Employer sponsorship and Designated Area Migration Agreements

Three applications, not one

The most common misunderstanding about employer sponsorship is that it is a single process. It is three. First the business is approved as a sponsor, or is endorsed under a labour agreement. Second, once approved, the business nominates a specific position, addressing the occupation, the terms of employment and, where it applies, labour market testing. Third, the worker applies for the visa. Each stage is assessed separately and each can be refused on its own, which means an approved nomination does not tell you the visa will be granted. Planning that treats the three as one step is where most avoidable disappointment comes from.

What a Designated Area Migration Agreement is

A Designated Area Migration Agreement is a formal agreement between the Australian Government and a state, territory or regional body - the designated area representative - allowing employers within a defined geographic area to sponsor workers in a broader range of occupations, and sometimes on concessions, compared with the standard program. It works on two levels: a head agreement between the Commonwealth and the area representative, and individual labour agreements between endorsed employers and the Department. The practical consequence for an employer is an extra gate at the front: endorsement by the area representative comes before anything else.

The five agreements covering Western Australia

Western Australia is unusual in having several agreements operating at once. Migration WA publishes four regional agreements alongside a statewide one.

• Goldfields DAMA - extended to 31 December 2026 on Migration WA's published information.
• Kimberley DAMA.
• Pilbara DAMA.
• South West DAMA.
• WA DAMA - the statewide agreement established in July 2024, administered by the Department of Training and Workforce Development through Migration Services, covering all metropolitan and regional areas of the State and splitting metropolitan Perth from regional WA with separate occupation lists and concessions.

Why we do not list the occupations here

Occupation lists, salary levels and concessions differ between each of these agreements and are revised from time to time. Publishing a list on a law firm's website is how out-of-date information gets relied on months later, so we do not. The current list for the agreement that covers your area should be confirmed with the relevant designated area representative or Migration WA before an employer starts recruiting or a worker resigns from another job. We will do that check as part of advising on a matter.

Labour market testing

Most sponsorship pathways, including sponsorship under a labour agreement, require the employer to have genuinely tested the local labour market before nominating an overseas worker - broadly, to have taken reasonable steps to recruit an Australian citizen or permanent resident and to be able to evidence that attempt. The advertising requirements, including timing, platforms and duration, are set by departmental guidance and change, so they should be confirmed before recruitment for a sponsored role begins rather than reconstructed afterwards. Testing that cannot be evidenced is one of the more common causes of nomination refusal.

Sponsor obligations do not end at the grant

An approved sponsor carries ongoing legal obligations for as long as it remains a sponsor and, for some obligations, a period afterwards - keeping records, cooperating with the Department, notifying changes in circumstances, and not passing sponsorship costs on to the visa holder. Where obligations are breached the Department has a range of responses available, which may include a formal notice, cancellation of the sponsorship, a bar on sponsoring again for a period, an enforceable undertaking, or referral for infringement notices or civil penalty proceedings. More than one can apply to the same breach, and the consequences reach the visa holder as well as the business.

What this means for the worker

A sponsored worker is dependent on decisions being made about someone else's business. That is worth saying plainly. Do not resign from other employment, give notice on a lease, or move a family until the approvals that matter are actually in place. If the sponsoring business runs into difficulty with its obligations, the worker's position can be affected through no act of their own, and knowing that in advance is part of making an informed decision.

Working in Vietnamese as well as English

Sponsorship correspondence is technical and the consequences of misreading it fall on the worker. Legal Care Australia works in English and Vietnamese, and this page has a full Vietnamese counterpart. This work is carried out by lawyers admitted to practise in Western Australia; immigration assistance in Australia may also be given by registered migration agents, who operate under a separate regulatory framework. This page is general information, not advice on your circumstances.

Process

1. 1

   We confirm whether standard sponsorship or a designated area agreement is realistic for the role and the location.

2. 2

   Where an agreement applies, the business approaches the relevant designated area representative for endorsement.

3. 3

   The business applies for sponsorship approval or enters the labour agreement.

4. 4

   Labour market testing is carried out where required and evidenced, and the nomination is prepared and lodged.

5. 5

   The worker lodges the visa application with supporting evidence.

6. 6

   We set out the sponsor's ongoing obligations in writing so they are met rather than discovered later.

What to prepare

• Business registration and structure documents, including the ABN.
• Evidence the business is lawfully and actively operating.
• The position description and evidence of a genuine ongoing need for the role.
• Evidence of labour market testing where it applies.
• The worker's qualifications, licensing and work history.
• The draft employment contract matching the nominated position.
• Identity, health and character documents for the worker and any family included.
• Endorsement or concession approval documents where a designated area agreement is used.

Risks, deadlines and common mistakes

• Treating three separate assessments as one. Any of them can be refused on its own.
• Relying on an occupation list or concession that has since changed.
• Labour market testing that was done but cannot be evidenced.
• Sponsor obligations breached after grant, which can reach the visa holder as well as the business.
• A worker resigning, relocating or committing financially before the approvals are actually in place.