New 5 Year Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) for NT

Date: 20 March 2025

On 19 March 2025, a new Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) for Northern Territory comes into effect.

What are DAMA agreements?

DAMAs are a formal arrangement between the Commonwealth of Australia and a designated area representative (DAR). A DAR may be a state or territory government or regional body.

Under the terms of a DAMA, the designated area may be able to access a broader range of overseas workers than is available through the standard skilled visa programs by allowing variation to standard occupations and skills lists and/or negotiable concessions to visa requirements.

Individuals cannot directly access a DAMA. Individuals need to be sponsored:

by an employer operating in a designated region, and
for an occupation that is specified in the head agreement

Key concessions under NT DAMA

Expanded Occupation Access: Employers can sponsor roles not available under standard migration streams, including non-ANZSCO occupations like:

Bar attendant (supervisor)
Specialist ethnic cuisine cook
Civil construction site supervisor
Electrical motor repairer
Skilled horticultural worker, and more (coded as 070499).

Age Concessions

Standard visa age limit: under 45
NT DAMA concession:
Skill level 1–4 occupations: under 55
Skill level 5: under 50

English Language Concessions

Subclass 482/494: IELTS 4.5 overall (min 4.0 in each band)
Subclass 186: IELTS 5.0 overall (min 4.0 in each band)
(Or equivalent test scores)

Salary Concessions

Standard CSIT: $73,150 (indexed annually)
NT DAMA concession: Employers can pay 85% of CSIT ($62,177) if:
- It meets or exceeds market salary
- It is composed mainly of monetary earnings
Non-monetary benefits (max $6,217) may count if they:
- Offset living costs
- Are quantifiable, guaranteed, and in line with Australian employees