The federal minister responsible for "congestion busting" in major cities has promised to unveil a national population policy well before the next election.
Cabinet ministers have for months been wrestling with how to confront surging population growth in Sydney and Melbourne, while boosting migration to smaller states and towns crying out for more residents.
Recurring themes in the coalition's long-running policy push have been slowing the intake of temporary workers and forcing new migrants to settle in regional centres.
Population Minister Alan Tudge has indicated voters could finally get a glimpse of the detail by the end of this year.
"Certainly it'll be well before the election," Mr Tudge told Sky News on Monday.
Australia welcomed 160,000 permanent migrants last year. The overwhelming majority flocked to Sydney, Melbourne and southeast Queensland.
As it stands, permanent migrants are free to move wherever they wish.
One possible antidote to soaring numbers in the east coast capitals is a points-based system to fast-track temporary workers who head to smaller towns.
Mr Tudge is also looking at imposing extra restrictions on where certain visa-holders can work and reside.
"We attach all sorts of conditions already, including some people being sponsored into South Australia presently under one of the migration schemes," the minister said.
"We're not just talking about the regions, we're talking about the smaller states."
The conditions are fairly easily imposed on a state-by-state basis, but could prove more challenging to administer when forcing people from major cities to settle in regional towns.
Mr Tudge has ruled out implementing special tax zones as part of the population plan.
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