Discussion of Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) programs is often focused around lower-skilled and semi-skilled occupations and opportunities.
DAMAs provide concessions in a whole range of ways, not just through occupations. There are a handful of DAMAs that provide concessions for IT professionals to access sponsored visas and permanent residency where they otherwise may not be able to. However, the range of ICT occupations available under these DAMAs is extremely limited, most frequently 1 or 2 occupations, with only a few offerings longer lists.
The question about DAMAs and IT occupations are usually asked by IT professionals that are facing the following challenges:
- I am on a 482 visa and my employer will not commit to sponsoring me for PR through at 186 visa
- I am over 40 cannot get enough points to be successful with an EOI for a 189, 190 or 491 visa
- I am over 45 and no longer qualify for the 189, 190 or 491 visa
South Australia - DAMA Visa
The Adelaide City Technology and Innovation Advancement Designated Area Migration Agreement for Adelaide Metropolitan Region
https://www.migration.sa.gov.au/occupation-lists/dama-occupation-list
This DAMA visa is limited to postcodes in the Adelaide Metropolitan region which appears to include Kapunda, Murray Bridge and more.
IT occupations include:
- ICT Project Manager 135112
- Multimedia Specialist 261211
- Web Developer 261212
- Analyst Programmer 261311
- Developer Programmer 261312
And we also note the occupations Statistician 224113 and Information and Organisation professionals nec 224999 that may be relevant for data scientists working in the IT space.
Age concession for these occupations is all “under 55” for the 494 and 186 programs alike.
There are also work experience concessions, as low as 1 year of relevant Australian (or 2 overseas) work experience for the SESR visa.
SESR under this DAMA will require a skills assessment, however, which for many of these occupations would be through Australian Computer Society that may impose a higher requirement than the DAMA itself, diminishing the utility of some of the experience concessions.
North Territory – DAMA Visa
- Web designer 232414
- Web administrator 313113
- ICT support technicians nec 313199
- ICT customer support officer 313112
All of the above have the concession to “under 55 years of age” for the SESR visa, which may be an attractive option for ICT professionals in those occupations aged 45 to 54.
Again, a skills assessment is required, with experience concessions that may be diminished by Australian Computer Society or similar requirements.
South West – DAMA Visa
The South West DAMA includes a single ICT occupation: 135112 ICT Project Manager.
This includes an age concession under 55 for both SESR 494 visa and ENS 186 visa, and has a pathway to permanent residency.
It requires a skills assessment from the Australian Computer Society.
Queensland (FNQ) – DAMA Visa
The Far North Queensland (FNQ) DAMA includes the following IT occupations:
- 135199 ICT Managers (nec)
- 135112 ICT Project Managers (nec)
- 225213 ICT Sales Representative
- 313199 ICT Support Technicians (nec)
These all have the age concession of under 55 years of age for both SESR 494 visa and ENS 186 visa.
The FNQ DAMA materials appear to suggest that these occupations would not require a skills assessment.
Queensland (TNQ) - DAMA Visa
The Townsville DAMA (TNQ DAMA) includes the following ICT occupations:
- 313112 ICT Customer Support Officer
- 135112 ICT Project Manager
- 135199 ICT Managers nec
- 313199 ICT Support Technicians nec
These all have a concession to under 55 years of age for SESR 494 visa and ENS 186 visa.
These occupations do not appear to require a skills assessment for SESR 494 visa or TSS 482 visa under the TNQ DAMA.
Western Australia Goldfields - DAMA Visa
The Goldfields DAMA includes the following IT occupations:
- 313112 ICT Customer Support Officer
- 313199 ICT Support Technicians nec
Unfortunately, these occupations do not have any age concession in the Goldfields DAMA.
Western Australia Pilbara - DAMA Visa
The Pilbara DAMA includes:
- 135112 ICT Project Manager
- 263212 ICT Support Engineer
Both occupations have an age concession to under 55 years of age for SESR 494 and ENS 186 visa programs.
Western Australia East Kimberley - DAMA Visa
The East Kimberley DAMA (EK DAMA) features only one IT occupation: 313199 ICT Support Technician (nec).
It appears a skills assessment would be required for the 494 visa under the EK DAMA, but not for the 482.
This has an age concession to under 55 for both 494 SESR and 186 ENS visas.
DAMAs Visa with no ICT occupations
The following DAMAs visa do not appear to include any ICT occupations:
- Orana DAMA (NSW) https://www.rdaorana.org.au/migration/dama/dama-occupations-list/
- Goulbourn Valley DAMA (Vic) https://www.gvdama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/DAMA-Occupations-List-2022.pdf
- Great South Coast DAMA (Vic) https://gscdama.warrnambool.vic.gov.au/approved-occupations
The above is another example of how the Designated Area Migration Agreements are customised to their local area. Where DAMAs visa do include ICT occupations, no two lists of IT occupations are the same. Further, the concessions for the IT occupations vary from DAMA visa to DAMA visa.
SA, NT and Qld have the longest lists of ICT occupations, while the many WA DAMAs have very short lists. The DAMAs visa in NSW and Victoria are the ones which do not include any IT occupations.
Watch the video to undestand further about the DAMA Visa options:
What is the DAMA Visa and Who needs the DAMA Visa?
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