Hello, everyone.
We are Your Trustable Migration Partner, Opartners.
Last year, Australian government announced that the new ‘regional visa’ is soon to be introduced to attract more migrants in rural areas.
Accordingly, the new Northern Territory Designated Area Migration Agreement (NT DAMA) between the NT Government and Federal Government came into effect on 1 January 2019 for five years.
This new agreement lets the Northern Territory (NT) employers sponsor skilled and semi-skilled overseas workers for positions they are unable to fill with local workers.
- What is DAMA?
As many of you already know, Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) can be granted under one of three streams: Medium-term, Short-term and Labour agreement streams.
Amongst these streams, NT DAMA utilises the labour agreement stream of the Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482). With DAMA, Employers (or Businesses) located in NT are now able to enter into a direct labour agreement with Australian Government and employees are then granted a TSS visa.
Now, if the potential visa applicant whose occupations is not on the TSS occupation list but on the NT DAMA occupation list, they might be able to get a TSS visa. Moreover, it also provides for English language and Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) concessions for some eligible occupations.
- What are the Key Elements of NT DAMA?
- Possibility to lead permanent residency for NT DAMA visa holders (including transitional arrangements for existing visa holders)
- NT DAMA occupation list which includes a broad range of skilled and semi-skilled occupations
- English language and TSMIT concessions for some occupations
- A range of risk and integrity actions to ensure that the rights of both employees and employers are protected
- A five-year agreement to reduce red tape.
- What is the NT DAMA occupation list?
The table shows occupations that are eligible for sponsorship under the NT DAMA. This list reflects NT skilled and semi-skilled shortages and includes 117 occupations where employers can recruit skilled migrants if they are unable to fill positions locally.
As seen the table above, new NT DAMA occupation list includes a wider range of skilled and semi-skilled occupations such as bus driver, barista, nursing support worker etc. Therefore, even though your occupations are not on either on Mid-term or Short-term TSS occupation lists, you may be eligible to apply for TSS visa through NT DAMA.
In our next migration column, we are going to explain you further about English and TSMIT Concessions.
If you need any professional consultation or assistance regarding NT DAMA, please feel free to contact Opartners.
Email inquiry: admin@opartners.com.au
Telephone inquiry: +61 08 6454 9910
(Disclaimer)
The information provided in this column serves as a general guidance only and does not constitute migration advice. We accept no responsibility for any consequence that may arise from any action taken based on this information. We highly recommend readers to seek private advice or assistance for detailed situations. Thank you.