The months Jane Coole spent racking her brain for a plan to recruit workers has finally led to an idea she thinks could work.
The Esperance restaurant owner believes rethinking Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA) could help countless regional employers still struggling to find staff following the pandemic.
The agreements, which are in place across 12 Australian areas, allow regional businesses to sponsor skilled overseas workers more easily than standard visa programs.
But the agreements differ widely between regions, which Ms Coole said created problems.
The Goldfields-Esperance DAMA is skewed towards mining and agriculture, while the new South West one, which Ms Coole believed was the gold standard, includes many jobs in tourism and hospitality.
The agreements, which can be accessed online, show that chefs are included in the Goldfields one, but the South West calls for cooks, hospitality workers, cafe and restaurant managers, bar attendants, accommodation and hospitality managers and waiters.
Ms Coole said that put the South West at a huge advantage over other regions when trying to recruit tourism and hospitality workers.
She believed the broader agreement should roll out across regional Australia to even the playing field for regional employers and simplify the process for migrants.
A Home Affairs spokesperson said a region could ask for additional occupations to be added to its DAMA during an annual review, which would be considered by the minister.
The Shire of Esperance said the Goldfields DAMA had just gone through its annual review and a number of additional occupations, including some in hospitality and tourism, were awaiting sign-off by the minister.
"It would just be incredibly helpful if we were all playing on the same level playing field trying to get these workers into regional areas," Ms Coole said.
"It's tricky, and it's challenging enough, without [some of us having a] big disadvantage and some having a huge advantage."
DAMA brings 30 to Goldfields in three years
The South West DAMA, which took effect in January, has not yet brought new visa-holders to the region, but it is believed applications are currently being worked through.
A spokesperson said the process could take months.
The Goldfields-Esperance DAMA, which was launched in 2019, had seen about 30 primary visas granted, according to the Department of Home Affairs.
Different worker pool to backpackers
Although DAMAs are controlled by the federal government, Ms Coole believed the state government should champion strengthened agreements as part of its bid to attract more skilled migrants.
She said DAMAs had advantages over backpacker visa programs — historically a major pool for regional Australia's seasonal workers — as they permitted older workers and could provide a path to permanent residency.
The South West DAMA allows workers up to 55 years old for most occupations.
"The state government has recently come out saying that they want to relax some of the conditions around visas and encourage migration," Ms Coole said.
"It would seem a rational thing to do to pick up that one very effective [South West] DAMA and bring it out across the regions."
Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery said the state government had a number of initiatives designed to bring tourism and hospitality workers to the region.
She said 106 occupations were recently added to the WA migration list, bringing the total number of occupations to 276.
She said 33 of the new occupations aligned with the four DAMAs across WA.
