The federal government plans to ramp up immigration once Australia's borders reopen, Budget papers have revealed.
Treasury argued population growth needed to be turbocharged again to boost economic activity over the longer-term and save the apartment building sector.
Before the pandemic, Australia had an annual population growth pace of 1.5 per cent - among the highest in the developed world - despite repeated polls showing most Australians are in favour of reducing immigration.
Sydney and Melbourne were absorbing the bulk of new arrivals - with each city adding 100,000 new residents a year despite already being home to more than 5million people.