Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) Concessions

All workers employed under the Goldfields DAMA must be employed under Australian employment conditions and receive no less than what an Australian would to undertake the same job in the same location.

Many employer-sponsored visa programs, including the standard TSS, SESR and ENS programs, have a minimum salary threshold that can be paid. The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) is now $70,000.

The Goldfields DAMA includes TSMIT concessions which may be available for employers across some occupations. The occupations table 9 (listed below) indicates which occupations have access to a TSMIT concession:

More information about the TSMIT can be found here and a TSMIT Guide for Goldfields DAMA here.

English Language Concessions

Currently, some of the occupations listed under the Goldfields DAMA include English language concessions that may be available to overseas workers applying for a temporary TSS visa, SESR visa and/or those transitioning to Australian permanent residency through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) labour agreement pathway.

For the Occupations listed in Table 10 below, the following English language concessions apply: 

TSS (482) and SESR (494) concession: overall score of IELTS 5.0 (or equivalent) with no IELTS minimum band score (unless registration or licensing requires a higher level of English). 

ENS (186) concession: overall score of IELTS 5.0 (or equivalent) with no band score lower than IELTS 4.0 (or equivalent) (unless registration or licensing requires a higher level of English).

IELTS means the International English Language Testing System or the equivalent in another accepted English language test.

Other accepted English language tests are:

• Occupational English Test (OET);
• Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-based test (TOEFL iBT);
• Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic test; or
• Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) test.

(Note: Employers seeking an English language concession for an occupation need to provide reasoning as part of their endorsement application. This should explain why a lower level of English language is acceptable for the requested occupation. Consideration should be given to how any workplace safety risks will be managed for workers with lower levels of English. Please attach a letter to this effect as part of your application.)

Labour Market Testing

Evidence of approved Labour Market Testing (LMT) is a crucial part of an application to employ overseas workers through the DAMA. Employers seeking overseas workers under a DAMA must provide evidence of LMT:

• When applying for Designated Area Representative (DAR) endorsement,
• When requesting a DAMA labour agreement, and
• At the nomination stage

This evidence must demonstrate at least two (2) genuine attempts advertising the vacant position(s) within Australia, in English, for a minimum of 28 days each, to recruit qualified and experienced Australians.

• One of these must be on a platform with a national reach, e.g. Seek, Workforce Australia or an Australian industry website

• the other may be advertised locally (within the designated area only)

The evidence provided should be equivalent to that required under the Standard skilled visa program but may include advertising conducted on either the Sponsor’s and/or industry website. 

Category 3 location means a location within Australia with a postcode that is designated as a regional area of Australia and under the category ‘Regional centres and other regional areas’ for skilled migration purposes. 

Please provide dated copies of the advertisements with your application. The same LMT evidence can be used at each of the above stages, however the advertising must have occurred within the last 12 months before lodging the nomination application.

For more information go to the Department of Home Affairs’ website here.

Other advertising requirements

Advertisements within Australia must be written in English and included the following information:

• Title and description of the position (note: multiple positions in one advertisement are acceptable);
• Skills or experience required for the position;
• Salary range for the position if it is under AUD$96,400;
• Employer/business name or name of the recruitment agency being used; and
• Must state “full-time contract including living and working in the Goldfields DAMA region”.

Businesses must accept applications from job seekers for at least four weeks.

Terms and conditions of employment should be consistent with the Australian workplace law, and no less favourable than an Australian worker. Bringing in a Skilled Migrant is not about accessing 'cheap labour'. 

Where to advertise

There are many ways you can advertise the vacant positions, including:

• Via a recruitment agency
• Media channels and publications: 
  • newspapers (e.g. the West Australian newspaper, unfortunately, the Kalgoorlie Miner is not acceptable) 
  • professional and trade publications
  • industry associations’ newsletters
• Online websites such as: 
  • CareerOne 
  • Seek
  • Adzuna
  • Workforce Australia 
  • Jora
  • LinkedIn Job (must be open to all networks, not closed network job advert)

(Note: Facebook, Instagram and closed network/group advertising is not acceptable.)

Permanent Residence Pathway

Age Concessions