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 in each year. If your business requires more positions than what is provided in the labour agreement for a particular year, you will need to obtain subsequent endorsement from MigrationNT.

At the subsequent endorsement stage, while we can endorse for multiple years in the one application, we can only endorse positions for each year of the labour agreement that begins before the expiry of the current NT DAMA (13 December 2024).

For example, if your labour agreement was first signed on 1 July 2022, we can provide endorsement for positions that you wish to nominate in year 1 (July 2022 to July 2023), year 2 (July 2023 to July 2024), and year 3 (July 2024 to July 2025), but cannot endorse for years 4 and 5 as the fourth year anniversary of the labour agreement begins after 13 December 2024.

The department examines the business’ current and future workforce needs to determine:

  • Whether the business is continuing to actively operate in the NT and has the financial capacity to sponsor overseas workers
  • whether there is a genuine need within the business for the number of positions requested (i.e. existing or expected vacancies in the relevant time period)
  • whether the concessions requested (English, salary threshold and age) are appropriate
  • whether the business has made efforts to recruit locally. The following requirements must be met:
    • the vacancy must have been advertised on at least 2 platforms for at least 28 days each in the last 12 months.
    • One of the platforms must be of national reach such as a recognised recruitment website, and the other can be a local platform such as the business’ own website. Please note, advertisements on social media are not accepted.
    • The advertisements must include the title or description of the position(s), skills or experience required, name of the business, and salary being offered (or a salary range).

    For more information on advertising requirements go to the Department of Home Affairs website

  • whether the terms and conditions of employment are in line with Australian workplace requirements – overseas workers must be paid no less than what an Australian would be paid to undertake the same job in the same location. For more information, see the ‘annual market salary rate requirement’ section
  • whether there is any adverse information against the business. For more information see the ‘adverse information’ section

Your business needs to apply to MigrationNT for subsequent year endorsement. This can be done by completing an online application through the NT DAMA portal and submitting with the supporting documentation in the checklist below.

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 Home Affairs to enable this). Once approved, you will be sent a deed of variation to sign and return to 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 Home Affairs.

Checklist of information for subsequent endorsement application

ItemDescription
1. Business registration documents:
  • business registration and if any business name change registrations
  • ASIC
  • ABN, ACN
  • trust deed (if applicable).
2. Evidence of the business is operating in the Northern Territory (NT). May include:
  • lease agreement
  • contracts and invoices from suppliers / customers
  • letter from accountant stating 12 months operation, net assets, profit / loss and turnover
  • business capability statement / promotional material referencing NT operation.
3. Job descriptions for each requested position.
4. Organisation chart less than 6 months old. Highlight the positions requested for endorsement; and provide the following information for all the staff:
  • positions titles
  • visa status (visa type, Australian permanent resident or Australian citizen)
  • employment status (full-time, part-time or casual)
  • reporting lines of all staff.
5. Audited financial statement for the mostly recently concluded financial year and business activity statement for each quarter of the current financial year. If the information is not available, provide a letter from an accountant detailing the business net profit and financial capability to sponsor workers in the requested positions.
6. If the business has any adverse information (e.g. adverse finding in relation to compliance with immigration, taxation or employment law) - a statutory declaration detailing the information, attach evidence of outcome (if any), and details of steps taken by the business rectify identified issues. For more information on adverse information go to the Department of Home Affairs website.
7. Evidence of domestic recruitment efforts for each requested position including:
  • copies of at least 2 job advertisements in a reputable website / newspaper / industry websites (not general classifieds or social media) one of which must be of national reach
  • invoices received by recruitment agencies (if used)
  • evidence to prove the nominated positions have been advertised for 28 consecutive days. For example, screenshots from the start and end of advertising, receipts showing duration. Please note that the Department of Home Affairs requires that advertising must have been completed during the 12 months prior to submitting a nomination, and each advertisement must include key information such as salary (or salary range), description of the position, location of the position, and required skills and experience.
Evidence must be compliant with current Department of Home Affairs labour market testing requirements. Read more information on labour market testing requirements on the Department of Home Affairs website.
8. Evidence to prove the nominee receives terms and conditions no less favourable than those provided to an Australian citizen or permanent resident:
  • employment contract and 3 recent payslips for a current Australian or permanent resident employee in the same level position or
  • enterprise agreement specific to the business or
  • evidence of market salary levels for similar positions in the NT, which can include:
    • recent advertisements placed for similar positions by other NT employers and/or
    • salary reports specific to the NT market from reputable sources.
Provide this evidence for each requested position. Read more information on the salary requirements to nominate a worker on the Department of Home Affairs website.
9.
  • Template employment contract (i.e. it does not need to include the names of the prospective employees) outlining terms and conditions of employment, including a breakdown of the salary, superannuation and any non-monetary components.
  • Pay slips - if an intended nominee is already employed in the position.
Provide above evidence for each requested position.

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