Subsequent endorsement (deed of variation) process

When your business first accesses the Northern Territory Designated Area Migration Agreement (NT DAMA), you will receive a 5-year labour agreement from the Department of Home Affairs specifying:

• approved occupations
• the maximum number of positions you may nominate over the 5-year period.

A NT DAMA labour agreement is a workforce planning tool for your business to address local labour shortages. Businesses are expected to forecast their workforce needs over a 5-year period in the initial endorsement stage.

If, during the life of the agreement, your business needs additional occupations, new concessions, or more positions than initially approved, you must seek subsequent endorsement for variation from MigrationNT.

Requests for variation to add additional occupations or increase the number of endorsed positions may only be considered where a strong business case is provided outlining why the need was not foreseen when you made the initial application.

MigrationNT may support a variation in limited circumstances, including:

• addition of new concessions not previously requested or not previously available
• significant business changes, such as expansion.

In line with Department of Home Affairs policy, MigrationNT may only support one variation per year for each labour agreement and cannot accept variation requests in the first 6 months of a new labour agreement being executed.

Businesses should plan their workforce needs accordingly.

How to apply for subsequent endorsement

Your business needs to apply to MigrationNT for subsequent endorsement. This can be done by completing an online application through the NT DAMA portal and submitting with the supporting documentation as outlined at step 1 in our step-by-step guide.

An additional business case submission is required outlining the need for subsequent endorsement including any changes since initial endorsement.

If successfully endorsed, a letter of endorsement will be sent to you and to the Department of Home Affairs.

The Department of Home Affairs will then assess your variation request, based on our letter of endorsement. You do not need to make a further application with Department of Home Affairs to enable this. Once approved, you will be sent a deed of variation to sign and return to Department of Home Affairs by email.

Once you have signed and returned the deed of variation, you will be able to nominate more workers by lodging a nomination application with Department of Home Affairs.