Designated area migration agreements (DAMA)
A DAMA is an overarching agreement recording the agreed number of overseas workers and the terms of engagement within a designated regional area. They are intended to help support economic performance in regional areas of Australia by providing flexibility for state and territory regions to respond to their unique economic and labour market conditions through an agreement-based framework under which employers in areas experiencing skills and labour shortages may seek to sponsor skilled and semi-skilled overseas workers. DAMAs are administered by the Australian Government and are managed by Designated Area Representatives which are usually local, state or territory governments.
Requests for a new DAMA Head Agreement
This information is intended for state or territory governments or statutory authorities (planning commissions); regional authorities (for example, regional or local councils) who are considering requesting a DAMA to cover their local area.
A request for a DAMA must contain, as a minimum, the following:
a letter of endorsement from the relevant state/territory government;
a Designated Area Representative (DAR) endorsed by the state/territory government who can manage the request to establish an agreement;
a business case if any additional concessions are being requested (for example, English, skills, salary) to the minimum requirements outlined for a company specific labour agreement at Part 3 of this guide;
an explanation of how the DAR proposes to support employers and facilitate the integration of overseas workers in their local communities (for example, provision of information on workplace rights and sponsorship obligations;
basic services in the local area such as health; emergency and educational services; community activities such as sporting groups and religious services);
supporting documentation, which may include:
o Profit and loss statements;
o Other financial statements;
o Other relevant supporting information.
Before lodging a request for a new DAMA, the DAR and/or the relevant state or territory government should consult with:
key union, local/state government and business stakeholders;
other agencies or community groups that may be impacted by the proposed agreement;
the relevant state work safety authority where additional English language concessions are sought (see below).
Requests for individual business agreements under an existing DAMA
Businesses located in a regional areas that are covered under an existing DAMA may seek to enter into a labour agreement for their business to access the occupations and associated concessions under the DAMA agreement.
Before lodging an online labour agreement request form in ImmiAccount, the business must first be endorsed by the relevant Designated Area Representative (DAR) for the DAMA. A list of current DAMAs and associate DARs are available on the Department’s website: Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)