Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)

Current Agreements | Occupations | Application Process | Fees & Charges | Permanent Residency Pathway

A Designated Area Migration Agreement (‘DAMA’) is a formal agreement between a regional state or territory and the Australian government. DAMAs are for employers in designated areas to sponsor skilled and semi-skilled overseas workers as a result of shortages in skills and labour supply.

Under DAMAs, employers are required to ensure their first priority is recruiting Australian citizens and permanent residents; the employers need to make sure they prioritise initiatives and strategies to facilitate the recruitment and retention of Australian workers.

Sponsors/employers will need to negotiate and enter into a Labour Agreement with the Australian government before an overseas worker can be sponsored under the DAMA scheme and granted with a Subclass 482 visa.

There is the possibility for this visa (if approved) to lead to Permanent Residency (Subclass 186) after a specified time of employment on the Subclass 482 visa.

Current Designated Area Migration Agreements

Currently there are Thirteen (13) DAMAs:

• Adelaide City Technology and Innovation Advancement, SA:
• East Kimberley, WA: East Kimberley Chamber of Commerce and Industry​
• Far North Queensland, QLD: Cairns Chamber of Commerce
• Goulburn Valley, VIC: Goulburn Valley​
• Great South Coast, VIC: Warrnambool City Council​
• Orana, NSW: Regional Development Australia – Orana, NSW
• Pilbara, WA: RDA Pilb​ara​
• South West, WA: Shire of Dardanup
• The Goldfields, WA: City of Kalgoorlie Boulder​​​​​
• Townsville, QLD: Townsville Enterprise Limited​
• Western Australia: Department of Training and Workforce Development​

Occupations

Occupations are identified after industry consultation with lists being updated on a regular basis. You can view the occupation list & concessions for each DAMA from the list above.

DAMA Application Process

The process for applying for a DAMA is as follows:

1. Application to receive endorsement to access Labour agreement under DAMA with regional area migration

2. Receive endorsement and forward to the Department of Home Affairs

3. Application for Labour Agreement

4. Identification of overseas worker by employer

5. Lodge applicants’ nomination

6. Visa application

Please be aware that there is no guarantee that the Australian Government will grant a Labour Agreement even with the regional area endorsement.

Fees and Charges for Designated Area Migration Agreements

There are no charges for:

• endorsement by the registered regional area
• labour agreement with the Australian Government

Fees apply for nomination application, Skilling Australians Fund levy and 482 visa application charges.

Pathway to Permanent Residency under DAMA

Northern Territory DAMA provides a pathway way for overseas workers to permanent residency.

The current pathway to permanent residency is through the subclass 186 (labour agreement stream)