Abstract
Australia has rapidly transformed into a multicultural country since the 1970s. It is important for such a multiracial and multicultural society that they should not only guarantee linguistic and cultural rights of every racial group, but should also prevent isolation and antagonism between each other and promote mutual understanding and harmony. Mass media play an important role in this matter. The Australian broadcasting system consists of four types of broadcasting stations. They are the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and commercial stations on one side which broadcast mainly for an unspecified mass audience, and on the other public stations and the Special Broadcasting Service(SBS) which serves a relatively specified minority audience. Broadcasting has an "integration function" to bridge different cultures and an "individualization function" to serve the diverse needs of various cultural groups. Under the circumstances of the progressing multimedia and multichannels, the important point for broadcasting in a multicultural society like Australia is for the "integration function" and the "individualization function" to develop harmoniously.
