A "Fair Go" — Mutual Respect and Tolerance
"Australians value a fair go for all. This includes mutual respect, tolerance, compassion for those in need, and equality of opportunity."
The fifth value is the most culturally distinctive. It describes an expectation that nobody should be left behind, that people look out for each other, and that success carries an obligation to give something back. It is also the value most often invoked in political argument — which is exactly why it needs careful, non-partisan handling.
Mateship and the Australian character
Mateship — standing by your mate — grew out of convict and gold-rush society, was hardened at Gallipoli and Kokoda, and remains a live idea in Australian public life. It shows up in the norm that neighbours help neighbours before official help arrives at a bushfire or a flood, in a volunteering rate that is among the highest in the world, and in a national habit of self-deprecation that treats putting yourself down as a form of friendliness rather than a failure.
Multiculturalism with obligations
Since the 1970s Australia has pursued multiculturalism as official policy: the state supports the maintenance of cultural identity, and expects that commitment to sit alongside the shared values. The expectations are real and legal — vilification on the basis of race, religion, sexuality or gender identity is unlawful, and hate speech laws were tightened further in 2024. The counterweight is that tolerance is not unlimited: Australian law and social norms protect the right to criticize religions and ideas, and to do so forcefully.
How this value gets used in political argument
Because "a fair go" is a shared vocabulary, different political movements reach for it to make very different points, and the phrase is often used to close a debate rather than open one. Political parties across the spectrum — including One Nation — invoke Australian values, and they invoke them in different ways. The honest way to explain this value is to go back to its source: the Australian Values Statement, the official resource book, and the observable facts about who is disadvantaged and what the law actually does. That is the approach this site takes: it describes what the official sources say, notes where the underlying facts are contested, and does not take sides on party policy.
Key principles
- Egalitarian spirit
- Nobody should be left behind because of where they came from.
- Mateship
- Looking out for each other, especially in hard times.
- Compassion for those in need
- Medicare, the safety net and volunteering all express this.
- Mutual respect and tolerance
- A diverse society in which difference is expected, not tolerated reluctantly.
Common misconception
"A fair go means everyone gets the same outcome."
Fact: It means everyone gets a fair chance. The phrase also gets used politically to end arguments rather than settle them, so the reliable reference is the official statement and the underlying facts — not any party's use of it.
In the citizenship test
Expect a question about what a fair go means in practice, or which of two options best describes Australian society. The intended answers emphasise equal treatment, mutual respect and looking out for others.