Action at last on Designated Area Migration Agreements

australianchamberThe Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) welcomes the report today that the Northern Territory Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) is close to implementation.  The DAMA replaced the proposed Regional Migration Agreements (RMA) which had been announced as policy some years ago but not implemented.ACCI’s Director – Employment, Education and Training, Jenny Lambert, said:

“Designated Area Migration Agreements are an important part of the labour force mix.  Action on the Regional Migration Agreements, along with their sister policy the Enterprise Migration Agreement, was unacceptably frozen by the previous Labor Government, denying regions an opportunity to grow their available workforce.”

“It would be a great if more Australians were willing to work in these designated areas, but achieving labour force mobility in Australia is proving challenging, so in the meantime, areas that are experiencing labour shortages should not be held back.”

“The fact that pressure on labour availability is being applied in large part as a result of a gas project that will employ up to 10,000 people is something that should be celebrated.  Australians are being given the opportunity to work on an exciting project at highly competitive wages.  This understandably puts pressure on other businesses, and mechanisms to alleviate their shortages are welcome.”

www.acci.asn.au