Labour Agreements

Labour Agreements

Labour Agreements (LA) are formal arrangements negotiated between employers and the Australian Government, represented by the DIBP, which enables the approved business to obtain workers from overseas after exhausting all genuine efforts failing to find suitable workers from the Australian labor market. The agreements are generally in effect for three years and might include additional terms and conditions because labour agreements provide a variation to standard migration requirements.

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There are currently four main types of LA

  1. Company-specific labour agreements
    This is developed directly with the business or an employer and will be considered only if there exists a genuine need for a certain skill or shortage in the workforce that is not provided in an industry labour agreement. The terms and conditions are considered on a case to case basis.
  2. Industry labour agreements
    This provides fixed terms and conditions agreed by the Minister with due consultation with the key industry stakeholders, specific to an industry sector. Consideration shall be given if DIBP receives similar requests from an industry where it is evident that there is an ongoing labour shortage for certain skill(s) in an industry. Some existing industry labour agreements cover dairy, fishing, meat, minister of religion, on-hire, pork, restaurant, and snow port.
  3. Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)
    This provides flexibility for states, territories or regions to counter they're unique economic and labour market conditions through an agreement-based framework. In this agreement, businesses or employers can sponsor both skilled and semi-skilled workers from overseas. However, DAMAs are put in place to ensure that priority shall be given to Australian workers, and retaining existing local workforce.
  4. Project agreements
    Allow infrastructure or resource development projects experiencing genuine skills or labour shortages access to skilled and specialised semi-skilled temporary overseas workers through this program. They are designed to complement existing Australian Government initiatives to address skill and labour shortages by ensuring that shortages do not create constraints on major projects and jeopardise Australian jobs.

Project companies with projects endorsed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade under the China-Australia Investment Facilitation Arrangement (IFA) can request a project agreement.

Contact us for further details if this type of visa is appropriate for your organisation.

Independent Migration

No.

Employer Nomination

Required. May be an employer or an industry group

State/Territory Government Nomination

Not required.

Family/Relative Sponsorship

Not required.

Permanent Migration Pathway

There are permanent residence visas available under a Labour Agreement (LA), being Subclass 186 and Subclass 187.

Employment Prospects

Contact us for assistance with migrant employment solutions. If you match the skills requirements of an Australian employer, we can also help you with visa options.