A designated area migration agreement (DAMA) is an overarching labour agreement in place for a particular region of Australia. The process largely sits outside of a legislative framework, with most requirements outlined under policy only. It is a formal agreement between the Australian Government and a regional, state or territory authority.
As of June 30, 2023, there were 237,150 people in Australia on a subclass 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) visa and their dependents. There were also 151,230 people in Australia on a subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa and their dependents. This is a total of 388,380 people in Australia on either of these two visa subclasses.
Update - Navigating Changes in Australia's Skilled Migration for 2023-24
On this page
- Legislative framework
- SBS and Nomination Checklist
- Sponsorship obligations Labour Agreements
- Nomination ceilings
01. Legislative framework
Migration Act 1958 (the Act) and Migration Regulations 1994 (the Regulations) and associated administrative processes.
The Regulations do, however, set out the requirements that are required to be met where TSS, ENS or SESR nomination or visa applications are lodged under a labour agreement.
In addition, there are provisions in the Act and Regulations that define the terms ‘Work Agreement’ (WA) and ‘Labour Agreement’. The Regulations also include limited provisions regarding requirements for entering into a WA.
As outlined in Regulation 2.76, a Work Agreement is a type of LA. It must:
- be between:
- the Commonwealth, as represented by the Minister, or by the Minister and one or more other Ministers; and
- a person*, an unincorporated association or a partnership; and
- be a LA that authorises the recruitment, employment, or engagement of services of a person who is intended to be employed or engaged as a holder of a TSS visa; and
- be in effect (i.e. signed by all parties).
It provides access to more overseas workers than the standard skilled migration program. DAMAs operate under an agreement-based framework, providing flexibility for regions to respond to their unique economic and labour market conditions.
Individual DAMA labour agreements are between the Australian Government and endorsed employers/businesses operating within the relevant designated region. They:
- are generally in effect for five years, and
- use the subclass 482 Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS), subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional), and subclass 186 Employer Nominated Scheme (ENS) visa programs.
There are currently nine DAMAs in place. Below is a list of those DAMAs with links to the respective Designated Area Representative* websites that contain information on how to access each DAMA as well as which regions/locations/shires are covered:
- East Kimberley, WA: East Kimberley Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Pilbara, WA: RDA Pilbara
- The Goldfields, WA: City of Kalgoorlie Boulder
- Far North Queensland, QLD: Cairns Chamber of Commerce,
- Townsville, QLD: Townsville Enterprise Limited
- Great South Coast [Warrnambool] DAMA VIC Australia
- Goulburn Valley, VIC: Goulburn Valley
- Orana, NSW: Regional Development Australia - Orana, NSW
02. SBS and Nomination Checklist
1. Documents to prove that the business is active and lawfully operating. |
Provide the following:
Financial evidence Types of financial evidence include:
Financial documents should be ‘recent’. |
2. Contribution to the Skilling Australian Fund (SAF) |
Evidence to show if employer has paid the nomination training contribution charge referred to as the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy. |
3. A current labour agreement |
You must
The occupation you are nominating must be listed in the labour agreement as an occupation you can nominate. Permanent residence is only available through the subclass 186 Labour Agreement stream if it has been included as an option in the subclass 457 or subclass 482 negotiated labour agreement |
4. Proof you have a genuine need for a paid employee. |
Businesses seeking to nominate overseas workers for a permanent employer-sponsored visa are required to demonstrate that there is a genuine need to employ a person in the position.
Provide:
Also, provide these where applicable:
|
5. Statutory Declaration about adverse information. |
Adverse information
Adverse information is unfavourable information that could impact on your suitability as an approved sponsor. Adverse information is information that could affect your suitability to:
Adverse information could be about:
How adverse information affects sponsorship. Anything adverse we learn about you affects our decision on your sponsorship if it:
What we might do about adverse information We might:
If you are already an approved sponsor, we might:
What we consider adverse We consider it adverse if you or your organisation has become insolvent under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 and the Corporations Act 2001. We also consider it adverse if, in relation to a Commonwealth, state or territory law, you or your organisation:
The Commonwealth, state or territory law must relate to:
Some adverse information is unlikely to affect our decision. For example, it is not relevant if we learn your business was fined for operating an unregistered vehicle on a public road. But it would be relevant if we learn your company director is being investigated for people trafficking offences. |
6. Applicant’s employment contract |
You must include the applicant's employment contract, including information about their salary.
If the overseas worker will be paid an annual salary less than AUD250,000 you need to show:
The Annual market salary rate (AMSR) is determined by looking at:
Determining the AMSR Where there is an equivalent Australian worker The AMSR is what you are paying this worker. If the worker's salary is based on an enterprise agreement or industrial award, you provide:
If there is no relevant agreement or award, or you are paying your Australian employees above the award rate, provide:
Note:
Where there is no equivalent worker but there is an enterprise agreement or industrial award; Provide:
Where there is no equivalent worker, agreement or award You must determine and then show us what the AMSR is. Explain how you used relevant information to determine what you will pay the equivalent worker. Relevant information could include at least two of the following:
Notes on employment contract 1. the successful applicant should not be chosen before the 4 weeks of adds expire. No decision on who the successful applicant is, should be made until the end of 4 weeks from the date of first publication. Otherwise, Immigration may argue that the advertising was not genuine. 2. The contract of employment must specify that the employment subject of the visa will commence after the visa is granted. After that 4 weeks expires the successful applicant could start work before the visa grant on an informal basis but the formal contract should provide that the employment pursuant to that contract does not commence until after the visa is granted. |
Checklist – Other cont….
Item |
Description |
1. Recruitment summary and evidence of advertisement for each nominated position |
Evidence can include:
Must meet Australian Government Labour market testing requirements. The advertising of the nominated position must meet all of the requirements below:
Note:
In addition to meeting minimum evidentiary requirements outlined below, under policy, the following factors would add weight to an assessment that such efforts have been made (Required):
Requirements for nominations lodged on or after 1 October 2020 In September 2020, the Australian Government introduced new labour market testing measures for employer sponsored applications. In addition to the 2 advertisements mentioned above:
Note: advertising may have been undertaken by a third party if authorised to do so by the sponsor (for example, an associated entity or a contracted party, such as a recruitment agency) - there is no requirement that the sponsor placed the advertisement themselves. Evidence of a total of 3 advertisements, including an advertisement published on the Government’s Workforce website, must be provided at the time the nomination is lodged. 4.6.5.1 The period within which LMT is requiredwithin the 4-month period which ends on the day on which the nomination application is lodged as specified in the relevant legislative instrument |
2. Job descriptions for each nominated position |
Must state registration, or licensing requirements (if applicable) |
3. Organisation Chart |
Must be less than 6 months old and requested positions must be displayed. Along with visa status and employment status of all disclosed. |
4. Financial and Business activity evidence |
Must be for the last financial year.
|
5. Statutory Declaration about adverse information. |
Adverse information
Adverse information is unfavourable information that could impact on your suitability as an approved sponsor. Adverse information is information that could affect your suitability to:
Adverse information could be about:
How adverse information affects sponsorship Anything adverse we learn about you affects our decision on your sponsorship if it:
What we might do about adverse information We might
If you are already an approved sponsor, we might:
What we consider adverse We consider it adverse if you or your organisation has become insolvent under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 and the Corporations Act 2001. We also consider it adverse if, in relation to a Commonwealth, state or territory law, you or your organisation:
The Commonwealth, state or territory law must relate to:
Some adverse information is unlikely to affect our decision. For example, it is not relevant if we learn your business was fined for operating an unregistered vehicle on a public road. But it would be relevant if we learn your company director is being investigated for people trafficking offences. |
6. Evidence of market salary rate |
This is to prove the nominee receives terms and conditions no less favourable than those provided to an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
Please provide this evidence for each nominated position. |
7. Employment contract |
Employment contract outlining terms and conditions for each occupation. |
8. A statement from the business |
Business case for permanent residence
A submission outlining the business case for permanent residence is required and explaining the reasons as to why the additional positions are required. A sufficiently strong business case should include the following:
|
9. Workforce Plan & Detailed Business Plan |
Workforce Plan, which must outline the current, and where requested, projected future composition of an Approved Sponsor's workforce. It must also include details of the total number of Australian workers (including permanent residents) and temporary visa holders engaged by the Approved Sponsor.
This should also breakdown the total workforce in terms of: 1. Australian workforce Other details required include: 1. The business requirement for access to DAMA and reduced reliance on overseas workers For all the mentioned workforce, please disclose employment contracts and evidence of salary payment for the last 12 months. Also, please disclose any Apprenticeship/training agreements – reflect ongoing employment of staff |
10. Bank Documents |
|
11. Correspondences |
Any correspondence with suppliers/industry bodies and advertisers. |
12. Business Registration documents |
Registration with Industry Associations
ABN |
13. Contribution to the Skilling Australian Fund (SAF) |
Evidence to show if employer has paid the nomination training contribution charge referred to as the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy |
03. Sponsorship obligations Labour Agreements
If a Labour Agreement [LA] is approved, the organisation must comply with their sponsorship obligations as outlined in their agreement. These will largely mirror those that apply under the standard business program. Additional obligations may also apply. Go to Sponsorship obligations.
The Migration Act 1958 (the Migration Act) contains the sponsorship compliance framework. The sponsorship obligations and circumstances in which a sponsor may be barred, or a sponsor's approval may be cancelled are prescribed in the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Regulations).
Nomination ceilings
Agreement can include a ‘nomination ceiling’ –a maximum number of TSS and/or ENS nominations that can be approved in each year of an agreement for the next five years.
Ceiling numbers can be agreed upon ‘upfront’.
The Minister must authorise the DAMA agreement. For a DAMA to be approved, efforts must be demonstrated to recruit Australians; first, ceilings must be placed on the numbers of overseas workers employed annually.
Variation to ceiling numbers
Where a variation to ceiling numbers is needed, the sponsor is required to provide the following documentation to the Department so that they consider whether it is appropriate for a Deed of Variation to be prepared and executed:
- updated workforce plans;
- evidence of labour market testing that has been undertaken during the last 12 months;
- evidence of salary arrangements for, and amounts paid to, Primary Sponsored Persons;
- details of any breaches of immigration or other Commonwealth or State/Territory laws;
- the dates, numbers and occupations of any and all Australian workers who have been retrenched or made redundant in the past 12 month period; and
- any additional information requested by the Minister.
Variations to an LA cannot commence until a new written document is executed by or on behalf of all parties. Where a variation has been requested to increase nomination ceilings, nomination applications cannot be lodged until the Deed of Variation has been fully executed.
2 thoughts on “Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) Australian Immigration Visa”
I am Anura , from Genoa,Italy.I’m an Italian passport holder. I would like to apply for the DAMA. My occupation is on the list 322311 Metal Fabricator. How can I apply for it.?
Hi Anura, Pl read The Great South Coast Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) Australia article. In that page follow the instructions.
What you need to do?
If your occupation is in the list, please submit required information via the “free Australian Visa assessment“ and our lawyers in Australia will provide you a free preliminary assessment report but only for potential applicants.
Thank you.