Designated area migration agreements
Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) provides flexibility for states, territories or regions to respond to their unique economic and labour market conditions through an agreement-based framework.
Under the DAMA framework, employers in designated areas experiencing skills and labour shortages can sponsor skilled and semi-skilled overseas workers.
DAMAs are designed to ensure employers take on Australians citizens and permanent residents as a first priority and prioritise initiatives and strategies to facilitate the recruitment and retention of such workers.
Note: The DAMA is an employer-sponsored visa program and individual workers cannot apply for a visa independently.
The Western Australian Government has successfully negotiated the establishment of a Western Australian Designated Area Migration Agreement (WA DAMA) with the Commonwealth Government. This is in response to the strong demand that still exists from employers to fill jobs in key areas of demand in Western Australia.
The WA DAMA is the fifth DAMA for WA, complementing the existing Goldfields, Kimberley, Pilbara and South West DAMAs.
Employers apply for endorsement to access the WA DAMA through the Department of Training and Workforce Development.
Australia DAMA Map
There are currently 13 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:
- Adelaide City Technology and Innovation Advancement, SA: Skilled & Business Migration
- 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
- Northern Territory, NT: Northern Territory Designated Area Migration Agreement
- Orana, NSW: Regional Development Australia – Orana, NSW
- Pilbara, WA: RDA Pilbara
- South Australia Regional, SA: Skilled & Business Migration
- South West, WA: Shire of Dardanup
- The Goldfields, WA: City of Kalgoorlie Boulder (extended to 31 December 2026)
- Townsville, QLD: Townsville Enterprise Limited
- Western Australia (statewide), WA: Department of Training and Workforce Development
South West WA DAMA
This DAMA will assist in filling the large number of vacancies in Dardanup and South West Western Australia.
The Shire of Dardanup will administer the process for accessing the South West DAMA which will be open to businesses operating in any of the 12 local governments areas covered by the agreement – City of Busselton, City of Bunbury, Shire of Capel, Shire of Collie, Shire of Augusta/Margaret River, Shire of Boyup Brook, Shire of Bridgetown/Greenbushes, Shire of Dardanup, Shire of Donnybrook/Balingup, Shire of Harvey, Shire of Manjimup and the Shire of Nannup.
Local businesses can apply individually to access the DAMA from 2022.
Goulburn Valley Victoria DAMA
The Goulburn Valley region, bordered on the south by the Great Dividing Range and to the north by the Murray River, is a significant agricultural region but also includes important retail, manufacturing and tourism industries.
The Greater Shepparton City Council will administer the process for accessing the Goulburn Valley DAMA which will be open to businesses operating in any of the Greater Shepparton, Moira and Campaspe local government areas.
Local businesses can apply individually to access the DAMA from 2022.
Employer sponsored visa guides
- Skills in Demand 482 visa
- 482 Core Skills stream
- 482 Specialist Skills stream
- 482 visa fees
- 482 visa path to PR
- Employer Nomination Scheme (186 visa)
- Regional employer sponsored (494 visa)
- Becoming a standard business sponsor
- Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy
- Labour agreements
- Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)
- Employer sponsorship assessment
How to access a DAMA
- Check that your business is located in a DAMA region and that the occupation you need is on that DAMA’s occupation list
- Show that you have genuinely tried to recruit Australian citizens and permanent residents first, usually through labour market testing
- Apply to the Designated Area Representative (DAR) for the region for endorsement
- Once endorsed, lodge a labour agreement request in ImmiAccount
- When the labour agreement is signed, nominate workers for the Skills in Demand (482), 494 or 186 visa
A DAMA will usually not be endorsed where an industry labour agreement already covers your industry. DAMA head agreements generally run for five years.
What concessions can a DAMA offer?
Concessions vary by region and occupation, and can include:
- access to skilled and semi-skilled occupations that are not on the standard occupation lists
- English language concessions
- age concessions for permanent residency
- salary concessions below the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT)
- a pathway to permanent residency through the 186 visa
Contact us to check which concessions apply in your region.
DAMA fees
There are no charges for:
- endorsement by the Designated Area Representative (in most regions)
- requesting the labour agreement from the Australian Government
- skills verification for selected occupations (Northern Territory)
Fees that apply, which change over time:
- Nomination application: $330
- Skills in Demand (482) visa application: $4,015 for the primary applicant, $4,015 for each dependant aged 18 or over and $1,005 for each child under 18
- the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy
See our employer sponsored visa costs page for current fees, including the 494 and 186 visas.
Book a meeting today for a commitment free briefing with our Registered Migration Agents in Melbourne to find more about your visa options.
