In a press conference late last week the Prime Minister of Australia announced that the National Cabinet will be permanent and replace the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), heralding a new era in federal and state government policy planning and cooperation. One of the committees under the National Cabinet is population and migration.

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown up great challenges for governments around the world. Australia has arguably had one of the better responses to the pandemic, with a coordinated approach and information sharing between federal, and state and territory agencies. While there have been differences in what activities people are and are not allowed to do in each state and territory, and state border closures while may run afoul of the Constitution in a legal challenge, the regular meetings between the prime minister, premiers and chief ministers through what was called the National Cabinet has been pivotal in a consistent approach to COVID-19 in Australia’s federalist political system.

Due to the success of the National Cabinet, the prime minister announced that it is here to stay. The National Cabinet agreed to effective scrap the COAG and keep the National Cabinet, with its first aim to create jobs as the country begins to lift restrictions and potentially allow international travel. With reported cabinet confidentiality providing privacy in deliberations, the potential for politicking compared to COAG meetings is likely to end.

Under the new model various ministerial forums and regulatory councils (including for tourism, trade and investment, and skills) will be consolidated and reset, with national cabinet reform committees established in the key areas of:

• Rural and regional;

• Skills;

• Energy;

• Housing;

• Transport and Infrastructure;

• Health; and

• Population and Migration.

No doubt the states and territories will use these committees to give input on migration relating to their population goals. It is no secret that some states and territories, such as South Australia and the Northern Territory, are seeking to increase their migration intake while others, such as Victoria and New South Wales, are seeking to curtail migration to their capitals.

Just how population planning levels and the mix of migration by state and territory will change along with potential regulatory changes to visa applications in the coming years will be interesting given the population desires and disparities for each state and territory.