TSS Employer Sponsored Visa (subclass 482)

DAMA Childcare Pathway to PR

From Temporary Skills Shortage to Permanent Residency: How the TSS Visa Can Pave Your Way to a Secure Future in Australia

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Designated Area Migration Agreements

What is DAMA?

DAMA (Designated Area Migration Agreements) are a special kind of TSS Employer Sponsored Visa (Subclass 482). These visas were created so that specific regional areas can attract much needed employees to fill roles.

However please note you still need:

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To meet the education and work experience requirement for the occupation

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An employer to nominate you for an occupation to be able to apply for this visa

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The employer must also be an endorsed DAMA approved employer

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You would then need to work in your occupation for 3 years on the 482 visa in order to apply for PR

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DAMA AREAS WHERE THE OCCUPATION OF CHILDCARE WORKER IS ON THE OCCUPATION LIST:

DAMA List	English	TSMIT	Age	PR Pathway
NT The Northern Territory DAMA			up to 55
SA The South Australian Regional Workforce DAMA
VIC The Great South Coast DAMA			up to 55
WA The Goldfields DAMA			up to 50
QLD Far North Queensland (FNQ DAMA 1.3)			up to 55
NSW The Orana DAMA			up to 55
WA South West DAMA (Shire of Dardanup)			up to 55
VIC The Goulburn Valley DAMA			up to 55
WA The EK (East Kimberley) DAMA			up to 55
QLD The TNQ (Townsville) DAMA			up to 55
WA The Pilbara DAMA			up to 55

Skills Assessment

South Australia Regional Assessment Standards

Skill Assessment through ACECQA

In order to apply for this visa, you must first undertake a skill assessment through ACECQA. In order to do this, you must have a relevant Cert III qualification + at least 1 year of relevant work experience (38 hours per week).

Currency of Employment

The employment experience can be completed while you are completing your qualification provided the employment experience was at the same skilled level.

To ensure currency of skills, employment experience needs to have been completed within the past five years.

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Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS)

For applicants applying for a Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) (subclass 482) visa or a Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (SESR) (subclass 494) visa, evidence of a minimum of one year (minimum 38 hours per week) of employment experience as a Child Care Worker in a regulated early childhood education and care service is required.

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Nomination Scheme (ENS) (subclass 186)

For applicants applying for a Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) (subclass 186) visa, evidence of a minimum of three years (minimum 38 hours per week) employment experience as a Child Care Worker in a regulated early childhood education and care setting for the sponsoring employer.

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Responsibilities for all visa types

Expected responsibilities for all visa types during the employment include:

provide education and care for babies, toddlers and children
prepare materials and equipment to support children’s learning and development
provide experiences to support children’s play and learning
ensure the health and safety of children
support and supervise the daily routines of children
support children to develop cooperative behaviour

Subclass 482 (DAMA)

Employer Sponsored Visa

The TSS visa is the most common visa used by companies to sponsor employees in Australia. It is a temporary visa that allows employees to work for a nominated employer on a full time basis. DAMA are a special stream of TSS Visas.

Please note, all costs marked in orange must be paid by the employer. In addition, if your employer is already an approved DAMA Sponsor, you only need to do the nomination and visa application.

DAMA Costs

Visa Costs

The costs for this visa that are paid directly to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection are below:

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Become a DAMA Endorsed Sponsor $985

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Labour Agreement (Free)

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Nomination $330

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Skilling Australia Fund: $1200 per year (so for 4 year TSS visa - $4800)

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Visa Application Charge $3035 (per person over 18) and $695 for children

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Visa Application Charge $3135 (per person over 18) and $695 for children

Download DAMA Visa Guide

DAMA Visa Guide

If you're interested in the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA), available occupations, employer sponsorship requirements, and potential pathways to permanent residency, simply click the download button and fill in your contact details below. Once completed, you'll be able to download a detailed DAMA guide directly from the website.

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Applying for Approval as a Business Sponsor

The business must apply for approval as a business sponsor by submitting a sponsorship application

To be successful the employer must show:

The business is operating in a lawful manner
The business can meet its financial obligations
The business is devoted to training their staff

This is done by completing a form and submitting documents required.
The fee required for this is $420.

Required Documents

Here are some documents that the company may be required to provide:

ABN Cert
Business Name Cert
Documents pertaining to the set up of the business
(company, partnership, joint venture etc)
Financial Reports such as profit or loss statement or
annual report for last financial year)
BAS statements or tax returns
Receipts for training expenses
Payroll Receipts

+ Possibly other related documents

Obligations of the Sponsor

Your employer must cooperate with inspectors from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection if they request any documents from the business.
Your employer must ensure that your condition of employment is no less favourable than Australian employees
Your employer is required to pay return travel cost for TSS visa holders
Your employer must pay the cost to locate and remove any foreign employees they sponsor if they become illegal in Australia
Your employer must maintain records for at least 5 years after the TSS visa holder leaves Australia
Your employer is required to notify the DIBP of any changes in the circumstances of employment. Similarly your employer is required to respond to all notifications from the DIBP
Your employer must not seek to recover any sponsorship or recruitment costs from the employee.

+ Other possibly obligations

DAMA Endorsement

The childcare centre must undertake the required labour market testing (job advertisements) and lodge a DAMA Endorsement. (This is very similar to the nomination, but it is with the individual DAMA area).

Labour Market Testing

You will need to also prove that there are no Australians that are eligible for the position and that the company has attempted to hire Australians for the role. Evidence will need to be supplied as part of the application and the evidentiary requirements are very specific. In most cases, two advertisements placed within the last twelve months for a minimum period of 28 days will be acceptable.

Lodge Labour Agreement with Immigration

Once the DAMA endorsement has been approved you will receive an endorsement letter and then apply for the Labour Agreement with immigration.

Nomination Application

The company must submit a nomination application for the employee. Once successful in receiving approval as a business sponsor and approved labour agreement, the employer can then apply to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) to nominate a foreign employee to fill the position. The DIBP will decide if the employer fulfills the nomination requirements.

Skilling Australia Fund

The introduction of the TSS visa brings with it a new Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy to be paid at nomination stage. The SAF levy will make nominating employees a considerably more expensive undertaking for a business.

The amounts payable per applicant are set out as follows:

The charge will be calculated according to the number of years for which the visa is required, as set out in
the nomination, and will be payable in full at this time.
A small business (Turnover less than $10M) will pay $1,200 per nomination per year for a TSS visa. A large
business will pay $1,800 per nominee per year.
If the employee is applying for a four year visa, this will require the four annual payments to be made at the
time of application. (For example, if a large business nominates an employee for a four-year TSS visa, this
business is liable to pay $7,200 when the nomination is made.)

Apply for the visa

After the employee has been nominated to fill a position, they may then apply for a TSS employer sponsored visa to fill the position.

To be successfully granted the visa the employee must demonstrate that they:

Possess the required skills, education and qualification to fill the position
Meet the required English language proficiency requirement
Are of good character and health
Have health insurance required for the duration of the visa

Registered Migration Agents

What are your
next steps?

If you are considering applying for DAMA visa, it is important to obtain advice early.

A structured assessment will determine:

Whether you're eligible for a DAMA pathway
Which DAMA region and occupation list best matches your skills
The most suitable employer sponsored visa pathway for your situation
Your potential pathway to permanent residency and the documents you'll need

Get matched with the perfect expert for your journey

Personalised support

Match in 60 seconds

Timeline

Each step takes time and each step cannot be done without the previous step being completed. Below are the approximately times:

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Skill Assessment: (8 weeks)

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Standard Business Sponsorship: (4 weeks) – this can be done anytime before the skill assessment

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South Australia Endorsement: (1 – 2 weeks)

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Labour Agreement: (2 – 10 weeks)

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Nomination and Visa Application: (8 – 26 weeks) – You can lodge the visa application as soon as you have lodged the nomination (you do not need to wait for it to be approved

Visas leading to Permanent Residency

After you have worked in the relevant occupation on the 482 visa for 3 years, you should be able to transition onto the Permanent 186 – Employer Nominated Scheme Visa.

As an example, here's a general overview of the requirements to transition to PR:

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Be under the age of 55

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Hold a 482 visa issued through DAMA arrangements

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Meet the education and work experience requirements

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Have worked for 2 years in the nominated occupation through DAMA arrangements

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Have an English score of 6

You must be offered an additional 2-year employment contract in your nominated occupation

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