The Australian Government continues to support Victoria's Great South Coast region through a variation to the current Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA).
The Great South Coast DAMA provides an opportunity for regional employers to be endorsed to hire overseas workers for roles that cannot be filled by Australian residents.
Federal Member for Wannon, Dan Tehan, said the DAMA - an Australian Government initiative - is designed to support local businesses by helping them fill key roles where they struggle to recruit their workforce locally.
"Businesses looking to access skilled labour in areas of workforce shortage have welcomed the news of the additional occupations in the health, aged care, childcare, and mariculture sectors with pathways to permanent residency, said Mr Tehan.
"As always, our first priority continues to be to fill jobs with Australians, but the immigration system can play an important role in helping to address these regional skills gaps", said Mr Tehan.
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alex Hawke said the expanded agreement offers more flexibility for businesses to source the workers they need from the global labour market.
"The DAMA promotes the Great South Coast region as a place of choice for overseas workers, while supporting Australian industries to expand their workforce and create further job opportunities for Australians," said Minister Hawke.
"The inclusion of permanent residency pathways assists the region to attract a mature, experienced workforce to the region who can then provide mentorship for Australians seeking to enter into these vital positions."
"It is exciting to see the significant growth that is occurring within the region," Minister Hawke said, "The changes to the Great South Coast DAMA will prepare the region's workforce to embrace these opportunities which will provide real long-term benefits to local communities."
"The expansion of the Great South Coast DAMA is yet another example of the Australian Government remaining adaptive and flexible to the needs of regional Australia".
For more information on the DAMA visit https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/regional-migration/dama
