A DAMA visa is a work visa for regional Australia granted under a Designated Area Migration Agreement, a deal between the federal government and a regional, state, or territory authority that lets local employers sponsor overseas workers on relaxed terms. It is not a single visa subclass. A DAMA can be delivered through the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494), or the Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) for permanent residency.1Department of Home Affairs. Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA) Each agreement carries its own concessions on salary thresholds, English language scores, age limits, and eligible occupations. You cannot apply on your own; a regional employer with an endorsement and an active labour agreement has to sponsor you.
How the DAMA Structure Works
Standard skilled visa programs draw from national occupation lists and apply the same rules everywhere. That suits metropolitan employers hiring accountants and software engineers. It does far less for a meatworks in regional Victoria or a mining services company in outback Western Australia that cannot find local workers and cannot meet the salary or English benchmarks set for city labour markets. A DAMA fills that gap by letting a regional authority negotiate custom terms.
The arrangement has two tiers. At the top is the overarching DAMA deed between the federal government and a Designated Area Representative (DAR), the regional body that manages the agreement. Beneath that, individual employers within the region enter into their own labour agreements with the Department of Home Affairs, working inside the boundaries the deed sets. The DAR endorses each employer before Home Affairs will consider their labour agreement, functioning as a gatekeeper that ensures only genuine local businesses with real shortages get access.1Department of Home Affairs. Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)
Where DAMAs Operate
There are 13 active DAMAs across five states and the Northern Territory:1Department of Home Affairs. Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)
- Northern Territory: entire territory.
- Western Australia: the Goldfields, South West, East Kimberley, Pilbara, and a statewide WA DAMA.
- South Australia: Adelaide City Technology and Innovation Advancement, and South Australia Regional.
- Victoria: Great South Coast and Goulburn Valley.
- Queensland: Far North Queensland and Townsville.
- New South Wales: Orana.
Each region’s occupation list reflects its own economy. The Northern Territory DAMA covers a wide range of roles at every skill level because shortages run across nearly every industry. The Goldfields DAMA leans more heavily toward mining and related trades. To participate, the sponsoring business must be physically operating within the defined boundaries of a DAMA region.
What Concessions You Get Under a DAMA
The main reason workers and employers use a DAMA is access to concessions the standard skilled program does not offer. Most skilled visas limit sponsorship to ANZSCO skill levels 1 to 3. DAMAs can extend down to skill levels 4 and 5, opening the door to aged care workers, agricultural machinery operators, accounts clerks, and similar roles.2Northern Territory Government. NT DAMA Occupations List Each region publishes and annually updates its own list.
Salary
For nominations lodged between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, the standard Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) is AUD 76,515.3Department of Home Affairs. Salary Requirements to Nominate a Worker Under a DAMA, employers may be permitted to offer 90% of TSMIT for certain roles, bringing the minimum salary down to about AUD 68,864. TSMIT rises to AUD 79,499 from 1 July 2026, and the 10% concession applies to that higher figure going forward. The nominated salary still has to meet or exceed the annual market rate for the occupation in the region, whichever is higher.
English
Standard skilled visas generally require an overall IELTS score of 6.0 or equivalent. Under a DAMA, eligible occupations may qualify for an overall IELTS score of 5.0, with minimum component scores of 4.0 or 4.5 depending on the agreement and the visa subclass.4RDA Orana. Concessions Roles tied to professional registration or licensing may still need higher English scores regardless of the concession.
Age
Subclass 482, 494, and 186 visas normally require applicants to be under 45. Under a DAMA, occupations at skill levels 1 to 4 can carry an age limit of under 55, and skill level 5 occupations can go up to under 50.5Department of Trade, Business and Asian Relations. Concessions Available These vary by region, so not every DAMA offers the same age flexibility for every occupation.
Who Qualifies as an Applicant
You need a job offer from a business inside a DAMA region for a role that appears on that region’s occupation list. Beyond that, you need to meet skills, health, and character requirements.
Skills and Experience
Most applicants need a skills assessment from an authorised body. VETASSESS handles a wide range of skilled and semi-skilled occupations under various DAMAs; Trades Recognition Australia handles trade-based assessments.6VETASSESS. Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA) Required work experience depends on the occupation and the specific DAMA. Higher-skilled roles commonly require at least two years of relevant experience, though some agreements reduce this for occupations in acute shortage.
Health
Provisional and permanent visa applicants aged 15 and over typically undergo a medical examination, chest x-ray, and HIV test. Applicants from countries with higher tuberculosis or hepatitis B risk may face additional screening.7Department of Home Affairs. What Health Examinations You Need
Character
Home Affairs may ask for police certificates from every country where you lived for 12 months or more in the past 10 years, provided you were over 17 at the time. Certificates must cover the period from when you turned 16 up to the issue date and are valid for 12 months.8Department of Home Affairs. Character Requirements for Visas
You will also need a valid passport, evidence of adequate health insurance for temporary visa holders, and documents proving the qualifications and skills that match the nominated position.
The Four-Stage Application Process
The path from job offer to visa grant runs through four stages, each with a different decision-maker.
DAR Endorsement
The employer applies to the Designated Area Representative for endorsement. This requires a business case for why the role cannot be filled locally, along with financial records such as Business Activity Statements and profit and loss reports. Labour market testing is central: the employer must show the position was advertised locally for at least four weeks within the four months before lodging the nomination, with evidence of at least two advertisements.9Department of Home Affairs. Labour Market Testing
Endorsement fees vary. Orana charges AUD 990 (excluding GST) per position for the first five positions and AUD 550 per position after that. South Australia charges no endorsement fee. Employers should check with their DAR directly. Once satisfied, the DAR issues a letter of endorsement and notifies Home Affairs.
Labour Agreement
With endorsement in hand, the employer submits a labour agreement request through the Department’s ImmiAccount portal.1Department of Home Affairs. Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA) If approved, Home Affairs activates the agreement. Processing times for this stage are not published and vary.
Nomination
Once the labour agreement is active, the employer nominates you for the specific position. The nomination has to meet the salary threshold (standard TSMIT or the concessional rate specified in the agreement) and the annual market rate for the role.
Visa Application
You then lodge your personal visa application. Health examinations, police certificates, skills assessments, and all supporting documents go in at this stage. Processing times vary by subclass and individual circumstances.
Costs
Costs land on both sides. The worker pays the visa application charge to Home Affairs. The subclass 482 starts at AUD 3,210 for the main applicant.10Department of Home Affairs. Skills in Demand Visa (Subclass 482) The 494 and 186 visas carry higher charges. Extra fees apply for each family member, and applicants over 18 with less than functional English may face a second instalment charge.
Employers sponsoring under a labour agreement pay the Skilling Australians Fund levy. For subclass 482, small businesses (turnover under AUD 10 million) pay AUD 1,200 per year and larger businesses pay AUD 1,800 per year. For subclass 186 and 494, small businesses pay a one-off AUD 3,000, and larger businesses AUD 5,000.11Department of Home Affairs. Cost of Sponsoring Skills assessments, health examinations, police certificates, and English tests carry their own fees, usually paid by the applicant. Employers also bear the costs of advertising and any DAR endorsement fees.
The Permanent Residency Pathway
One of the strongest draws of the DAMA program is the pathway to permanent residence through the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa.12Department of Home Affairs. Employer Nomination Scheme Visa (Subclass 186) For many DAMA workers this is a route that would not exist under standard settings, because their occupation, salary, age, or English score would otherwise disqualify them.
The specific requirements vary by region. In the Northern Territory, for instance, temporary visa holders must have worked full-time in their nominated occupation for at least two years within the three years immediately before nomination to be eligible for the subclass 186 visa under the DAMA pathway.13Department of Trade, Business and Asian Relations. Permanent Residence Pathway Other regions may require longer. Check your DAMA’s PR conditions early. Meeting age and English concessions at the temporary stage does not automatically mean the same concessions apply at the permanent stage.
If You Change Employers or Lose Your Sponsorship
Your visa is tied to a specific employer and a specific labour agreement. If that relationship ends, the visa does not immediately disappear, but the clock starts.
Subclass 482 holders who stop working for their sponsor have up to 180 days to find a new sponsor and have a new nomination lodged, or to make other visa arrangements. During that window you can work for any employer, and it does not need to be a DAMA sponsor. To stay beyond 180 days, the new nomination and visa application must be submitted before the period expires. If 180 days pass with no new arrangement, you risk being in breach.
The practical difficulty is that switching to another DAMA employer means that employer also has to hold a labour agreement under the same or another DAMA. That narrows your options considerably compared with a standard 482 holder who can transfer to any approved sponsor nationwide. If you are thinking about leaving, start looking for new sponsorship well before you resign.
Workplace Rights
Australian workplace laws apply equally to every worker, regardless of visa. A DAMA visa holder has the same minimum pay rates, leave entitlements, and workplace protections as any Australian employee.14Fair Work Ombudsman. Visa Holders and Migrant Workers – Workplace Rights and Entitlements The National Employment Standards cover maximum weekly hours, annual leave, personal and carer’s leave, public holidays, notice of termination, redundancy pay, and superannuation.
Your employer cannot cancel your visa. Only Home Affairs can grant, refuse, or cancel a visa. If an employer threatens visa cancellation to pressure you, that is unlawful. The Fair Work Ombudsman handles underpayment and workplace complaints; Home Affairs enforces immigration-related salary obligations, including the requirement that employers pay at least the market rate specified in the labour agreement.
Where Applications Commonly Go Wrong
Employers who submit weak labour market testing evidence, advertising in the wrong channels or for too short a period, frequently have their endorsement rejected at the DAR stage. Workers who assume a skills assessment is unnecessary because their DAMA includes lower-skilled occupations sometimes find out too late that an assessment was still required for their specific role.
Another common mistake is treating concessions as automatic. Each concession applies only to listed occupations within a specific regional agreement. An age concession for a chef in the Northern Territory DAMA does not necessarily apply to a chef in the Great South Coast DAMA. Always check the current occupation list and concession schedule for the DAMA region where you plan to work, because these documents are updated annually and older information found online may no longer be accurate.