Visa 186 Labour Agreement: the Lesser-Known Third Stream
When it comes to visa 186, most people only know two paths: the TRT stream (from 482 to PR) and Direct Entry (straight in). But visa 186 actually has a third stream — Labour Agreement — reserved for businesses that have negotiated and signed their own labour agreement with the Australian Department of Home Affairs.
What a Labour Agreement is
A Labour Agreement (LA for short) is a legal arrangement between a specific business (or an industry) and the Australian Government, allowing the recruitment of overseas workers on conditions that differ from the usual standard. The agreement sets out which occupations may be recruited, the numbers, the English requirement, the skills requirement, and it usually runs for a fixed period.
A Labour Agreement does not come about on its own — the business has to propose it, negotiate it, and have it approved by the Department of Home Affairs. Only businesses that already hold an LA can sponsor under this stream.
Common types of Labour Agreement
Company-specific Labour Agreement: Negotiated individually between a specific business and the Department of Home Affairs. Usually for large corporations or businesses with particular labour needs that are not met through the usual channels.
Industry Labour Agreement: Some industries have negotiated an LA on an industry-wide basis. Businesses within that industry can access the industry LA without negotiating from scratch — the conditions are standardised under the industry’s shared agreement.
DAMA (Designated Area Migration Agreements): This is the most distinctive type — an agreement at the geographic-region level, between the Department of Home Affairs and a state or territory government. A DAMA allows recruitment into specific labour-shortage regions, often with easier conditions than the national standard for English, income, and age.
Which industries commonly have a Labour Agreement
Industries that often appear in Labour Agreements include:
- Hospitality: Head chefs, cooks, and specialised skilled positions that the local labour market does not supply enough of
- Aged care: Nurses, personal care workers
- Agriculture and food: Meat processing, harvesting, technical roles in agriculture
- Regional and remote: Many DAMAs target occupations facing specific local shortages
How it differs from TRT and Direct Entry
The Labour Agreement stream operates fundamentally differently:
Visa conditions can be more flexible: Depending on the content of the LA, the English requirement, minimum income, or age may be adjusted relative to the national standard. This is why some businesses choose the LA path — when a good candidate does not fully meet the standard conditions.
Application fee: Base fee reference: 6,140 AUD — the same as the other streams of 186.
Process: The business lodges a nomination under the LA framework → the worker lodges the visa application → the Department of Home Affairs assesses against the conditions of the LA rather than the standard TRT or DE conditions.
If you don’t have an employer with an LA
The Labour Agreement stream only applies when the business already holds a Labour Agreement — a worker cannot find an LA on their own to apply under. If your current or prospective employer does not have an LA, you need to look at TRT or Direct Entry instead.
If your employer operates in an industry or region that may be eligible to negotiate an LA, they can explore the possibility of proposing one with a migration agent who specialises in business sponsorship (an RMA experienced with employers) — but this is a time-consuming process with no guarantee of success.