Far North Queensland DAMA

The Far North Queensland DAMA has the Cairns Chamber of Commerce as its Designated Area Representative and covers the Cairns, Douglas, Mareeba, Tablelands, Cassowary Coast, Cook, Croydon, Etheridge, Torres and Northern Peninsula Area council areas and the Weipa Town Authority area. Its Occupation and Concessions List, version 7.6 dated 19 March 2026, spans skill levels 1 to 5 without caveats, includes locally designed occupations outside ANZSCO, and can be varied as regional demand changes.

The Chamber’s summary of concessions lists age limits of 55 or 50 depending on the occupation in place of the standard 45, salary concessions of 90% of TSMIT for skill level 3 to 5 occupations where the market salary is shown to sit below the threshold, English language concessions for numerous occupations, reduced experience requirements, more flexible labour market testing and a permanent visa pathway for every listed occupation, with direct subclass 186 access in some cases based on prior FNQ work experience.

Employers must have operated in the designated area for at least 12 months, show they cannot fill the position locally and offer terms equivalent to those of Australian workers in the same role. The endorsement fee is $885 per position for Chamber members and $985 for non-members, with a 50% reduction on a subclass 186 position requested alongside its subclass 482 position and $275 for rollovers or minor variations. A well presented request is usually assessed in under 10 business days; the labour agreement that follows is valid for up to five years and carries no government fee. Permanent residence is generally available after two or three years with the employer in FNQ depending on the visa pathway.