If you are having difficulty filling vacancies locally in your business, sponsoring a skilled migrant through an employer sponsored visa program may help you fill your skills needs.
There are two employer sponsored visa pathways available to local businesses in South Australia.
- Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) - Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) & Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494) - Labour Agreement Streams
- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494 Employer Sponsored Stream)
Sponsorship Benefits
Applying for endorsement or seeking advice for employing overseas workers will allow you to:
- Recruit skilled workers in cases where you are unable to find a local worker
- Access an extensive list of occupations with a range of concessions to the standard skilled visa criteria.
This is an employer sponsored visa that enables South Australian businesses to nominate skilled migrants for employment if they meet the criteria of South Australia’s Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA).
In order to enter into a Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) Labour Agreement with the Australian Government, South Australian employers are required to be endorsed by the Designated Area Representative (DAR) – this is the South Australian Department for Industry, Innovation and Science.
The DAMA is for South Australian Businesses that:
- Have identified a skills or labour shortage that they cannot fill locally
- Have vacant permanent, full-time occupations that are listed on the DAMA Occupation List
- Can fulfil all South Australian DAMA endorsement requirements.
This is a provisional visa that enables South Australian businesses to sponsor skilled migrants for positions they are unable to fill locally.
For an employer to be eligible to nominate a position under this visa, they must meet all criteria set by Department of Home Affairs. It is suitable for local South Australian businesses in instances where:
- The business has a genuine need for a paid employee to fill a skilled position
- The business has undertaken labour market testing and has been unable to fill the position locally
- The position is full-time, skilled and likely to last for at least five years.
Compare the features of each sponsorship pathway to find the option best suited to your circumstances.
There are two employer sponsored visa pathways available to local businesses in South Australia that are supported by Skilled & Business Migration: The DAMA (482 and 494 visa subclasses) which utilises the labour agreement stream, and the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Scheme which utilises the 494 subclass employer sponsored stream.
Click the 'Find out more' button to compare the features of each program.
As the employer, you should ensure that you can meet the obligations and requirements of the program and choose the option that suits the circumstances of your business. Further information on these visa subclasses can be found through the Department of Home Affairs.