Chamber secures Far North DAMA until 2027
Far North employers now have an ongoing ability to directly hire overseas workers to plug holes in the local workforce following an extension of a critical offshore labour agreement.
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Far North employers now have an ongoing ability to directly hire overseas workers to plug holes in the local workforce, following an extension of a critical offshore labour agreement.
The skilled migration agreement between the Commonwealth Government and Cairns Chamber of Commerce first signed in 2019 has now been extended for two years to address a local shortage of skilled and semi-skilled workers.
The successful extension of the Far North Queensland Designated Area Migration Agreement is the result of strong advocacy from the Cairns Chamber of Commerce.
The agreement assists a range of industries including tourism, hospitality, agriculture, shipping and health and has been instrumental in supporting the economic growth of the region.
“This is a huge win for our region and a testament to the power of effective advocacy,”
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said.
“The Cairns Chamber of Commerce, under the leadership of Patricia O’Neill, has done a tremendous job in championing the DAMA and ensuring the voices of Far North Queensland businesses were heard loud and clear in Canberra.”
Though the agreement has been extended to April 2027, the addition of new occupations
requested by the Chamber has yet to be confirmed.
Increases to the Skilled Migration Income Threshold now called the Core Skills Income Threshold presents ongoing challenges but concessions have been requested by the Chamber
to ensure the DAMA remains effective for employers in need of workers.
Cairns Chamber of Commerce chief executive Patricia O’Neill was pleased to announce two years of advocacy been rewarded with Assistant Minister for Immigration Matt Thistlethwaite signing off on the head agreement.
“(He) invested time to actively listen to the business case we presented and, more importantly, acted upon his support for the FNQ DAMA,” she said.
“The (agreement) is essential for the growth and prosperity of Far North Queensland.
“Significant skilled labour shortages are holding back our businesses and limiting productivity (and) the FNQ DAMA provides a solution to this.”
Immigration Minister Tony Burke in Cairns on Tuesday applauded the extension of the scheme.
“Now you can go to the Chamber of Commerce for another two years and they will help with all the paperwork and you’ll have a simple pathway to keep your business going with the workers you need,” he said.
“I don’t want businesses to say they can’t continue or can’t continue to expand because they just can’t find the workers and I don’t want the price of finding workers to be endless red tape.”
Under the DAMA rules employers must make genuine attempts to recruit Australian citizens as a first priority before gaining access to a DAMA labour agreement.
Originally published as Chamber secures Far North DAMA until 2027
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