Hire a Japanese Chef in Perth or Brisbane: Regional Visa Guide

Perth and Brisbane sit on opposite sides of Australia's regional migration line: Perth counts as regional and gets the 494 visa and the WA DAMA; Brisbane does not. We checked Migration WA's occupation list directly: Chef (351311) and Cook (351411) are both on the WA DAMA, for Metropolitan Perth and Regional WA, across the 482, 494 and 186. A three year 482 runs to about A$8,365 in government fees for the chef alone; a five year 494 costs more but can lead to permanent residence.

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 eligible occupations on the Home Affairs skilled occupation list, with Trades Recognition Australia as the assessing authority.

The chef needs at least 3 years of relevant experience, a skills assessment (unless exempt), to be under 45 (unless exempt), and at least Competent English. The employer must be (or apply to be) a standard business sponsor and pay at least the annual market salary rate, which a Regional Certifying Body also assesses, and at least the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold, A$79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. In return the chef can live, work and study in designated regional areas for 5 years, with eligibility for the subclass 191 permanent visa after 3 years on the 494. Compared with a 482, it asks for more and gives more: a defined route to permanent residence, suiting an established chef who wants to settle rather than a younger cook two years into their career.

3. Perth: the WA DAMA, confirmed

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 (Migration WA, September 2026 update):

• Endorsement can lead to a 482, 494 or 186 visa, valid 12 months.
• Concessions can include a maximum age of 55 instead of 45, English concessions for selected occupations, and reduced skills/experience requirements; which apply to Chef and Cook is set out occupation by occupation, so confirm the exact concessions for your nominee at endorsement.
• 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, with evidence of how many Australians and migrants the business already employs.
• Metropolitan Perth employers need at least two separate job advertisements as labour market testing.

With both roles confirmed available, the WA DAMA is a live option for a Perth restaurant, not a maybe — worth checking especially for an experienced 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 caveats excluding limited service restaurants; our Australia guide walks through it step by step.

We tried to confirm whether any DAMA covers Brisbane or South East Queensland by querying Home Affairs' list of current labour agreements directly; the list runs through an interactive tool that returned no results to an automated check. Of the DAMA regions publicly announced (Northern Territory, Adelaide, WA's agreements, and Far North Queensland covering Cairns and Townsville), none is named for Brisbane or the Gold Coast — but confirm on the live list before ruling it out, since agreements are added.

5. The premium dining labour agreement, and its evidence checklist

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 (page updated 23 June 2026):

• Occupations: Chef (351311), Cook (351411), Café or Restaurant Manager (141111) and Trade Waiter, on the 482, 494, and 186 after a two year transition 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, needing specialised front and back of house staff. Home Affairs names sushi chefs among its examples of the latter.
• English for the 482: overall IELTS 5.0 (or equivalent), at least 4.5 in listening and speaking, 4.0 in reading and writing.
• Experience and salary: as for the 482 for chefs and cooks, except 494 applicants need at least two years.

The gating test decides whether an omakase counter qualifies, and Home Affairs publishes no fixed evidence list. Build a bundle before you apply:

For an omakase counter turning over A$2 million or more, the lower reading/writing scores can decide whether a chef with strong kitchen skills and modest written English can be sponsored at all.

6. Cost by route

These are the government charges only; agent, migration lawyer and skills assessment fees are extra and vary by provider.

Add a skills assessment (494 only), any WA DAMA endorsement costs, agent fees and relocation costs from our relocation package guide for a true total. The 494's extra cost buys three more years of validity and, after three years held, eligibility for permanent residence; the 482 is cheaper and faster but caps out at renewal.

7. 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 first; restaurant work does not always count towards a second working holiday visa (see our working holiday guide). Award pay floors are national: from 1 July 2026, A$1,119.10 a week for a cook grade 3, A$1,221.10 for grade 5.

8. 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. Confirm current DAMA regions on Home Affairs' live list, occupation concessions with Migration WA, and your own numbers with a registered migration agent before acting.