If you run a business in Cairns, Townsville or the surrounding regions and cannot find the skilled staff you need locally, a Designated Area Migration Agreement, or DAMA, may open sponsorship options that the standard skilled migration program does not. DAMA Queensland covers two regional agreements in Far North Queensland and Townsville, each negotiated directly with the Australian Government. This guide explains what a DAMA actually is, how the Queensland agreements work, and how they fit alongside the subclass 482, 494 and 186 programs your business may already be using.
A Designated Area Migration Agreement is, in the Department of Home Affairs' own words, "a formal agreement between the Australian Government and a state or territory government or regional authority". It is not a separate visa. Instead, it is a negotiated framework that can give employers in a specific region access to more occupations, and in some cases different requirements, than the standard skilled migration program offers.
DAMAs work through the same three employer-sponsored visa programs used across the rest of Australia: the Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa, the Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa, and the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa. A DAMA does not create a fourth visa subclass. It changes what an eligible employer can nominate for under these existing programs, within the terms set out in that region's specific agreement.
This is an important distinction for Brisbane and regional Queensland employers weighing up their options. A DAMA is a pathway into 482, 494 or 186 sponsorship on negotiated terms, not an alternative to them. Any advice about a DAMA needs to be read alongside the standard requirements for whichever of those three visas the nomination will ultimately use.
Queensland currently has two DAMAs in place, each covering a different region and negotiated through its own Designated Area Representative, or DAR, the body responsible for endorsing employer access before a labour agreement request is lodged.
Far North Queensland DAMA: the Designated Area Representative is the Cairns Chamber of Commerce, covering employers operating in the Far North Queensland region.
Each agreement sets its own combination of eligible occupations and concessions for that region, agreed between the DAR and the Australian Government. This is why the Far North Queensland DAMA occupations list and the Townsville DAMA occupations list are not identical, and why an employer outside either designated area, including in Brisbane itself, generally cannot access either agreement.
Because the two agreements are negotiated separately and can be updated over time, the current occupation list and terms for each region should always be confirmed directly with the relevant DAR before an employer builds a recruitment plan around a particular role.
Accessing a DAMA is not a single application. The Department of Home Affairs sets out a sequence that starts well before any nomination is lodged.
Step one, DAR endorsement: the employer approaches the relevant Designated Area Representative, either the Cairns Chamber of Commerce or Townsville Enterprise Limited, and seeks endorsement to access the DAMA for a specific occupation and worker.
Step two, labour agreement request: once endorsed, the employer lodges a labour agreement request online through ImmiAccount, along with the supporting documentation the Department requires.
Step three, nomination and visa: with an approved labour agreement in place, the employer lodges a nomination, and the worker lodges a visa application under the relevant subclass 482, 494 or 186 program.
Each step depends on the one before it. An employer cannot lodge a nomination under a DAMA without an approved labour agreement, and cannot get a labour agreement without DAR endorsement first. Building in time for this sequence, rather than assuming a DAMA nomination can be lodged as quickly as a standard one, is one of the most common planning gaps Migration Star sees.
A DAMA can expand the occupation list available to an eligible employer beyond the standard skilled occupation lists that apply to 482, 494 and 186 sponsorship outside a designated area. Depending on the specific agreement, a DAMA may also allow negotiated concessions on requirements such as age, salary benchmarking or English language, where the agreement provides for them.
What a DAMA cannot do is bypass the visa subclass's core structure. A Townsville DAMA 482 concession still results in a Subclass 482 visa, subject to the health, character, skills and other requirements that apply to that subclass generally. A DAMA changes some of the settings within the visa program; it does not replace the program or guarantee a grant.
Because the specific concessions attached to each Queensland DAMA are set out in that agreement's own published terms and can change, Migration Star does not quote specific occupation lists, salary figures or concession percentages in this article. Employers should confirm the current terms directly with the Cairns Chamber of Commerce or Townsville Enterprise Limited, or with a registered migration agent, before relying on any concession.
Ministerial Direction 119 sets the order in which the Department processes nomination and visa applications for several employer-sponsored programs, including Subclass 186, Subclass 482 and Subclass 494. Because DAMA sponsorship is delivered through these same three subclasses rather than a separate visa, DAMA-sponsored nominations and visas are processed within the same Direction 119 framework that applies to 186, 482 and 494 applications generally, on the same occupation and location factors.
Direction 119 does not carve out a separate queue for DAMA nominations, and it does not name DAMA specifically. In practice, this means a Far North Queensland or Townsville DAMA nomination is not processed any faster or slower than a standard nomination under the same subclass, purely because it was made under a DAMA. The Direction's priority factors apply to the visa subclass, not to the sponsorship pathway used to reach it.
For many Queensland employers, a DAMA is most useful when the role your business needs to fill sits outside the standard skilled occupation lists that apply to 482, 494 or 186 sponsorship, but is included on the Far North Queensland or Townsville DAMA occupations list for your region. In that situation, a DAMA can open a sponsorship pathway that would not otherwise be available.
A DAMA is generally less relevant where the occupation is already on the standard skilled occupation list, and no additional concession is needed. In that case, a standard 482, 494 or 186 nomination, without the extra DAR endorsement step, is usually the more direct route.
Given that Queensland's own state nomination program has not opened for the current program year, some regional employers and skilled workers are looking at employer sponsorship, including DAMA sponsorship, as the more immediately available pathway. Whether that is the right approach depends on the specific occupation, region and business circumstances, and is worth discussing with a registered migration agent before committing to a recruitment plan.
Working out whether a role, a worker and a region line up with a Far North Queensland or Townsville DAMA, and then sequencing DAR endorsement, the labour agreement request and the nomination correctly, takes careful reading of each agreement's current terms. Migration Star's principal agent, Rohit Sharma, is a registered migration agent, MARA No. 1797395, and works with Queensland employers on 482, 494 and 186 sponsorship, including DAMA pathways where they may apply. If your business is considering regional sponsorship, get your free assessment done or book a 30-minute Migration Consultation to talk through your options before you approach a Designated Area Representative.
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Learn more about our services, meet our team, or reach out to us with questions about your regional sponsorship options. You may also find our related articles on Subclass 482 Processing Priority under Ministerial Direction 119 and 482 Nominations 2026-27: New CSIT and Base Charge useful.
Information current as at 18/09/2026. Migration Star is a registered migration practice. Principal agent Rohit Sharma, MARA No. 1797395. Migration outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Visa criteria may change. This article is general information only and does not constitute migration advice. For advice on your specific situation, book a consultation at migrationstar.com.au.
Migration Star | MARA No. 1797395 | migrationstar.com.au | 07 3519 5619