Labour agreements

Labour Agreements are formal arrangements between an employer and the Minister of Immigration which allows the recruitment of an agreed number of overseas skilled workers.

There are four types of Labour Agreements:

• Industry – these are labour agreements which are for specific industries and which have fixed terms and conditions. There are currently labour agreements already in place for specific industries such as: Dairy, Fishing, Meat, Minister of Religion, On-hire, Horticulture and so on. Businesses operating in industries with an industry labour agreement in place can apply for a labour agreement under this stream.
• Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) – this is a formal agreement between the Australian government and a regional, state or territory authority. Employers need to be endorsed by the relevant state or territory body before they can apply for a DAMA labour agreement.
• Company Specific – these are for an employer that has a genuine skills need which is not covered by an industry labour agreement or there is no DAMA labour agreement in place.
• Project Agreement – this is for project companies with skills shortages during the construction phase of resource or infrastructure projects,

This program is designed for occupations that are not on the list of approved occupations for the 482 visa, 494 visa or permanent Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS), such as mobile plant operators, truck drivers, scaffolders and crane drivers. Pathways also exist for meat workers, horticulture workers and the on-hire industry.