New figures reveal the majority of people believe the level of immigration into Australia has been too high over the last decade.
With the federal election just weeks away and immigration high on the campaign agenda, the poll showed most respondents thought the Liberal Party had the right policies on immigration over Labor, with 41 per cent to 28 per cent.
The online poll of 1021 for SBS found quite a strong negative sentiment to taking in refugees.
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The majority of respondents did not believe Australia should increase its intake of refugees due to the refugee crisis in Europe.
Most people in the poll also did not agree that accepting refugees was something a wealthy nation like Australia should do to support poorer nations.
When it came to multiculturalism and cultural diversity, 62 per cent said it had enriched the social and economic lives of all Australians.
A smaller number, 46 per cent, said multiculturalism had failed and caused social division and religious extremism in Australia.
Respondents were able to rank their answers to each question on a scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree and don't know.
The poll also looked at whether respondents were born in Australia, overseas or had overseas-born parents.
Essential Research says the poll of 1021 people would be close to representing the Australian population, but could not guarantee an accurate representation since many people selected to participate did not participate, among other reasons.
