On the forming of the Federation of Australia, on 1 January 1901, one of the first priorities of the new Federal Government was to increase Australia's population. One way was to encourage an increase in the birth rate, which had been falling. A second way was to encourage immigration, not only from Great Britain, but also from other European countries. The main requirement was that immigrants be white skinned. Although this policy became known as the White Australia Policy, the regulations did not actually prohibit people with coloured skin. The prohibition was achieved through regulations requiring each immigrant to pass a dictation test to be given in any European langu