Key points:

• In view of the wide-ranging and long-lasting implications of population change, Australia should adopt a population policy.
• Changing the total number of permanent migration visas issued is the key policy lever though which the Federal Government may influence population trends.
• The implementation of changes to Skilled migration numbers should be phased over time and integrated with changes to education and training policy.
• The growth of the population sizes of the largest cities presents a more challenging prospect than national population growth. A wider dispersal of immigrant settlement should be a priority population policy goal.
• Population ageing could create opportunities for achieving a wider dispersal of migrant settlement.
• Enhancing family wellbeing, and not birth rate change, should be the primary concern of fertility policy.