East Kimberly Designated Area Migration Agreement (EK DAMA)

About the EK DAMA

The priority for the EKCCI is always to promote jobs for Australians first. However, the EKCCI and East Kimberley industry have highlighted the need for improved access to overseas workers on a sustainable basis where occupations and positions are not able to be filled from the Australian labour market.

The EK DAMA is an agreement between the EKCCI and the Federal Government that allows employers operating in the East Kimberley to access a broader range of occupations than standard skilled migration avenues, and with numerous concessions including experience, age, and in some cases salary and English, among others. These arrangements help employers attract and retain the right people to our region on a sustainable basis, where they have not been able to fill positions from the Australian labour market.

The EK DAMA is accessible to all employers operating in the East Kimberley region and is not exclusive to EKCCI members.

 EK DAMA Features

The EK DAMA operates in a different way to standard skilled migration programs, using a labour agreement framework. This means that:

• An employer can obtain their own labour agreement, valid for five years, that includes:
  • Pre-approval for one or more occupations and positions in a broad range of skilled and semi-skilled occupations;
  • Concessions that provide incentives to attract and retain overseas workers to those positions, such as age concessions, and a clearly defined permanent visa pathway, among others.
• An employer does not need to have identified the prospective worker/s to access an EK DAMA labour agreement:
  • The employer can nominate (‘sponsor’) overseas workers already in their employ; or
  • Attract suitably skilled and experienced overseas workers by having occupations and positions pre-approved, with concessions.
• The five-year EK DAMA labour agreement can be varied at any time, adding additional or new occupations and positions, or adding further concessions that are available if necessary.
• Local businesses can apply individually to access the DAMA from 1 April 2022.
• EK DAMA businesses will have access to additional workers across more than 100 occupations following the signing of the East Kimberley Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA).
• The EK DAMA includes a large number of occupations that are not available under the standard visa programs

The EK DAMA occupation list is different to standard skilled migration programs and includes a range of concessions not accessible through those standard programs.

Occupations & Concessions Under the EK DAMA

The EK DAMA occupation list is different to standard skilled migration programs and includes a range of concessions not accessible through those standard programs:

LIf you are looking to move to the Eastern Kimberly  DAMA on an employer-sponsored visa, contact our Registered Migration Agents at Better Life Migration at +61415419414.

Source: EKDAMA