Unique visa program offers solution to workforce shortages for one SA service provider

A long day care provider in South Australia has turned to the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) program as a way of combating chronic workforce shortages in its regional service. 

Located in the regional hub of Mount Gambier/Berrin, Mount Gambier Child Care Centre has provided a workplace to three migrant women for the next three years, also helping to address some of the ongoing challenges with attracting and retaining staff. 

COVID-19 restrictions, vaccine mandates and work pressures have led to a number of resignations for the provider, who shared its story with local news source Border Watch. 

Director Fiona Paltridge said she turned to DAMA after she was unable to fill vacancies at her service with local workers, and is the only provider in the South East of SA, to her knowledge, to be part of the program. 

Two women from the Philippines and one from Sri Lanka have been supported by Mount Gambier Child Care Centre to settle in the SouthEast region through DAMA. 

One of the women, Sachila Dediyagala, moved to Mount Gambier from Melbourne with her family for the job, while another, Jo Alagaban, had spent time in both Sydney and the Northern Territory before settling in Mount Gambier with her husband and children. 

“At first, we came here just on a student visa then we went to study for two years and after that, I was hopeless thinking about there’s no other pathway that we can take, and then we learned about this visa,” she shared with Border Watch, saying the visa was “like a light” which allowed her and her family to remain in Australia.

The third woman, Aileen Castaneda also came to Australia on a student visa in 2019, and soon needed to move to a regional area.

“Before coming here, I was hesitant, but we needed to really try it,” Ms Casteneda explained.

After three years on the visa, the women will be eligible to apply for permanent residency in Australia. 

While the arrangement has been beneficial for her service, Ms Paltridge warns others seeking to follow the DAMA path that it is complex and expensive, and that despite commencing the process in July 2021, it was not until July 2023 that the positions in the service were approved. 

To read the original coverage of this story please see here.