Permanent migration to Australia will be stepped up to around 160,000 a year to aid the country's economic recovery and respond to skills shortages, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.
He was speaking ahead of Thursday's budget update, the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), adding the federal government expected overseas migration to be 120,000 higher over the next two years than had been forecast in the federal budget in May.
He told The Australian newspaper the additional migrants will help boost the Australian economy as it recovers from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added: "With vaccination rates amongst the highest in the world, our international borders are opening around six months earlier than anticipated at budget, leading to a sharp turnaround in migration flows.
“The MYEFO (Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook) will show that we expect 120,000 additional migrants over the next two years than expected at budget, which will support stronger economic activity providing a welcome boost to our economic recovery."
Last year, Australia’s net overseas migration - meaning there were more migrants departing Australia than arriving in the country - since World War Two due to widespread COVID-19 travel bans and border closures.
Net overseas migration was expected to be minus 77,000 for the 2021-22 financial year according to the , but this will be revised up to minus 41,000.
Figures for the 2022-23 financial year will also be revised up, the paper reported.
But Labor assistant Treasury spokesperson Andrew Leigh said the news was "more headlines than announcements".
He added: "Labor will respond to the government's migration plan when they have a plan.
"But Australians need solutions, not spin. They need some real substance when it comes to the critical issue of migration.
"All we have today is yet another number, thrown out in an attempt to get a headline or a soundbite. We don't have the detail that would allow Australians to judge what the migration settings will look like.
"A migration plan has got to talk about our balance between temporary and permanent, between family reunion and skilled migration."
There are more than 7.6 million migrants in Australia in the year ending 30 June 2020, based on .
The proportion of the population born overseas is 29.8 per cent.
