The NSW Labor government is planning to offer a pathway to permanent residency to immigrant truck drivers and other workers who are hired to work in regional areas.
A Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) is made between the federal and state governments to provide tailored skilled migration arrangements, and there are 13 in place across Australia, including one in the Orana region of NSW that ends in 2027.
The proposed new NSW DAMA is intended to “help address demonstrated workforce shortages across regional NSW” without affecting local employment opportunities, the government said.
Truck drivers are on the list of occupations for both Tier 1 (inland regional NSW), and Tier 2 (coastal regional NSW) of the DAMA, with Sydney and the regions surrounding Wollongong, the Central Coast and Newcastle excluded.
Road Freight NSW attended a briefing for stakeholders on October 7, and asked for clarification on whether the truck driver (general) category included drivers who need specialised licences or permits, BigRigs reported.
Unlike some occupations on the DAMA list, the truck driver category does not have age limits or salary conditions, but standard skills requirements will apply.
The government also said it was evaluating whether English language proficiency was needed for “suitable occupations”.
The DAMA consultation period closes on Friday, but the government said “feedback is not being sought on Australia’s migration intake, Australian Government visa legislation or visa conditions”.
The proposal comes amid calls from transport operators for a crackdown on “sham contracting” – where companies hire truck drivers on individual ABNs, even though they don’t own and operate their own vehicles, in order to avoid paying employee entitlements – which often involves immigrants on student visas.
Businesses told a meeting in NSW Parliament on October 8 they were frustrated at having to compete with sham contractors amid a cost-of-living crisis, and asked the government to simply enforce existing employment laws.
An ongoing driver shortage has led to an influx of foreign drivers in recent years, and last year industry insiders highlighted growing concerns about overseas hires, mainly from India, causing chaos on Australian roads.
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