How DAMA Works: Head Agreements, Employer Labour Agreements & Concessions

A Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) is a formal arrangement between the Australian Government and a regional/state authority called the Designated Area Representative (DAR). It enables approved regional employers to sponsor overseas workers on flexible terms where local recruitment is not sufficient. DAMA pathways use the labour-agreement stream of the 482, 494 and 186 visa programs, with options that can lead to permanent residence.

Two-Tier Structure

• Head agreement (usually 5 years): Signed between Home Affairs and the region’s DAR. It sets the occupations available, annual ceilings/caps, and which concessions the region is allowed to offer.
• Employer labour agreement: An individual employer (after obtaining DAR endorsement) requests a labour agreement through ImmiAccount under the head-agreement settings. Once approved, the employer can nominate positions and sponsor workers.

Concessions Available (vary by region and occupation)

DAMA can permit targeted variations to standard visa settings. Common examples include:

• Salary/TSMIT concessions: Some DAMAs allow reduced thresholds against the national Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold. TSMIT is AUD 76,515 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.
• English-language concessions: Lower minimum English scores than standard program settings where specified.
• Age concessions: In some DAMAs, higher age limits (often up to 55) for eligible permanent residence pathways (e.g., ENS 186 under the labour-agreement stream).
• Skills/experience concessions: Adjusted years of experience or skill level requirements for certain listed occupations.

Local Recruitment Still Applies

Labour Market Testing (LMT) generally remains required unless a legal or agreement-specific exemption applies. Employers should keep clear evidence of genuine local advertising and recruitment efforts.

Visa Pathways Under DAMA 

DAMA uses the labour-agreement stream of Australia’s employer-sponsored visas. Employers first secure a DAMA labour agreement (after DAR endorsement), then nominate roles and support visa applications under one of the pathways below.

Subclass 482 — Skills in Demand (Labour Agreement Stream)

Temporary employer-sponsored visa used to fill verified regional skill shortages under DAMA settings.

Purpose: Bring in skilled workers where local recruitment isn’t sufficient.

Key features: Access to DAMA-approved concessions (e.g., salary/TSMIT, English, age, skills/experience) where specified in the head agreement.

Family: Eligible partners and dependent children can be included or apply later as subsequent entrants.

Subclass 494 — Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)

Provisional regional pathway tied to a DAMA labour agreement.

Purpose: Long-term regional placements with a view to settlement.

PR pathway: May transition to Subclass 191 (Permanent Residence) after meeting the program’s residence and taxable-income requirements.

Family: Eligible dependants can accompany the main applicant or join later.

Subclass 186 — Employer Nomination Scheme (Labour Agreement Stream)

Permanent residence via employer nomination under a DAMA labour agreement.

Purpose: Ongoing roles that meet permanent program settings negotiated in the head agreement.

Concessions: In some DAMAs, age and other concessions may apply as explicitly allowed.

Current DAMA Regions & Latest Updates

Region (State)	Designated Area Representative (DAR)	Latest Updates
Northern Territory (NT)	NT Government	Renewed to 30 Jun 2030; program capacity up to 1,500 nominations/year
Adelaide City Tech & Innovation (SA)	SA Skilled & Business Migration	Extended to 30 Jun 2026
South Australia Regional (SA)	SA Skilled & Business Migration	Extended to 30 Jun 2026
Orana (NSW)	Regional Development Australia – Orana	—
Far North Queensland (QLD)	Cairns Chamber of Commerce	—
Townsville North Queensland (QLD)	Townsville Enterprise	Occupation list updated (additional occupations)
Goulburn Valley (VIC)	Greater Shepparton City Council	—
Great South Coast (VIC)	Warrnambool City Council	—
Kimberley (WA)	East Kimberley Chamber of Commerce & Industry	—
Pilbara (WA)	Regional Development Australia – Pilbara	—
Goldfields (WA)	City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder	—
South West (WA)	Shire of Dardanup	—
Western Australia (Statewide)	Migration WA (Dept. of Training & Workforce Development)	—

 

DAMA Application Process

Step 1 — DAR Endorsement
Get endorsement from your region’s Designated Area Representative (DAR).

Step 2 — Request a Labour Agreement
Using the endorsement letter, submit a DAMA labour-agreement request to Home Affairs (via ImmiAccount).

Step 3 — Lodge Nomination(s)
After the labour agreement is approved, lodge a nomination for each position (meeting AMSR/TSMIT and LMT where required).

Step 4 — Lodge the Visa Application
Worker (and eligible family) applies in the labour-agreement stream of the relevant visa: 482, 494, or 186.

Step 5 — PR Pathway (if eligible)

ENS 186 (Labour Agreement stream) for direct PR where allowed by the DAMA, or

494 → 191 Permanent Residence after meeting residence and taxable-income requirements.

Including Dependants on DAMA-Sponsored Visas 

Under a Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA), employers sponsor workers through the labour-agreement stream of visas such as 482, 494, and 186. Eligible family members can be included in the main application or added later as subsequent entrants.

Who you can include

• Partner: married or de facto.
• Dependent children: generally
• Under 18: automatically dependent, or
• 18–23: must be financially dependent on the main applicant, or
• 23+: only if dependent due to a disability.

Note: All family members must meet health and character requirements.

When and how family can join

At lodgement: include partner/children in the main visa application.

After grant (subsequent entrant): eligible family can apply later to join the primary holder on the same subclass (e.g., 482 or 494), providing relationship and dependency evidence.

Visa conditions, duration & rights

Duration: Family members are generally granted the same visa period as the primary holder.

Conditions: Family are subject to the same subclass conditions (for example, on the 494 they must live, work and study only in designated regional areas).

Work & study rights:

482 secondary applicants: generally may work and study in Australia.

494 secondary applicants: may work and study, but must comply with regional-area conditions.

186 (permanent): included family receive permanent residence if the visa is granted.

Evidence typically required

Relationship: marriage certificate or de facto evidence (shared bills/lease, joint finances, cohabitation).

Children’s dependency: birth certificates; for ages 18–23, proof of ongoing financial dependence; for 23+, medical evidence of disability-based dependency.

Health & character: health examinations and police clearances as directed.

Identity: valid passports and photos.

 

Understanding the DAMA gives you more insight into how the governments of specific regions including states, territories, and regional bodies in Australia find more human resources to fill the labor market requirements.

DAMA is a formal agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and a DAR. It allows the DAR to access more overseas workers from a broader range of occupational areas than is available via standard skilled visa programs. The DAR could be the government of a state or territory or a regional body.

The access to more foreign workers is facilitated by allowing a variation to standard jobs and skillsets listed and/or concessions that are negotiable, to visa requirements. The request for a DAMA is accepted subjectively after considering the particular needs of a geographical region. The negotiations on concessions and terms of a DAMA is made with the Commonwealth of Australia.

For the development and implementation of DAMAs, broad stakeholder engagement and consultations are encouraged. However, the governments of a state or territory of Australia needn’t formally endorse the DAMA unless that region is the DAR.

DAMA is very similar to LMIA in Canada. In order for a DAMA to be approved, the DAR must make a demonstrated effort to employ Australians first. The cap on the number of annually employed overseas workers along with the local support made available to migrant workers must be made clear. Management and monitoring of the activities under the DAMA must be in place.

After the DAMA is made, the DAR assesses local employers. Employers who are endorsed can submit applications to enter into individual labor agreements subject to the conditions agreed on. It’s these labor agreements that let the employers access semi-skilled and skilled candidates to work in Australia. For this, the Permanent Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) and the Temporary Skill Shortage visa (Subclass 482) can be used.

The currently active DAMAs are:

• The Orana region DAMA
  • 73 occupations available
  • Skills, salary, English, work experience, and permanent pathway concessions available
• The Northern Territory DAMA II
  • 117 occupations available
  • Salary and English proficiency concessions for certain occupations
• The Far North Queensland DAMA
  • 70 occupations available
  • Skills, salary, experience, permanent pathway, and English concessions for certain occupations
• The Adelaide City Technology & Innovation Advancement DAMA (Metro)
  • 63 occupations available
  • Age, English, permanent residency pathway, and salary, concessions
• The South Australian Regional Workforce DAMA (Regional)
  • 137 occupations available
  • Age, English, permanent residency pathway, and salary concessions
• The Victoria’s Great South Coast DAMA
  • 27 occupations available
  • Skills, English, experience, permanent pathway, and salary concessions for certain occupations
• The Goldfields DAMA
  • 72 occupations available
  • Salary, permanent pathway, and English concessions for certain occupations

Steps in the DAMA application process

1. The employer (the sponsoring business) applies for endorsement to the relevant DAR.
2. The DAR assesses the application for endorsement.
3. A positive assessment by the DAR results in the issue of a letter of endorsement to the employer. The Department is notified.
4. The sponsoring business applies to enter into an individual DAMA labor agreement with the Department.
5. The Department does an assessment of the application for DAMA.
6. On getting a positive result from the Department, the employer can move on to lodge a nomination for the employee. The employee can also submit an application for Australia work permit with the Department under the labor agreement stream.

Thus, Australia manages the labor requirements for its states and regions when more is needed to achieve desired labor market results.

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Note:

DAMA - Designated Area Migration Agreements

DAR – Designated Area Representative