Visa Workers Programs

A Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) is an agreement between the Australian Government and a designated region, designed to help local businesses address specific labour shortages.

The Great South Coast (GSC) DAMA enables the region’s employers to sponsor skilled and semi-skilled Overseas Workers for specified positions they are unable to fill with local workers.

The Great South Coast DAMA includes the Colac Otway Shire, Corangamite, Glenelg, Moyne and the Southern Grampians Shires, and Warrnambool.

The scheme allows businesses in Colac Otway Shire to cover labour shortages with overseas workers across 113 occupations. Only businesses can apply to the DAMA, not individual workers.

Read more about the Great South Coast DAMA on the DAMA Information Hub.

The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme allows eligible Australian businesses to hire workers from nine Pacific islands and Timor-Leste when there are not enough local workers available.

Through the PALM scheme, eligible businesses can recruit workers for short-term jobs for up to nine months or long-term roles for between one and four years in unskilled, low-skilled and semi-skilled positions.

The PALM scheme helps to fill labour gaps in rural and regional Australia and nationally for agriculture and select agriculture-related food product manufacturing sectors by offering employers access to a pool of reliable, productive workers. It also allows Pacific and Timor-Leste workers to take up jobs in Australia, develop their skills and send income home.

There is more information about the PALM scheme here.

Australia offers a range of skilled visas that enable people to live and work in the country, from short-term options for specialist or seasonal work to longer-term temporary visas.

Some visas provide a pathway to permanent residence, while permanent skilled visas allow migrants to contribute to the economy and fill skill shortages as Australian permanent residents.

The Department of Home Affairs has information on its website about the Skilled migration program.

There is information on the Department's website for businesses, including information about what is involved in employing overseas workers, including what your options are, the skilled occupation list, and your responsibilities as a sponsor of an overseas worker.

Some visas are specifically for workers coming to regional Australia, including Colac Otway Shire: Regional work visas.