Australia will suffer its first reversal in net migration in more than seven decades in a hit to growth to be revealed in next week’s federal budget, as the pandemic also cuts the nation’s birth rate. With thousands of people leaving the country and fewer returning, the net result will be negative for the first time since 1946 and the country is at risk of a population slump not seen since the Great Depression.

Budget 2020 to reveal first negative migration since 1946