Businesses in the City of Karratha and Town of Port Hedland are already making use of the new Pilbara Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA), which came into effect on 9 May 2022.
Regional Development Australia Pilbara has received applications from 24 businesses to fill over 100 roles in the region as of 11 August 2022.
The roles are in industries including Hospitality, Child Care, Retail, Trades and Industry, which till now businesses have been unable to fill with Australian workers.
The DAMA was initiated by the City of Karratha following extensive consultation with local businesses which concluded a DAMA would provide most benefit to addressing labour shortages.
City of Karratha Mayor Peter Long said the City is thrilled businesses are utilising the DAMA.
“Attracting and retaining staff is a major issue our business community face and it’s great to see local businesses making use of this new solution for recruitment and retention issues,” Cr Long said.
Town of Port Hedland Mayor Peter Carter said the DAMA supported the local business community by pro-actively addressing critical labour shortages.
“Speaking with local businesses, it’s clear that labour shortages continue to be a challenge impacting operations and growth. We’re pleased to see that Hedland businesses are using the DAMA to recruit skilled and semi-skilled overseas workers in certain occupations to meet demand.”
Regional Development Australia Pilbara Chief Executive Officer Tony Simpson said RDA is excited by the opportunity to help businesses fill seats which have been vacant for too long in critical service-based industries.
“35% of the nominations received are to fill roles in key service industries that keep our towns ticking.
“The businesses that have applied are currently in the system and we look forward to progressing these applications to completion and we’re excited to welcome our first new residents in the not-too-distant future.”
Regional Development Australia (RDA) Pilbara administers the process for accessing the DAMA, with businesses in the City of Karratha and Town of Port Hedland now able to apply.
Businesses need to first gain approval to access the DAMA with individual visa applicants being eligible once this is complete.
A joint funding model between RDA Pilbara, the City of Karratha and the Town of Port Hedland is subsidising the cost of applications to access the Pilbara DAMA. The funding model is helping reduce the financial burden on local businesses and encourage businesses to leverage the Pilbara DAMA.
More information: www.rdapilbara.org.au