Hiring a Japanese Chef in Perth and Brisbane: 494, DAMA

Perth and Brisbane are often grouped together as "the other Australian cities", but for a restaurant sponsoring a Japanese chef they sit on opposite sides of an important line. Perth counts as a designated regional area for migration purposes. Brisbane does not. That single difference opens two extra visa routes in Perth that a Brisbane restaurant cannot use. This guide sets out what each city can do, with the national 482 process covered in our guide to hiring a Japanese chef in Australia.

1. Two cities, two regional categories

Home Affairs divides Australia into three categories for regional migration:

For the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494), Home Affairs states that designated regional areas include all of Australia except Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. A restaurant in Perth can use it; a restaurant in Brisbane cannot.

2. Perth: the 494 regional visa

The 494 employer sponsored stream is a five year provisional visa with a path to permanent residence. Both Chef (ANZSCO 351311) and Cook (351411) are listed as eligible occupations for it on the Home Affairs skilled occupation list, with Trades Recognition Australia as the assessing authority.

What the chef must have, according to Home Affairs:

• at least 3 years of relevant work experience in the nominated occupation;
• a relevant skills assessment, unless an exemption applies;
• be under 45, unless an exemption applies;
• at least Competent English.

What the employer must do: be (or apply to be) a standard business sponsor, pay at least the annual market salary rate, which a Regional Certifying Body also assesses, and pay at least the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold, which is A$79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Salaries of A$250,000 or more are treated differently.

What the chef gets: the right to live, work and study in designated regional areas for 5 years, and eligibility to apply for permanent residence through the subclass 191 visa after holding the 494 for 3 years.

Compared with a 482, the 494 asks for more (three years' experience instead of one, a skills assessment, a higher English standard, an age limit) and gives more: a defined route to permanent residence. It suits an established chef who wants to settle in Perth, less so a younger cook with two years behind them.

3. Perth: the WA DAMA

Western Australia also has a Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA). Migration WA says the WA DAMA, established in July 2024, covers the whole state, including metropolitan Perth, alongside separate regional DAMAs for the Goldfields, Kimberley, Pilbara and South West. Employers must first be endorsed by the Designated Area Representative, which for the WA DAMA is the Department of Training and Workforce Development through Migration Services.

Key points from the WA DAMA eligibility and criteria document (the version on Migration WA's site in September 2026):

• Endorsement can lead to a 482, 494 or 186 visa.
• Concessions can include a maximum age of 55 instead of 45, English language concessions for selected occupations and reduced skills and experience requirements.
• Salary must be no less than the TSMIT or CSIT (A$79,423 from 1 July 2026).
• Up to 50% of places are available to metropolitan Perth, and a metropolitan business must show that its requested skilled migrants do not exceed the 50% ratio set by Home Affairs, with evidence of how many Australians and migrants it employs.
• For the 482 and 494 pathways, metropolitan Perth employers need at least two separate job advertisements as labour market testing.
• An endorsement is valid for 12 months.

Whether Chef or Cook is on the WA DAMA occupation list, and for which tier and visa, is set out in Migration WA's online occupation filter. We could not retrieve that list when checking, so confirm it before you plan around the DAMA. If your occupation is there, the age and English concessions can matter a great deal for an experienced Japanese chef in their late forties with limited English.

4. Brisbane: the standard routes

As a Category 1 city, Brisbane has no access to the 494. The usual route is the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), Core Skills stream: one year of experience, the English test, the CSIT of A$79,423, and the caveats that exclude limited service restaurants. Our Australia guide walks through it step by step, with costs.

We could not confirm from the Home Affairs pages we could access whether any DAMA covers Brisbane. Home Affairs publishes a list of current labour agreements (current as at 31 July 2026 when we checked); look there, and ask the Queensland government, before assuming a DAMA is available.

5. The premium dining labour agreement (both cities)

One route works in Perth and Brisbane alike, and many restaurants overlook it. Home Affairs lists a Restaurant (premium dining) industry labour agreement among its ten industry agreements. According to Home Affairs (page updated 23 June 2026):

• Occupations: Chef (351311), Cook (351411), Café or Restaurant Manager (141111) and Trade Waiter.
• Visas: 482, 494, and 186 after a two year transition period for chefs and cooks.
• Your business must be a premium dining restaurant: highly experienced staff, a wine list, revenue of at least A$2 million a year, not franchised, and needing specialised front of house and back of house staff. Home Affairs names sushi chefs among its examples of specialised back of house staff.
• English for the 482: overall IELTS 5.0 (or equivalent), at least 4.5 in listening and speaking and at least 4.0 in reading and writing.
• Experience: as for the 482 for chefs and cooks; applicants for the 494 need at least two years.
• Salary: the normal salary requirements of each visa program.

6. The local Japanese pool

• Brisbane metropolitan area: 11,672 Japanese nationals on 1 October 2025, up 2.4%, the 18th largest Japanese community of any city abroad.
• Perth metropolitan area: 7,788, up 2.0%, 27th.
• Across Australia, 65,085 of the 105,566 Japanese nationals are permanent residents (MOFA). MAFF counted 2,230 Japanese restaurants in Australia in 2025, up 230 on 2023.

Brisbane's pool is half as large again as Perth's. In both cities, check local candidates and working holiday makers before sponsoring. Note that restaurant work in Brisbane or Perth does not count as specified work towards a second working holiday visa unless the location qualifies; our working holiday guide explains the rule. Pay floors under the Restaurant Industry Award are national: from 1 July 2026, A$1,119.10 a week for a cook grade 3 and A$1,221.10 for a cook grade 5.

7. Choosing a route

For more on regional options, see our guide to regional visas for chefs in Australia; for a Category 2 city on the Queensland coast, see the Gold Coast.

General information checked against official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Occupation lists, DAMA terms and thresholds change, often on 1 July. We could not confirm whether Chef or Cook is on the WA DAMA list or whether any DAMA covers Brisbane. Confirm with Home Affairs, Migration WA or a registered migration agent before acting.