Community
11 April, 2025
Skilled migrant worker program extended
THE Great South Coast Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) has been extended into a seventh year.
“This is great news,” Warrnambool mayor Cr Ben Blain said.
“Through the DAMA, south west businesses and organisations have been able to fill hundreds of job vacancies at a time of labour shortages.
“Without it, some businesses would have struggled to operate normally.
“It has been enormously beneficial for business and for the region’s economy.”
The Great South Coast DAMA was launched in 2019 and is just one of 13 DAMAs currently in place across Australia.
Victoria has just two DAMAs, with the other operating in the Goulburn Valley.
The Great South Coast DAMA, which is managed on behalf of the region by Warrnambool City Council, has the approval for employers to hire staff in 113 different occupations.
Through the DAMA, about 600 positions at more than 100 businesses have been endorsed.
Among the local organisations to have hired staff through the DAMA is Terang-based disability support agency, Cooinda.
Cooinda CEO Janice Harris said her organisation had needed to hire more disability support workers after the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Ms Harris said a Cooinda staff member who had arrived in Australia via the DAMA in a previous role recommended it as a way to attract staff, particularly as it offered the potential for permanent residency.
She said the DAMA process was complex but supportive council staff helped along the way.
“We do all our nominations for sponsorship of staff ourselves on our Immi account which is relatively straightforward,” Ms Harris said.
“We have successfully completed 12 nominations and have other staff wanting to undertake the process.
“Last time we advertised for roles we had over 150 applicants, a lot who were living overseas.
“While our first priority is to local people and people living in the region, we have been short-staffed and recruiting continuously for the past five or six years and this is the first time we have had adequate staff numbers to fill our rosters.
“It has also significantly reduced the overtime we were paying out and impact of work fatigue on staff.”
Ms Harris said a flow-on benefit was that staff from a range of different countries added cultural diversity to the local community.
