoming Australian' and the transformative process for Australia and its people as they incorporate the continuing influx of multicultural peoples.

Brian Galligan

Brian is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Melbourne and was previously a Professor in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University. He has published extensively on Australian politics and political economy.

Martina Boese

Martina was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne and has a PhD in Sociology and MAs in Legal Studies and in Sociology. Martina has published extensively in the areas of migrant and refugee employment, the creative industries, community sector agency, racism and social in/exclusion.

Melissa Phillips

Melissa completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2013. She has an MA in Anthropology and a BA (Hons) in History and Sociology. She is currently working with the Danish Refugee Council on migration issues in the Middle East and North Africa region. Her research interests and publications are in migration, refugee resettlement and displacement.