Skilled & Business Migration would like to advise that following an annual review, the Australian Government has agreed to the following changes to South Australia’s two Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs)
DAMA Occupation List
South Australia has secured a range of new occupations under the DAMAs with a focus on hospitality and tourism, motor trades, agribusiness, manufacturing and forestry occupations.
Concessions and PR Pathways
The DAMAs include concessions to several standard visa requirements, such as lowering the work experience, English language and age requirements. A permanent residency pathway is offered to highly skilled applicants under the DAMAs.
Skills Assessing Authority
The South Australian Government continues to act as a skills assessing authority for occupations that currently have no alternative skills assessing authority. This will allow previously ineligible occupations to now be available for skilled migration.
Skilled & Business Migration remains committed to supporting our South Australian employers and ensuring they are able to fill skills shortages in their businesses.
NOTES ON THE DAMA
The South Australian Government has entered into two DAMAs:
- Adelaide Technology and Innovation Advancement Agreement
This agreement focuses on Adelaide’s high-tech growth industries including defence, space, technology and advanced manufacturing industries. The Adelaide City Technology and Innovation Advancement Agreement is the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) covering metropolitan Adelaide. - South Australian Regional Workforce Agreement
This agreement focuses on the South Australia’s regional high growth industries including agribusiness, forestry, health and social services, tourism and hospitality, construction and mining. The South Australian Regional Workforce Agreement is the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) covering the entire state of South Australia.
The DAMAs enable South Australian employers to sponsor skilled overseas workers for positions they are unable to fill with local workers. Employers experiencing skills and labour shortages can apply for endorsement to enter into a DAMA labour agreement. This enables them to sponsor skilled and semi-skilled overseas workers with more flexible requirements than are available via the standard skilled visa programs.
Skilled & Business Migration undertakes the role of Designated Area Representative (DAR), which is responsible for endorsing employers seeking to access overseas workers through the Designated Area Migration Agreements.
The Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) is an overarching five-year deed of agreement between the Commonwealth and the Designated Area Representative (DAR) which is the Department for Industry, Innovation and Science, Skilled & Business Migration.
The DAR has established a range of endorsement requirements in consultation with the Department of Home Affairs, these requirements are designed to meet the objectives of the DAMA and are policy conditions that respond to the objectives of the agreements.
The Migration Regulations, as well as any additional requirements outlined in a DAMA labour agreement, determine the requirements to be met at nomination and visa stage.
Designated Area Representative
Skilled & Business Migration, Department for Industry, Innovation and Science, is the Designated Area Representative (DAR) and is the co-signatory to the agreement and is responsible for the broad oversight and endorsement of sponsors under the agreements. This includes:
- Management and administration of the DAMA
- Assessing and endorsing employers who want to sponsor overseas workers under the DAMA
- Monitoring, reporting, and reviewing activity as agreed with the Department of Home Affairs
- Consulting with employers, key stakeholders and the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs and monitors the effectiveness of the DAMA.
Australian Government
Employer Endorsement Requirement
The Commonwealth of Australia is represented by the Department of Home Affairs, and is responsible for:
- Governing the legislative requirements as provided by the Migration Act and Regulations
- Working with endorsed employers to establish the individual DAMA Labour Agreement
- Processing nominations and visa applications made under the DAMA Labour Agreements
- Working with endorsed employers to evaluate and review the DAMA Labour Agreement annually
- Working with endorsed employers request (annually) on the maximum number of nominations.
Employers are required to seek endorsement from the DAR to sponsor overseas workers under the DAMA. Employers will be required to:
- Meet the Terms and Conditions of Endorsement as set by DAR
- Enter into individual DAMA Labour Agreements with the Department of Home Affairs
- Ensure the nomination criteria are met and to the best of their knowledge the nominee satisfy their visa criteria
- Pay all applicable fees and levies when lodging nomination applications
- Lodge nominations to fill vacancies through the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) program, or the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) Provisional visa, and where eligible lodge for permanent residency through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) program, subject to meeting requirements
- Meet sponsorship obligations
- Work with the DAR and Commonwealth Department to review the DAMA Labour Agreement annually.
Approved Sponsors are subject to temporary residence sponsorship obligations and a sanctions framework under existing Migration law.
