Health care for an immigrant nation: Policy and practice in Australia

Australia is one of the most multicultural nations on earth. Over 100 different languages are spoken by Australians in the normal course of their lives. 20% of its population was born in another country and 24% of Australians have one or both parents born overseas. It is within this socio‐demographic context that Australia has developed its social and institutional policies of multicultur‐alism provided the intellectual capital and impetus for the creation of a Migrant Health Policy. The latter, in turn, is responsible for the operational policies about language, culture, information marketing and agency operations, which govern the nature and extent of health care services to the community. This paper provides a historical view of the role of immigration in Australia's development, explains the policy creation process, its antecedents and its service outcomes, and concludes with a summary of the major challenges which confront the health care system in its quest to provide equitable, relevant and responsive services to a multilingual and multicultural community.