What Is A DAMA?

DAMA refers to the Designated Area Migration Agreement(s). These agreements (DAMAs) are negotiated by certain regional areas with the Department of Home Affairs to allow businesses in their area to have a special employer-sponsored visa arrangement.

The DAMA is a labour agreement for a designated area that can provide access to a larger amount of occupations and may have LOWER requirements. The DAMA labour agreement allows employers to be approved to sponsor migrant workers through the TSS Visa 482 and the 186 visa streams. Skilled and semi-skilled workers in occupations which are not on the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) and Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) may be able to access skilled Australian migration through the DAMA program.

Requirements under DAMAs are always highly customized, as that is their purpose. Usually, concessions vary depending on the occupation a worker will be sponsored under.

Once a business is approved to be a sponsor under the DAMA, the business will be opened up to a wider range of potential skilled occupations to sponsor.

Background on DAMA

The first DAMA was the NT DAMA I, running for 4 years from 2015 to 2019. The NT DAMA II came into effect 1 Jan 2019, being a full 5 year agreement (note: NT had 2 DAMAs under their belt before any other states got one).

Next came the SA DAMA program in mid 2019. Technically, this consists of two separate agreements with different objectives (1) The Adelaide City Technology and Innovation Advancement Agreement and (2) South Australian Regional Workforce Agreement. Both are administered by the same Designated Area Representative: SA’s Skilled + Business Migration.

Then came the Goldfields DAMA for the Kalgoorlie-Boulder and nearby areas, referred to as the Goldfields DAMA region, opening July 2019.

Warrnambool soon followed suit with the Great South Coast DAMA (GSC DAMA) on 11 June 2019.

The Orana region in New South Wales was close behind Great South Coast.

Far North Queensland followed a few months later, with the Far North Queensland DAMA.

After a large amount of activity in 2019, DAMAs quietened down in the beginning of the pandemic as focus was understandably elsewhere, though there were some minor changes to various DAMAs in 2020/2021.

There are more changes post-covid disaster in 2022 that are outlined below.

Who Needs The DAMA?

While the DAMA is focused on the needs of regional business, applicants that would be interested in the DAMA include; semi-skilled, skilled, and other workers looking to live and work in regional areas in Australia. 

Essentially, the DAMA is for Australian business, in regional areas, who are unable to fill positions within their company using an Australian worker. If accepted through a skilled migration stream and the DAMA, the skilled migrant may be given priority processing to receive a temporary entry or permanent residency.

Note: DAMAs are an employer-sponsored visa program and individual workers cannot apply for a visa independently.

Why Choose The DAMA?

A DAMA provides sponsorship opportunities for occupations not covered by any other visa product and may offer concessions on a range of selection requirements, meaning that is more flexible in accommodating the needs of employers. Concessions vary between each DAMA and on an occupation by occupation basis, but can relate to English language, minimum income threshold and age.

General DAMA Requirements

The DAMA program uses the “labour agreement” stream of the Temporary Skills Shortage (“TSS”) subclass 482 Visa and the Employer Nomination Scheme (“ENS”) subclass 186 visa. Thus, the DAMA does not necessarily have its own requirements. The “DAMA requirements” are subject to the requirements of the stream the skilled migrant is applying through.

The Designated area has requirements for endorsement of a labour agreement which must be met. In fact, the criteria for the DAMA is based around lowering the requirements for the 482 visa and 186 visa.

DAMA Regions in Australia 2022

The number of locations covered by a DAMA is growing. The locations that have commenced a DAMA or will be soon are listed below:

Northern Territory

Northern Territory DAMA covering the whole territory.

See the list of available occupations below

The Concessions available include:

• Broader occupation lists compared to the TSS short-term and medium-term lists.
• English requirement concessions (IELTS overall 5 with a minimum of 5.6 in speaking and listening only, NO minimum requirement for writing and reading)
• Skills concessions for certain occupations
• Employment conditions are better aligned with local conditions – more flexibility in employment contracts compared to the rigid requirements for short-term and medium-term stream TSS.

 More updates for NT DAMA in 2022 below !

South Australia

Adelaide Innovation and Technology Agreement covering metropolitan Adelaide only.

See the list of occupations below

South Australian Regional Workforce Agreement covering the entire state, but some occupations are limited to regional areas only.

See the list of occupations below

The concessions available include:

• Broader occupation lists compared to the TSS short-term and medium-term lists.
• English requirement concessions for certain occupations (IELTS overall 4.5 with a minimum of 4 in each component)
• Skills and experience concessions for certain occupations
• A 10% reduction in the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) for certain occupations
• Age concessions to facilitate a pathway the permanent residency

Western Australia

Goldfields DAMA covering the the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, it has just been added on to Western Australia with the other two in East Kimberley and South West

The concessions available include:

• Broader occupation lists compared to the TSS short-term and medium-term lists.
• English requirement concessions for certain occupations
• A 10% reduction in the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) for certain occupations

 See the list of occupations HERE

Victoria

Great South Coast DAMA covering the Local Government areas of Glenelg Shire, Southern Grampians Shire, Moyne Shire, Corangamite Shire, Colac-Otway Shire and Warrnambool City Council.

The concessions available include:

• Broader occupation lists compared to the TSS short-term and medium-term lists.
• English requirement concessions for certain occupations (IELTS overall 5.0 with a minimum of 4 in each component
• A 10% reduction in the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) for certain occupations

See the list of occupations HERE

Queensland

Far North Queensland DAMA covering the Cairns region (eligible postcodes are 4852, 4854-4856, 4858-61, 4865, 4868-4873, 4877-4883 and 4885-4886).

The concessions available include:

• Broader occupation lists compared to the TSS short-term and medium-term lists.
• English requirement concessions for certain occupations (IELTS overall 5.0 with a minimum of 4 in each component)
• Skills and experience concessions for certain occupations
• A 10% reduction in the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) for certain occupations

 See the list of occupations HERE

New South Wales

Orana DAMA (yet to commence) covering 12 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and stretches from Mudgee in the centre of NSW up to the Queensland border past Bourke and Lightning Ridge and west to Cobar.

The concessions and eligible occupations are yet to be published.

Recent Changes and More DAMA opening in Australia

In early 2022, as Australia moves forward with reopening to the world, focus has returned to the DAMA programs.

In Feb 2022, the SA DAMAs underwent changes including:

• New occupations
• English language, age and work experience changes
• PR pathway for highly skilled applicants

In March 2022, the Northern Territory announced changes to their NT DAMA MK II. These changes make the concessions bigger, enabling more people to access the program:

• Adding 24 new occupations
• Increase age threshold
• Lower English for trade occupations
• Adding 494 visa into the program

On 31 March 2022, there have been updates announced to the FNQ DAMA. This has included:

• Swapping unused or less used occupations for new occupations that are in need
• Increase age concession for all occupations
• More English language concessions
• Permanent residency pathway added for all occupations
• Expansion of the FNQ DAMA area to include Northern Peninsula Area

Also on 31 March 2022, the new East Kimberly DAMA launched (available from 1 April 2022) meaning Western Australia now has two distinct Designated Area Migration Agreements. The East Kimberley DAMA features:

• More than 100 occupations
• PR pathways
• Salary concessions
• English concessions
• Age concessions up to 55 for almost all occupations

The timing of this is clearly extremely close together.

It appears there is pressure from businesses in the designated areas for the Designated Area Representatives to continue negotiating with the Department of Home Affairs (even after the DAMA is established) to make sure the DAMA program is working properly for the business community.

It may also indicate competition for certain skilled overseas labour between the different designated areas. As there is a limited pool of skilled overseas workers who need age, English or work experience concessions for a future in Australia, the area that can offer these concessions will win that labour.

On 9 May 2022, the Pilbara DAMA will open. This includes:

• 66 occupations (less than a lot of other DAMAs)
• Salary concessions
• PR pathways
• Age concessions (under 55 for a lot of occupations)
• English concessions

This is the culmination of a long campaign, however, starting in December 2020.

On 1 July 2022, applications will open for the upcoming Townsville DAMA that will feature:

• 195 occupations, focusing on:
  • Health care and social assistances
  • Transport
  • Professional, technical and scientific services, and
  • Manufacturing
• Permanent residency pathway

It is not yet clear, but likely that there will also be age, English and experience concessions in-line with other DAMAs.

The DAMA Application Process

Applying for a visa under the DAMA program is typically a 4-step process, but it can vary for each jurisdiction.

The below is tailored to the NT program, however, similar steps are likely to apply once another designated area is open for applications.

1. The sponsoring business applies to the designated area body (such as the Northern Territory Department of Trade, Business, and Innovation “DBTI”) for endorsement of your business’ labour agreement
2. The sponsoring business applies to the Department of Home Affairs for a labour agreement
3. The sponsoring business applies to the Department of Home Affairs for the nomination of an individual worker under the labour agreement
4. The worker applies for a TSS 482 visa under the labour agreement stream

Occupation Lists

Northern Territory DAMA Occupation List

The table below outlines the occupation list released for the NT DAMA .

Review the list to see if your occupation is eligible for English and/or TSMIT concessions.

*Notes:

• For TSMIT concessions, all workers within the DAMA must still be paid the same or more as an Australian that would be doing the same occupation.
• Some occupations are not ANZSCO occupations and have their own duty list, developed by the NT Government.

South Australia DAMA Occupation List

The SA DAMA comes under two agreements which list eligible occupations and concessions available:

• Adelaide Innovation and Technology Agreement: includes 60 occupations that are restricted to employers in the Adelaide Metropolitan region. The only concession that applies to these occupations is that they all have a pathway to permanent residency, and includes an age concession.

• South Australian Regional Workforce Agreement: includes 78 occupations eligible to employers in the whole of South Australia and 36 occupations eligible for employers only in the postcode range 5110 to 5734 (non-metropolitan SA). The agreement includes a range of occupation-specific concessions concerning:
  • Skills and experience
  • TSMIT
  • English
  • Age
  • Permanent pathway

Review the lists to see if your occupation is eligible and what concessions apply.

Notes: *Some occupations are not ANZSCO occupations and have developed by the SA Government.

Adelaide Innovation and Technology Agreement (Adelaide Metropolitan region only)

South Australian Regional Workforce Agreement (All of SA)

South Australian Regional Workforce Agreement (Postcode range 5110 to 5734)

Goldfields (Western Austrlia) DAMA Occupation List

The Goldfields DAMA includes 72 occupations and covers the areas of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Coolgardie (Kambalda), Leonora and Menzies in Western Australia.

Information of concessions (if any) is yet to be published.

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

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