Labour Agreement & DAMA Lawyers for Employers
Strategic advice for employers whose workforce needs do not fit standard skilled visa settings: company-specific labour agreements, industry labour agreements, project agreements and Designated Area Migration Agreements.
When standard sponsorship cannot solve the workforce problem, an agreement may.
Home Affairs states that labour agreements are designed for demonstrated workforce needs that cannot be met in the Australian labour market and where standard temporary or permanent visa programs are not available.
Company-specific labour agreements
For employers with an exceptional, evidenced workforce need not already covered by standard programs, an industry agreement, project agreement or DAMA.
Industry labour agreements
For employers operating in sectors where a negotiated industry framework provides occupations, settings or concessions.
DAMA & project agreements
For eligible employers within designated areas or qualifying projects using location- or project-specific migration settings.
A labour agreement request is a workforce case to Government.
The business needs to explain not only whom it wants to sponsor, but why the standard system does not work, how the shortage has been tested and how the proposed concessions support rather than replace the Australian workforce.
What we handle
- Labour agreement feasibility assessment
- Company-specific labour agreement business cases
- Industry labour agreement pathway advice
- DAMA eligibility and endorsement strategy
- Project agreement advice
- Occupation and concession analysis
- Salary, English, age and work-experience concession strategy where available
- Recruitment and workforce shortage evidence
- Stakeholder consultation planning
- 482, 186 and 494 labour agreement nomination pathways
Where employers get exposed
- Seeking an agreement when a standard visa pathway is available
- Insufficient evidence of an exceptional workforce need
- Weak recruitment history or workforce planning
- Requesting concessions without a compelling business justification
- Incomplete stakeholder consultation
- Assuming a labour agreement automatically guarantees later nominations or visas
Commercially clear. Legally defensible.
We structure the employer case before lodgement so the documents, position, salary and workforce rationale tell the same story.
Gap analysis
Identify precisely why standard skilled visa settings do not meet the business need.
Workforce case
Build shortage, recruitment, operating and future workforce evidence.
Agreement strategy
Select company-specific, industry, DAMA or project framework and define requested settings.
Implementation
Once an agreement is in place, manage nominations, worker visas and ongoing agreement compliance.
Have a role, worker or deadline already in play?
Send us the business, proposed worker, position, location and target commencement date. We can use the first strategy call to identify the viable pathway, immediate evidence requirements and legal risks.
Corporate employers · HR teams · recruiters · founders · in-house counsel
Labour agreement questions for employers.
General information only. Current law, policy and evidence requirements should be checked for the specific business and proposed worker.
What is a labour agreement?
How long do labour agreements last?
Can we request concessions?
What is a DAMA?
Can a labour agreement provide permanent residence pathways?
Is there a fee to request a labour agreement?
Legal review: 25 September 2026. Official resources: Home Affairs — Labour agreements · Home Affairs — Company-specific labour agreements.
If the standard program does not fit, prove why your workforce needs a different framework.
We can assess whether an agreement is realistic and build the employer evidence, concession strategy and implementation pathway.
