According to the Centre for Population, Australia has lost 473,000 potential migrants as a result of Covid, but net inward migration is on course to return to pre-pandemic levels of 235,000 persons per year.
The centre’s 2022 statement, which will be announced on Friday, will confirm that migration is “part of the solution” to skills and labour shortages, according to the centre’s treasurer, Jim Chalmers.
The analysis concludes that Covid travel restrictions led to the loss of 85,000 persons in 2020-21, marking Australia’s first net migration loss since World War II.
