DAMA · Queensland · Established 2019 (renewed 2024)
Far North Queensland Designated Area Migration Agreement
The Far North Queensland DAMA covers Cairns and a vast surrounding region from the Tablelands to Torres Strait. Its primary purpose is to plug the chronic tourism, hospitality and aquaculture workforce gap that local recruitment has been unable to fill.
★Key takeaways
- ✓Far North Queensland DAMA was established 2019 (renewed 2024) and is administered by Cairns Chamber of Commerce.
- ✓Occupation list includes 10+ roles with TSMIT and English concessions not available on standard 482 Core stream.
- ✓Employer geographic trigger: Employer must be located in one of the FNQ region LGAs: Cairns Regional, Cassowary Coast, Tablelands, Mareeba, Douglas, Etheridge, Cook Shire, Hope Vale, Lockhart River, Mapoon, Wujal Wujal, Yarrabah,...
- ✓PR pathway: 186 Direct Entry stream under the Labour Agreement pathway after 3 years on the 482.
- ✓Cite all DAMA pathway numbers against Cairns Chamber of Commerce’s current published occupation list – concessions and occupations are reviewed periodically.
At a glance
Agreement holder
Cairns Chamber of Commerce
Geographic trigger
Employer must be located in one of the FNQ region LGAs: Cairns Regional, Cassowary Coast, Tablelands, Mareeba, Douglas, Etheridge, Cook Shire, Hope Vale, Lockhart River, Mapoon, Wujal Wujal, Yarrabah, Pormpuraaw, Aurukun, Northern Peninsula Area, Kowanyama, Napranum, Torres Strait Island Regional, Torres Shire, Croydon, Carpentaria, Doomadgee, Mornington
PR pathway
186 Direct Entry stream under the Labour Agreement pathway after 3 years on the 482
Occupations covered
10+ across mining, trades, hospitality, care and professional services
Top concession occupations
10 representative occupations
A sample of the 10+ occupations on the Far North Queensland DAMA. The full current list is published by the agreement holder and is reviewed periodically.
Concessions summary
What the DAMA actually changes
| Concession | Far North Queensland DAMA |
|---|---|
| TSMIT | Up to 10% concession on TSMIT for selected tourism and hospitality occupations |
| English | IELTS 5.0 each band for skilled occupations; 4.5 each band for selected semi-skilled (cook, tour guide) |
| Age (PR pathway) | PR pathway: age cap raised to 55 for selected occupations |
| Work experience and skills | Reduced work experience to 2 years for tourism, hospitality and care occupations |
Concessions are set out in the agreement between the Commonwealth and the agreement holder and can change at agreement renewal. Always confirm against the current published agreement.
In depth
How the Far North Queensland DAMA actually works
Cairns is Australia’s most international tourist destination outside the major capitals, drawing 2.5 million visitors a year for the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree. The local hospitality, tourism and tour-operator workforce has been chronically thin since the post-COVID rebuild and never recovered to pre-2020 levels.
The FNQ DAMA was signed in 2019 and has been one of the heaviest-used DAMAs by volume. Hospitality manager, chef, tourism operations manager, cook and tour guide together account for the bulk of sponsorships. Aquaculture farmer (covering the prawn, barramundi and oyster farming industries up the coast) is a smaller but distinctive use case.
TSMIT concessions are below the standard $76,515 (CSIT) for several of the lower-end hospitality occupations, with floors near $66,000. English concessions are common. The PR pathway is via 186 Labour Agreement after 3 years.
Employer obligations
- Employer must be located within the agreement region (see geographic trigger above).
- Obtain agreement holder endorsement before lodging a Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS) application with Home Affairs.
- Demonstrate local labour market testing (LMT) was carried out and a local hire was not available.
- Pay the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy on nomination: $1,200/year (small business under $10m turnover) or $1,800/year (larger employers).
- Pay at or above the agreement’s salary floor (cannot use DAMA concession to push salary below the agreement minimum).
- Do not recover any sponsorship or migration agent costs from the worker (this is a strict sponsor obligation).
Common questions
Far North Queensland DAMA – common questions
Does the FNQ DAMA cover Townsville?
No. Townsville has a separate DAMA (Townsville DAMA, agreement holder Townsville Enterprise). FNQ DAMA stops at the Cassowary Coast – Mission Beach is in.
Can a chef on a 482 work in Port Douglas under FNQ DAMA?
Yes. Port Douglas is in the Shire of Douglas, which is covered by the FNQ DAMA. The standard 482 chef occupation is also available outside the DAMA but the DAMA offers TSMIT and English concessions for certain chef variants (e.g. fine-dining sushi chef).
Does this DAMA cover Cape York and Torres Strait?
Yes – the agreement reaches up the Cape and into Torres Strait. The same employer obligations and concessions apply.
How does FNQ DAMA compare to standard 482?
FNQ DAMA offers concessions on TSMIT, English and work experience for occupations not always available on the standard 482 Core stream. Standard 482 is faster to lodge (no DAMA endorsement step) and is the right choice if the worker’s occupation, salary and English all comfortably meet the standard 482 Core rules.
Other DAMA regions