Late last year, Labor MP Anne Aly went to a medical appointment in her northern Perth electorate of Cowan.

"I came [to Australia] when I was two, my family's been here for 50 years. The first question the woman behind the desk asks me - in one of the most multicultural suburbs in my electorate - is: 'Where are you from? Because you're not from Australia'."

Labor's Anne Aly says Australia needs to revisit its understanding of multiculturalism. Credit:Mick Tsikas

Dr Aly, who was born in Egypt, said she often had similar interactions.

"How long do I have to be in this country, how long do people have to be in this country, before they can own being Australian?"