The Visa application landscape has changed radically. Equip yourself to navigate the migration law reforms reshaping applications and migration law practice. Gain practical guidance and expert insight from leading practitioners on the effect of the reforms on visa pathways, evidentiary expectations, application strategy and client advice. Understand employer-sponsored migration, labour agreement submissions and challenging decisions through judicial review. Gain your ethics, practice management and professional skills points through tailored consideration of the skills and practice needs of migration law practitioners. You’ll leave better prepared to build stronger applications in the current environment, manage complex matters, advise clients with greater certainty and reduce professional risk.

Presenters

Charles Johanes, Partner, Fragomen
Charles Johanes is a Partner in Fragomen's Australian Advisory, Compliance, and Government Relations Practice. He is a Solicitor and Registered Migration Agent with over 15 years of experience, as well as an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law. Charles partners with corporate clients to assist them in reviewing their internal policies and processes in order to implement best practices and ensure compliance with their obligations under Australian immigration law. He also provides strategic immigration legal advice in situations where immigration law may intersect with other areas of law (such as in mergers and acquisitions, or business restructures). Working with corporate clients that operate across a variety of sectors including telecommunications, information technology, engineering, financial services, retail and professional services, Charles has worked with a number of the world's largest multinational corporations, major Australian corporations, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and start-up companies. He has also assisted individual clients with a broad range of temporary and permanent visa applications, including applications for review.

Farid Varess, Principal, Varess
Farid is the Principal of Varess, a Sydney based law firm specialising in Australian immigration law. Admitted to legal practice in 2002, he has been an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law since 2010. Farid has been recognised in Best Lawyers in Australia for Immigration Law since 2013 and for HumSpeaan Rights Law since 2014, and has been included in Doyle's Guide's list of Leading Immigration Lawyers in New South Wales since its inaugural publication in 2021. He advises across all areas of immigration law, including complex visa, citizenship, review and court proceedings.

Karen Lo, Partner, Integrate Legal
Karen brings over 11 years of practice spanning private practice at Partner level and prior service within the Australian Government's immigration regulatory function. Her career covers the full arc of Australian corporate immigration, from front-line visa casework and regulatory enforcement within the Department of Home Affairs, through to building and leading a high-performing immigration practice. She has served as a trusted adviser to more than 200 corporate clients, from ASX-listed multinationals to scaling startups, across industries including construction and engineering, health and pharmaceutical, banking and finance, technology, luxury retail and entertainment. At her previous firm, consistently ranked National Tier 1 in immigration law and awarded Best Lawyers™ Law Firm of the Year 2026, Karen personally managed complex visa matters while overseeing a team of senior lawyers delivering commercially focused counsel tailored to each client's operational context. Karen is sought after for her ability to navigate difficult regulatory terrain: Ministerial Intervention requests, Administrative Review Tribunal proceedings, and labour agreement negotiations with the Department of Home Affairs on behalf of clients with complex corporate structures and large-scale infrastructure programs. She has also contributed to policy discourse, preparing submissions on behalf of clients in response to proposed legislative reform. Her government background at the Department of Home Affairs, where she investigated regulatory complaints against migration agents, drafted statutory notices and major sanction decisions under the Migration Act, and instructed counsel before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, gives her a perspective on compliance and enforcement that few practitioners in private practice share.


Theresa Baw, Barrister, Frederick Jordan Chambers
Called to the Bar in 2006, Theresa maintains a specialised practice in public administrative law. Her practice also extends to appearing in commercial and equity matters. The depth and breadth of her practice has seen Theresa advise and appear for individuals, companies, organisations and the Crown, in a wide range of disputes, particularly in migration law, encompassing all aspects of judicial review and challenging the decision of governments. Briefed to appear in test cases that create new law, some of the matters in which Theresa has appeared have become landmark decisions and are regularly referenced in courts today. Theresa has also appeared for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in criminal matters and she is also on their panel for junior barristers. An experienced advocate, Theresa has appeared unled in various jurisdictions, including the Full Federal Court of Australia, Federal Court of Australia, Supreme Court of New South Wales and other inferior State courts and tribunals, including the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Significantly, she has also appeared unled on a special leave application in the High Court of Australia and as a junior barrister in proceedings before the High Court.


Rebecca Thomson, National Lead Partner and Legal Principal, Migration Services, BDO Australia
Rebecca holds postgraduate qualifications in law and business management and brings extensive experience in delivering strategic immigration and advisory services. She works with a broad range of clients across the full spectrum of corporate immigration, including complex and sensitive matters. Known for her strong legal advocacy and practical approach, Rebecca advises on visa pathways, compliance, and regulatory obligations—achieving outcomes that support global mobility while managing organisational risk and governance. She partners closely with senior HR professionals, Boards, and executive teams to align talent mobility with broader business objectives. Her expertise covers employer-sponsored temporary and permanent visa programmes, as well as complex issues involving health or character concerns, skilled migration, citizenship, compliance, and ministerial interventions. Rebecca is highly regarded for her ability to bridge the gap between law, policy, and business strategy. She delivers clear, commercially focused advice that helps organisations attract, retain, and manage international talent while meeting their legal and ethical responsibilities


James Hammond, Principal Lawyer, Hammond Migration
James is the principal lawyer at Hammond Migration, a firm committed to supporting employers, employees and families through the complex Australian visa process. James has practised exclusively in the field of Australian immigration since 2005 and has extensive experience navigating Australia’s immigration system for the benefit of clients. Australia’s immigration policies are complex, political and change often. Staying abreast of the changes is challenging for lawyers, let alone visa applicants and sponsors. Australia’s population at any given time is made up of around 10% temporary visa holders, so practitioners in other areas of law are increasingly becoming embroiled in visa issues. James regularly assists in these matters where different areas of law intersect.

Belinda Man, Partner, Ajuria Lawyers

Angela Chan, Special Counsel and Head of Migration, Pryor Tzannes & Wallis Lawyers
Angela is a registered migration agent (RMA: 9256542) and consultant to PTW in immigration law. Angela completed her Bachelor of Arts (UOW), her Diploma in Law (Barrister’s Admission Board) from the University of Sydney and is a non-practising barrister. She was the first Australian-born Chinese woman to be admitted to the Bar in 1990. Angela is a Foundation Member of the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA), granted Life Membership of the MIA and past National and NSW/ACT President and past Chairman of the Board. She was appointed as a member of the First Federal Government’s Migration Agent’s Registration Board in 1992 and continued serving on the Board until the industry became self-regulated. Angela has provided immigration advice to companies and individuals since 1988. She was one of the first people to be registered under the licensing program in 1992 and prior to that was an accredited business migration agent of the Department of Immigration & Ethnic Affairs. Angela was a Trustee of the NSW Casino Community Benefit Trust Fund and a member of the SOCOG Multicultural Advisory Committee. She was the Chairperson and Life Member of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW. Angela is the Winner, Government Relations Practitioner (In-House) Award and Honorary Member Golden Key International Honour Society. Her oral history is kept at the National Library of Australia. Angela’s work and experience covers all areas of immigration law including appeals and compliance issues. She has also been involved in extensive consultations with all levels of government and bureaucracy and in trying to provide the best service to her clients.

Raina Bernardez, Partner, Ajuria Lawyers

Marion Lê, AM, Director, Marion Le Consultancy
Marion Lê AM is a human rights advocate who has spent five decades in her practice, as a Registered Migration Agent and Director of Marion Le Consultancy, advancing the rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Her work spans Australian immigration policy, refugee settlement, multicultural inclusion and humanitarian advocacy, including consultation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and extensive engagement with communities across Australia and Southeast Asia. Marion has frequently appeared before the AAT/ART particularly in s501 character and identity cases and has provided Expert Evidence on migration issues in Federal Court Criminal and other cases. She has assisted thousands of migrants and refugees with complex immigration, visa and citizenship matters. She has visited refugee communities and camps internationally, undertaken humanitarian work in Afghanistan and advocated consistently for more humane approaches to asylum seekers, including opposition to arbitrary detention and the detention of children. Marion's honours include Bicentennial ACT Citizen of the Year, the Medal of the Order of Australia, the AUSTCARE Paul Cullen Award for Outstanding Contribution to Refugees and the Australian Human Rights Award in 2003. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2009 and named as 2026 ACT Senior Australian of the Year nominee.