The ''Aliens Deportation Act 1948'' (Cth) was an Act of the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

which formed part of the

White Australia policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting i ...

. The Act gave the government sweeping powers to deport aliens.

Background

Minister for Immigration

Arthur Calwell Arthur Augustus Calwell (28 August 1896 – 8 July 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Labor Party from 1960 to 1967. He led the party to three federal elections. Calwell grew up in Melbourne and attended St J ...

, who introduced the Act, explained the Act targeted "those aliens whose character and conduct are such that they should not be allowed to continue to reside here, but whose deportation cannot be effected at present because of the limitations upon the Commonwealth’s immigration powers". Despite criticism in parliament about its broad powers, the Act commenced 18 January 1949.

Legacy

Shortly after coming into force, the Act was put into question by '' O'Keefe v Calwell'' (1948), which ruled in favour of Annie O’Keefe, an Indonesian wartime evacuee who had been issued a deportation order. After this defeat, Calwell sought legislation to close the loophole, leading to the

War-time Refugees Removal Act 1949 The ''War-time Refugees Removal Act 1949'' was a piece of Australian legislation that formed part of the White Australia policy. It was introduced by the Chifley government in July 1949, in order to give the federal government the explicit auth ...

References

{{reflist 1949 in Australian law Australian migration law History of immigration to Australia Immigration legislation Repealed Acts of the Parliament of Australia White Australia policy