$19.4 Million Dedicated To Australian Regional Migration, Priority Processing, & DAMA’s

Today, 08 February 2019, the state and territory treasurers in Canberra and the Federal Government held a meeting to implement a long term plan that would address the population crisis in capital cities.

The meeting concluded with the implementation of a four-year plan with the aim to support regional migration. Over the next four years, the Australian Government will provide $19.4 million to support regional migration by attracting more skilled workers.

Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA)

The $19.4 million investment is intended to relieve the stress on Australia’s capital cities through tools such as the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA). To do this, Regional employers and skilled migrants wanting to live and work in regional areas will be given access to priority processing on visa applications. Moreover, Minister for Immigration, David Coleman, has announced that the extra funding will make regional towns more attractive for skilled migrants and could expand agreements that lower the eligibility criteria for migrants who agree to settle in regional areas.

Designated Area Migration Agreements are designed to be tailored to the needs of specific regions that are unable to find Australian workers to fill positions. The Northern Territory recently signed its second DAMA agreement, and Warrnambool on Victoria’s Great South Coast is expected to sign one soon.

Relief For The RSMS 187 Processing Times

Throughout the 2018/2019 programme year, there has been a lot of debate regarding regional migration due to the population crisis, lack of skilled workers, and high processing times.

Currently, processing times for the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa range from 20 to 22 months. This has placed regional business owners struggling to fill positions and applicants stricken with uncertainty.

Implementation of the DAMA will help processing times. With that being said we are unsure as to how quickly immigration will return to the ‘good old days’ of 4-6 month processing times.

Do You Need Help With An Australian Visa Application?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications, including state sponsorship applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer-Sponsored Work Visas, Partner, and other Family Migration visas as well as Migration Review Tribunal, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

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