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Pilbara Designated Area Migration Agreement

Sponsor Skilled and Semi-Skilled Workers in the Pilbara

If your Pilbara business is facing a skills shortage it cannot fill locally, the Pilbara DAMA gives you access to a broader occupation list and concessions on standard visa requirements. It covers the City of Karratha, the Town of Port Hedland, and the Shire of East Pilbara. At Australian Migration Lawyers, we guide Pilbara employers through the DAMA process, from endorsement through to visa grant.

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Visión general

A Five-Year Agreement Supporting the Pilbara Region

The Pilbara DAMA was signed by the Minister for Immigration on 28 March 2022, a five-year agreement between the Federal Government and RDA Pilbara, developed in partnership with the City of Karratha and the Town of Port Hedland. A variation to the head agreement, approved by the Hon. Andrew Giles MP on 18 January 2024, expanded the DAMA to include the Shire of East Pilbara and added 69 further occupations. It supports employers across mining, construction, healthcare, hospitality, and other sectors experiencing genuine workforce shortages in the region.

Who Administers This DAMA

The Designated Area Representative (DAR) for the Pilbara DAMA is Regional Development Australia (RDA) Pilbara. RDA Pilbara assesses employer endorsement applications on the region's behalf before the Department of Home Affairs considers a labour agreement request. The two approvals are separate, and endorsement does not guarantee that Home Affairs will approve the subsequent labour agreement or visa.

Who This DAMA Is For

This DAMA is for employers, not individual workers. A worker cannot apply for a DAMA labour agreement independently and must have a genuine job offer from a business that already holds, or is seeking, endorsement under this DAMA. All positions under this DAMA must be based in the City of Karratha, the Town of Port Hedland, or the Shire of East Pilbara, fly-in-fly-out and drive-in-drive-out arrangements are not permitted.

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Eligibility for Employers

To be endorsed by RDA Pilbara for this DAMA, a business must show:

The business has been legally and continuously operating within the Pilbara DAMA designated area for at least 12 months

The nominated positions are genuinely based in the region itself, in the City of Karratha, the Town of Port Hedland, or the Shire of East Pilbara, rather than structured as a fly-in-fly-out or drive-in-drive-out role

A genuine business need exists for the occupation being sought

The pay and conditions on offer match what an Australian citizen or permanent resident doing the same job in the Pilbara would reasonably expect

Sufficient labour market testing must also be conducted before applying for endorsement.

Eligibility for Skilled Workers

To be sponsored under the Pilbara DAMA, a worker generally needs:

A genuine, full-time job offer from a business that holds, or is actively seeking, DAR endorsement for this DAMA

An occupation listed on the current Pilbara DAMA occupation list, which includes both ANZSCO and non-ANZSCO roles

Skills, qualifications, and experience matching the nominated occupation's requirements, including a skills assessment where required

English language test results meeting the standard visa requirement, or the concession available for the specific occupation

Health and character clearances

A genuine intention to live and work in the Pilbara designated area, since fly-in-fly-out arrangements are not supported under this DAMA

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Occupation List and Concessions

The Pilbara DAMA currently covers 146 eligible occupations, including 2 non-ANZSCO occupations, across mining, construction, healthcare, hospitality, and community services. Request the current full occupation list and eligible concessions table directly from RDA Pilbara before relying on any occupation eligibility.

Concesión por edad

Confirmed directly against RDA Pilbara's own concessions page:

  • Skill Level 1 to 4 occupations: age concession up to 55 years for the Subclass 494 (SESR) and Subclass 186 (ENS) pathways
  • Skill Level 5 occupations: age concession up to 50 years for the same pathways

Concesión de lengua inglesa

For occupations listed as eligible for the English language concession, applicants may qualify for a reduced standard, generally an overall IELTS score of 5.0 or equivalent, in some cases with no minimum band score, and in others with no component below 4.0. Occupations not listed as eligible must meet the standard English language requirement that applies to the Subclass 482, 494, and 186 non-labour agreement visa streams. Not every occupation on the Pilbara DAMA list qualifies for this concession, check the current eligible occupations table with RDA Pilbara, or contact us and we can confirm it for you.

Salary Concession

Eligible occupations, generally Skill Level 3 to 5 roles, can access a Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) concession of up to 10 per cent below the standard threshold. Based on the current threshold of $79,423 for nominations lodged between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, this works out to approximately $71,481. Employers must provide a strong business case to access this concession, and the reduced salary must still meet or exceed the Annual Market Salary Rate for the occupation and location.

Fee image

Aval de DAR

RDA Pilbara charges a non-refundable processing fee of $350 plus GST per position for a DAMA endorsement application. There is no charge to lodge the subsequent Request for Labour Agreement with the Department of Home Affairs.

Applications are made using the Pilbara DAMA Request for Endorsement Form, emailed to dama@rdapilbara.org.au with the required supporting evidence, followed by an invoice from RDA Pilbara for the number of positions requested. A positive endorsement is valid for 12 months.

How the Process Works for This DAMA

1

Step 1: DAR Endorsement

The employer completes the Pilbara DAMA Request for Endorsement Form and emails it to RDA Pilbara with supporting evidence of business operations, genuine need, and labour market testing, along with the processing fee.

2

Step 2: Labour Agreement Request

Once endorsed, the employer applies to the Department of Home Affairs for a DAMA labour agreement through ImmiAccount, using the application guide RDA Pilbara provides. There is no fee for this step.

3

Step 3: Nomination

Once the labour agreement is approved, the employer has 12 months to nominate a skilled worker for the approved position.

4

Paso 4: Solicitud de visado

The worker lodges a Subclass 482, 494, or 186 visa application against the approved nomination.

Residency image

Camino hacia la residencia permanente

All eligible occupations under the Pilbara DAMA offer a pathway to permanent residency through the Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) or Subclass 494 to Subclass 191 route.

For the Subclass 186 pathway, RDA Pilbara's standard labour agreement conditions require the worker to have been employed full-time in the nominated occupation, or a closely related occupation also specified under the Pilbara DAMA, for at least three years before the ENS nomination, while holding a Subclass 482 or Subclass 457 visa and working in the Pilbara designated area. This follows the standard federal timeframe, this DAMA does not currently negotiate a shortened pathway.

Talk to Our Migration Lawyers About the Pilbara DAMA

If your Pilbara business has a genuine skills shortage it cannot fill locally, our migration lawyers can confirm whether this DAMA applies to you and guide you through endorsement, labour agreement, and visa stages.

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Preguntas frecuentes

It is a labour agreement between the Federal Government and RDA Pilbara covering the City of Karratha, the Town of Port Hedland, and the Shire of East Pilbara, allowing endorsed employers to sponsor overseas workers in occupations experiencing genuine skill and labour shortages.

Regional Development Australia (RDA) Pilbara administers endorsement for this DAMA.

Yes. RDA Pilbara charges a non-refundable processing fee of $350 plus GST per position.

No. All positions under this DAMA must be based, lived in, and worked from the City of Karratha, the Town of Port Hedland, or the Shire of East Pilbara. Fly-in-fly-out and drive-in-drive-out arrangements are not permitted.

No. The standard three-year work requirement in the Pilbara designated area applies before a Subclass 186 nomination, consistent with the standard federal pathway.

This page provides general legal information, not legal advice, and doesn't take into account your individual circumstances. If your situation is time-sensitive, we'd encourage you to book a consultation with our team as soon as possible to get advice specific to you.

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