As with immigration in other countries, some politicians have argued that without strict policy, the country's shores would be inundated with asylum seekers — genuine and otherwise. Others contend that in addition to being saddled with the financial burden of having to process and provide for these claimants, the presence of more migrants would lead to an increase in crime.

Under the provisions of the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 — which formed the basis of the “White Australia” policy — the government used dictation tests in a European language selected by immigration officers to limit the number of non-white migrants to Australia.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Australia welcomed more than 170,000 refugees, the largest groups being from Poland, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. The Vietnam War led to the first significant increase in non-European refugees. From 1976 until 1986, some 94,000 refugees from Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam settled in Australia — with about 2,000 of those arriving by boat. In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a clear demographic shift away from “typical” Western European asylum seekers in Australia.

Asylum in Australia came to international attention in August 2001 when a Norwegian freighter, the MV Tampa, rescued more than 400 Afghan asylum seekers whose vessel had sunk in the Indian Ocean as they attempted to reach Australia.

he court directed the government to consider re-establishing onshore asylum claim processing. Still, Prime Minister Gillard and her government vowed to continue with the Malaysian Solution.

First, the country has tried to limit the number of boat people claiming asylum by excising island territories from the migration zone, turning vessels around before they reach Australian territory, and disincentivizing Australia as a target destination through a policy of mandatory detention. And second, Australia has used extraterritorial processing centers in neighboring countries to avoid allowing asylum seekers to invoke their right to claim refugee protection in Australia.