Subsequent endorsement (deed of variation) process

When your business first accesses the Northern Territory Designated Area Migration Agreement (NT DAMA), you will be provided a labour agreement that is valid for 5 years. The agreement will provide the occupations and maximum number of positions that can be nominated over the life of the 5-year agreement. If your business requires additional occupations, concessions or more positions than what is provided in the initial labour agreement, you will need to obtain subsequent endorsement from MigrationNT.

A NT DAMA labour agreement is to be used as 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. Please note, the number of endorsed workers can only be increased during the 5-year period if there is a strong business case outlining why the increased demand was not foreseen when you made the initial application.

Requests to vary existing labour agreements may only be supported by MigrationNT in limited circumstances such as:

• addition of concessions not previously requested, or new concessions not previously available
• business circumstances have changed such as business expansion.

How to apply for subsequent endorsement (for more occupations, numbers and concessions)

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.

Once your business has been 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 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.