Regional Visas for Chefs in Australia: the 494 and DAMA

Most Australian restaurants that sponsor a chef use the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482). Outside Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane there are two more options: the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa, subclass 494, and a Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA). Both can lead to permanent residence and both ask more of the employer in some respects and less in others. This guide compares them for a Japanese restaurant, using the Department of Home Affairs pages and the legislative instruments in force in September 2026. For the standard 482 process, see hiring a Japanese chef in Australia.

1. What counts as regional

For the 494, Home Affairs defines designated regional areas as all of Australia except Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. That takes in Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Hobart, Darwin and many other places where Japanese restaurants trade. If your site is in Perth or on the Gold Coast, the regional routes are open to you. Our guides to Perth and Brisbane and the Gold Coast cover the local markets.

The 494 holder must live, work and study only in a designated regional area, and must work only for the sponsoring employer in the nominated occupation. A restaurant group that later wants to move the chef to a Sydney venue cannot do so on this visa.

2. Chef and cook on the 494 lists

The occupations for 494 nominations are set by a separate instrument, LIN 19/219. In the compilation dated 14 December 2024:

• Chef (ANZSCO 351311) is on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List.
• Cook (ANZSCO 351411) is on the Regional Occupation List.
• Cafe or restaurant manager (141111) is also on the Regional Occupation List.

Both lists are valid for 494 nominations, so either code can be used. The instrument itself attaches no restaurant type condition to chef or cook. That differs from the 482, where chef and cook carry caveats excluding factory mass production and limited service restaurants. Do not read this as a loophole: the position still has to be genuine and at the skill level of the occupation, which Home Affairs checks against the ANZSCO tasks.

3. What the chef needs for a 494

The 494 is harder for the worker than the 482. Home Affairs lists these requirements for the employer sponsored stream:

• Age: under 45 at the time of application, unless an exemption applies.
• Experience: at least 3 years full time in the nominated occupation at the required skill level, generally gained within the last 5 years. Casual work is not counted.
• Skills assessment: a positive assessment by the relevant assessing authority, obtained before the visa application. An exception applies if the chef already holds a 482 in the same occupation and had a skills assessment for it.
• English: at least Competent English.
• Length: 5 years. The holder can apply for permanent residence (subclass 191) after holding the 494 for 3 years.

For a Japanese chef, the 3 year experience rule and the English level are the points that decide eligibility. Gather employment certificates with dates, duties and hours early. Our guide to translating employment certificates covers the paperwork.

4. What the employer must do

• Be a standard business sponsor, or have applied to become one.
• Labour market testing. You must test the local market unless an exemption applies. Home Affairs notes that no international trade obligations apply to the 494 program, so testing cannot be waived on trade agreement grounds, whatever the chef's nationality.
• Annual market salary rate (AMSR). If you pay under A$250,000 a year, you must show you will pay at least the AMSR, and a Regional Certifying Body must also assess it.
• Income threshold. Both the AMSR and the guaranteed earnings must be at least the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT): A$79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 (A$76,515 the year before). Non-monetary benefits such as accommodation do not count towards it.
• A genuine full time position likely to exist for at least 5 years, with a signed written contract lodged with the nomination.
• Costs: no nomination fee for this stream, but the Skilling Australians Fund levy applies as a one-off amount: A$3,000 if annual turnover is under A$10 million, A$5,000 otherwise. The levy cannot be passed on to the worker.

5. 494 or 482: a side by side

In short, the 494 suits a senior chef you already know meets the 3 year and English bar and who wants a clear path to stay. The 482 is usually faster for a younger cook or one with less English.

6. DAMA: the regional labour agreements

A DAMA is an agreement between the Australian Government and a regional authority. Employers in the region first get endorsement from the regional body, then enter a labour agreement with Home Affairs, and can then nominate workers with concessions that the standard programs do not allow. There are several DAMAs, each with its own occupation list and concessions. We verified one in detail, the Northern Territory's, as an example of what is on offer.

Northern Territory DAMA III was executed on 19 March 2025. According to the NT Government's pages:

• Chef (351311), cook (351411), pastrycook (351112) and cafe or restaurant manager (141111) are on the NT DAMA occupation list, with pathways through the 482, 494 and 186 visas.
• English: chef, cook and pastrycook have an English concession. For the 482 and 494, the concession is an overall IELTS score of 4.5 with no band below 4.0 (or equivalent); the 186 requires 5.0 overall.
• Age: nominees in skill levels 1 to 4 can be under 55 instead of 45.
• Salary: where the market rate is lower, the concession allows 85% of the CSIT or TSMIT, or A$67,510, whichever is higher. Workers must still get the market salary and Australian conditions.

For a Japanese chef in his or her late forties with limited English, those concessions can be the difference between a refusal and a visa. If your site is in another DAMA region, check that region's list: we did not verify the others and each one differs.

7. Choosing a route

1. Confirm the site is outside Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
2. Check the chef against the 494 bar: under 45, 3 years full time, Competent English, skills assessment. If all four are met and permanence matters, consider the 494.
3. If the chef misses age or English, check whether a DAMA covers your region and lists chef or cook.
4. If none of that fits, use the 482, then plan the move to a 186. See the employer nomination (186) guide.
5. Budget for the SAF levy, the Regional Certifying Body assessment and labour market testing before you make an offer.

General information checked against the Department of Home Affairs, the Federal Register of Legislation and the Northern Territory Government in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Thresholds change each 1 July and DAMA terms differ by region. Confirm with Home Affairs, the relevant DAMA body or a registered migration agent before acting.