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NSW
Orana
Central and north western New South Wales, including Dubbo, Mudgee and the surrounding shires. Administered by RDA Orana.
Occupation list and endorsementDesignated Area Migration Agreements · Regional labour agreements
DAMA: the regional pathway to occupations the standard programme will not take.
A Designated Area Migration Agreement is an agreement between the Australian Government and a state, territory or regional body that opens up more occupations than the standard skilled programme, with concessions negotiated for that region. If your business is in a designated area and the occupation you need is not on the Core Skills Occupation List, this is usually the pathway worth testing first.
What a DAMA is
What a Designated Area Migration Agreement gives a regional employer
A DAMA does not replace the sponsorship rules. It sits over them, widening the occupation list and relaxing specific criteria for employers in one defined region that can show a genuine local need.
A wider occupation list
Each head agreement covers a range of occupations negotiated for that region, including semi-skilled roles that the Core Skills Occupation List does not reach. This is the single biggest reason regional employers use a DAMA.
Concessions on the usual criteria
Depending on the region and the occupation, a DAMA can relax age, English language and salary requirements, and some agreements provide a pathway to permanent residence that the occupation would not otherwise have.
Australians first, in writing
A DAMA does not lower the obligation to hire locally. Every endorsement requires evidence of a genuine attempt to recruit Australian citizens and permanent residents first, and the Designated Area Representative tests that before it endorses your business.
The regions
The 13 Designated Area Migration Agreements
Each agreement covers a defined area and its own list of occupations, set in the head agreement and reviewed each year by the Designated Area Representative. Search by region, state or industry, then open that representative's current occupation list.
Showing all 13 agreements.
NT
Northern Territory
The whole of the Northern Territory, Darwin included. The longest running agreement and one of the broadest occupation lists.
Occupation list and endorsementQLD
Far North Queensland
Cairns and the Far North, taking in tourism, hospitality, agriculture, construction and marine industries.
Occupation list and endorsementQLD
Townsville
Townsville and North Queensland, covering health, construction, manufacturing, defence support and hospitality.
Occupation list and endorsementSA
Adelaide City Technology and Innovation Advancement
Metropolitan Adelaide, aimed at technology, defence, space and advanced industries.
Occupation list and endorsementSA
South Australia Regional
Regional South Australia outside metropolitan Adelaide, including agribusiness, aged care, tourism and food production.
Occupation list and endorsementVIC
Goulburn Valley
Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley, with a strong focus on food processing, agriculture, transport and aged care.
Occupation list and endorsementVIC
Great South Coast
South west Victoria including Warrnambool and the surrounding shires, covering dairy, meat processing, health and trades.
Occupation list and endorsementWA
East Kimberley
Kununurra, Wyndham and the East Kimberley, including agriculture, tourism, construction and community services.
Occupation list and endorsementWA
Pilbara
The Pilbara, including Port Hedland and Karratha, serving resources, construction, transport and support services.
Occupation list and endorsementWA
South West
The South West of Western Australia including Bunbury and the surrounding shires, covering trades, hospitality, agriculture and care work.
Occupation list and endorsementWA
The Goldfields
Kalgoorlie Boulder and the Goldfields, focused on mining, engineering, transport and the services that support them.
Occupation list and endorsementWA
Western Australia (state wide)
The state wide Western Australian agreement, sitting alongside the regional WA agreements and covering a broad occupation list.
Occupation list and endorsementNo agreement matches that search. Your region may still be covered by another agreement or by the standard subclass 482 programme. Send us an enquiry and we will check.
Each Designated Area Representative publishes and maintains its own occupation list, and reviews it at least annually, so the list on the representative's site is always the governing one. We do not reproduce those lists here, because a stale list is worse than no list. Tell us the occupation and the postcode and we will check the current list for that region with you, and tell you candidly if the standard subclass 482 or 494 programme would be simpler.
How access works
From endorsement to visa, step by step
Every matter runs under a written agreement that sets out the work and the fee before anything begins.
01
Test the fit
We check the business location against the designated area, the role against that region's occupation list and the salary against the applicable threshold, and tell you whether a DAMA is genuinely better than the standard programme.
02
Endorsement by the representative
Your business seeks endorsement from the Designated Area Representative, with evidence of the local labour market need and genuine attempts to recruit Australians. We prepare that submission.
03
Labour agreement request
Once endorsed, the business lodges a labour agreement request with the Department through ImmiAccount. We prepare the request and the supporting material and manage the Department's questions.
04
Nomination and visa
With the labour agreement in place, we prepare the nomination and the worker's subclass 482, 494 or 186 application, and advise on conditions and the pathway to permanent residence.
Eligibility
What a business needs to show
The Designated Area Representative endorses; the Department approves. Both look at the same underlying question, which is whether the need is genuine and local.
- A business that operates in the designated area, with the nominated position located there
- An occupation on that region's DAMA occupation list, at the skill level and under the terms the head agreement sets
- Evidence of a genuine attempt to recruit Australian citizens and permanent residents first, in the form the representative requires
- A genuine, full-time position and a lawfully operating business with a sound financial position
- Salary at or above the threshold that the agreement applies, and never below the annual market salary rate for the role
- Endorsement from the Designated Area Representative before the labour agreement request is lodged with the Department
- The usual sponsorship obligations once the agreement is in place, including record keeping, notifying changes and paying the Skilling Australians Fund levy
The law we apply
Section 140GB of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and Division 2.19 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) govern work agreements, of which a DAMA labour agreement is one.
A DAMA is a two-tier framework: a five-year head agreement between the Commonwealth and the Designated Area Representative, then individual labour agreements with employers under the terms of that head agreement. Concessions and occupation lists come from the head agreement, not from the Regulations.
Nominations and visas are made under the subclass 482, 494 and 186 labour agreement streams. Ministerial Direction No. 119 (commenced 25 July 2026) sets skilled visa processing priorities. Details are current as at 1 September 2026 and are confirmed with you at the time of advice.
Honest assessment
Where DAMA applications come unstuck
These are the issues that most often decide whether a DAMA is the right route. We raise them before any application is prepared.
The business is just outside the designated area
Boundaries are defined by shire, postcode or region, not by how regional a place feels. We check the address against the head agreement before anything is prepared.
Occupation is on the list but the duties are not
The occupation list is read with ANZSCO. A position that borrows duties from two occupations, or sits below the skill level the agreement sets, is refused at nomination even with an endorsement in hand.
Recruitment evidence gathered after the fact
Advertising assembled to satisfy the requirement, rather than a genuine attempt to fill the role locally, is visible to the representative and to the Department.
Expecting a permanent residence pathway that the agreement does not give
Not every DAMA occupation leads to permanent residence, and the concessions differ by region. We set that expectation with the worker at the start, not after arrival.
Common questions
DAMA questions
How do I find out whether my occupation is on a DAMA list?
Each Designated Area Representative publishes the current list for its region, and the links above go straight to them. The lists change, usually once a year, so the representative's site governs. Send us the occupation and the business postcode and we will check the current list with you.
Can a worker apply for a DAMA visa directly?
No. The agreement is with the employer. A business must be endorsed by the Designated Area Representative and hold an approved labour agreement before it can nominate anyone. Workers can register their interest with us and we introduce candidates to employers at no charge to either side.
Does a DAMA lead to permanent residence?
Sometimes. Some agreements provide a pathway to the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme, and the subclass 494 leads to the subclass 191 after three years in a regional area. Whether it applies depends on the region, the occupation and the terms of that head agreement, and we confirm it before you commit.
How long does it take to get a DAMA labour agreement?
It varies by region and by how complete the endorsement submission is. Expect the endorsement and the labour agreement request to take several months in total before any nomination can be lodged, so plan well ahead of when you need the worker.
Is a DAMA cheaper than the standard programme?
No. The Department charges, the Skilling Australians Fund levy and the sponsorship obligations are the same. A DAMA buys access to occupations and concessions, not a discount.
Related pathways
Next step
Tell us the occupation and the postcode
We will check the current occupation list for that region, tell you whether a DAMA or the standard programme is the better route, and set out what endorsement will require from your business before you spend anything.
07 3519 5619Office, Monday to Friday
info@migrationstar.com.auEmail us any time
Level 2, 8 Clunies Ross CourtEight Mile Plains QLD 4113, Brisbane
The information on this page is general in nature, current as at 1 September 2026, and does not take account of your individual circumstances. It is not immigration assistance or legal advice. DAMA regions, occupation lists, concessions and income thresholds change and are set by each head agreement; the terms that apply to your business are confirmed at the time of advice under a written agreement. No agent can guarantee a visa outcome. Migration Star, Registered Migration Agents, MARN 1797395.