The migration announcement made by the Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Clare O’Neil MP, on April, 2023 is expected to bring significant changes to the immigration landscape. These changes will impact the immigration process, including visa categories, and eligibility requirements. We still have a lot of unknows, but are you prepared? We invite you to join us to explore the proposed reforms and new frontiers of migration in Australia plus gain a guide to Judicial Review in Immigration Law. 

Presenters

Mr. Farid Varess, Principal, Varess
Farid Varess was admitted to legal practice in 2002. He has been an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law since 2010, and is included on: the Best Lawyers in Australia list for Immigration Law since 2013, the Best Lawyers in Australia list for Human Rights Law list since 2014, and the Doyle’s Guide’s list of Leading Immigration Lawyers in NSW since it was first published in 2021. A large part of Farid’s work involves representing clients with proceedings in Australia's Federal Circuit and Family Court, Federal Court, and High Court. He also provides advice and assistance to clients with matters before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA), and clients seeking visas and other outcomes, including employers, investors, skilled migrants, family based visa applicants, students, asylum seekers and refugees, those facing visa cancellation, citizenship applicants, and global talent visa applicants.


Ms. Katie Malyon, Member of Migration & Refugee Division, Administrative Appeals Tribunal
Katie was appointed a part-time Member of the Migration Review Tribunal and Refugee Review Tribunal on 1 September 2014. The Tribunal amalgamated on 1 July 2015 with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal where Katie now works in the Migration and Refugee Division. Prior to her appointment to the Tribunal, Katie specialised in immigration law and was a registered migration agent for nearly 20 years. Most recently, she was an Executive Director of Ernst & Young’s Global Immigration practice. This followed successful establishment of her own multi-award winning law firm in 2005 which was recognised in the BRW's Fast 100 in 2010. Katie was a finalist in the Telstra Business Women's Award NSW in 2012. She was recognised by local peers as one of the Best Lawyers in Australia, Immigration 2010 - 2014 and by international peers in the International Who's Who of Corporate Immigration Law 2008 - 2014. After initially working as a teacher in Brisbane and then Jakarta, Katie commenced her legal career in 1986 with Clayton Utz and was a Partner at Australian Business Lawyers from 2001- 2005. She has also lectured in immigration law as a casual Academic at UNSW. Katie has a B.A. from UQ, a LL.B.(Hons) from Sydney Uni and, in 2018, completed a LL.M.&M. at UNSW. Actively involved in professional associations, Katie was Vice-Chair of the Law Council of Australia’s Migration Law Committee from 2013 - 2014, NSW President of Migration Institute of Australia in 1996 – 2000 and a Director of the MIA from 2011 – 2013. Recently, she served on the College of Law’s Migration. Agent Capstone Assessment Advisory Committee and is now an Executive Office with the Australian Institute of Administrative Law. Katie is a published author of numerous articles on migration matters and made many presentations on a range of immigration law related topics. In addition, she has been a regular contributor to Government led considerations of migration issues, including drafting submissions and providing oral evidence for the Law Council. In 2013, she was the appointed to the Government’s Independent Review into the Integrity of the Subclass 457 visa.


Mr. Ray Turner, Principal Solicitor, Ray Turner Immigration Lawyers
Ray Turner is an accredited specialist in immigration law and has been a registered migration agent since 1992. He has been recently recognised by the Law Society of New South Wales for 20 years of service, advising and acting clients as one of Australia's top migration law practitioners. Ray was a founding partner of Turner Coulson but now has stepped down as Immigration Lawyer Sydney Principal Solicitor / Director and enjoys a more relaxed approach consulting on a case-by-case basis thereby allowing him to focus his energy and legal skills on the best outcome for his clients. Ray has advocated throughout his career for both Government and private clients in all Courts and tribunals and is regularly appointed by the Federal Courts, due to his level of skill and expertise, to act for unrepresented clients appearing before the Courts. When immigration matters become complex, Ray is the person other migration agents and solicitors to turn to for advice. Ray has significant experience in all areas of Australian migration law and particularly in business/investor visas, general skilled migration, spouse/family visas, refugee applications, character issues, detention/deportation and visa cancellations. Ray has previously worked in the Commonwealth Departments of Primary Industry and Health and the Australian Customs Service. In each of these Departments, Ray represented the various Ministers and other statutory office holders in the Federal Courts and Administrative Appeals Tribunal.


Ms. Kathryn Viegas, Director, Nomos Pty Ltd
Kathryn Viegas is a Director and Principal Solicitor of Nomos Legal, a boutique immigration law firm in Sydney. Kathryn holds degrees in Psychology and Law from the University of New South Wales and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University. In 2006, she was awarded a Master of Laws degree from the University of Sydney. She has practised immigration law since 2003 and is an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law. Since 2018, she has been included annually on the ‘Best Lawyers’ list for Australia as published in the Australian Financial Review. Kathryn commenced her career at the HIV/AIDS Legal Centre and established her own practice in 2005, which she ran for eight years. In 2016, she co-founded Nomos. Since 2007, she has presented continuing education programmes for lawyers and other professionals through the College of Law, the Law Society of NSW and other professional associations. She currently teaches the Graduate Diploma in Migration Law program at Victoria University. Kathryn is the current President of the Management Committee of the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre, a specialist community legal centre that provides free legal advice and assistance to vulnerable migrants and refugees. She is also the co-founder of The TLR Foundation and a Director of the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety. She sits on the Specialist Accreditation Immigration Law Advisory Committee in NSW and is a member of the UNSW Law & Justice Advisory Council.


Ms. Marial Lewis, Principal Solicitor and Founder, Crossover Law Group
Marial Lewis is one of Australia's top immigration lawyers. She is an accredited specialist in Immigration Law by the Law Society of NSW as well as the winner of the prestigious 2021 and 2022 Lawyers Weekly 30 under 30 and the 2020 John Gibson Award - Young Migration Lawyer of the year by the Law Council of Australia. In 2022, Marial was listed in the Forbes list under 30 for social impact and was recognized by her international peers in the Who’s who Legal- Corporate Immigration Future Leaders and in the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for 2023- Immigration Law. Marial has also been a finalist in various national awards including, innovative of the year (individual), rising star of the year for the Australasian Law Awards and Women in Law, regional/suburban lawyer of the year and 30 under 30 since 2019. Marial is also a lecturer and unit coordinator in the Graduate Diploma of Australian Migration Law and lectures administrative law at UNSW. After many years in private practice including being a partner in a specialist migration law firm, Marial founded Crossover Law Group, a Newlaw migration law firm focusing on servicing private and corporate clients migration law needs by delivering a fast, efficient and transparent excellent service whilst using innovation, technology and new ideas for better delivery. Crossover Law Group has been recognised as innovative law firm of the year finalist as well as Newlaw firm of the year finalist in various awards. Marial is a passionate lawyer who works with a wide range of clients assisting them with their immigration legal goals and is an international speaker on migration law matters. She is also very experienced with complicated migration law matters such as refusals, cancellations, detention, character cases, review matters at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal as well as being a litigator in migration court cases.


Chris Honnery, Barrister, Frederick Jordan Chambers
Chris Honnery is a barrister who is experienced representing applicants in administrative law and judicial review proceedings. He passed the England and Wales Bar Transfer Test prior to being called to the NSW Bar, and has worked in a number of jurisdictions. Before becoming a barrister, Chris was a solicitor for almost a decade, working at Victoria Legal Aid, the Federal Court of Australia, and representing asylum seekers detained on Nauru. Based in Sydney, Chris also appears interstate, and has particular expertise in migration matters and challenging visa-related decisions. Website https://www.chrishonnery.com.au/


Ms. Elizabeth Le, Director, Global Immigration, Ernest Young
Elizabeth Le is a Director in EY’s People Advisory Services practice based in Brisbane. Elizabeth has over 15 years’ experience in all aspects of Australian immigration law and practice, assisting multinational corporation and individuals with their immigration needs across a range of industries, including but not limited to Mining, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, and Aviation. As a child of refugees who escaped the Vietnam War in 1979, Elizabeth recognises how life changing an immigration journey can be, and through her human-centric approach, Elizabeth brings value to her clients through her experience and passion for immigration law. While Elizabeth’s experience is broad, her particular area of focus is employer-sponsored migration, working with small employers to large global employers. Elizabeth’s experience spans across Australian immigration law, policy and practice and includes: • Development of strategic global immigration solutions to support employers to deploy their workforce across borders and attracting and retaining skilled foreign talent • Strategic immigration planning and compliance advice for complex mobile workforces • Advice on the design and implementation of operational efficiencies for global immigration programs • Advice on a wide range of immigration solutions involving home and host jurisdictions • Developing immigration compliance and risk management strategies • Through an EY network in over 150 locations across the world, connects companies globally and manages global immigration programs. Elizabeth is holds a Bachelor of Arts (University of Queensland), Bachelor of Laws (University of Queensland) and Master of Business Administration (Macquarie Business School) and is a Legal Practitioner, admitted to the Supreme Court of QLD and High Court of Australia. She is a member of QLD Law Society, Migration Institute of Australia and Institute of Chartered Accountants. In her down time, Elizabeth enjoys time with family and friends, especially over a delicious meal.


Ms. Rita Chowdhury, Principal, Integrate Legal
Rita Chowdhury is the Principal of Integrate Legal. Rita holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Wollongong. Rita is admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW and High Court of Australia. Rita is also a Notary Public. Rita was awarded the inaugural Lawyers Weekly 2016 Partner of the Year Award in the Migration category and has been recognized by Who's Who Legal in both the global immigration lawyer and Australian lawyer categories. Rita is a Fellow of the Migration Institute of Australia ("MIA") and an MIA accredited educator. She is also a member of the International Bar Association (IBA) Immigration and Nationality Committee and presented at the IBA's Annual Conference in Sydney. She has over 15 years' immigration experience having led immigration practices at a large international commercial law firm, a big four accounting firm, and an international private client law firm. Since establishing her own boutique corporate immigration practice, Rita has become a sought after and highly regarded Australian immigration advisor. Rita's clients range from entrepreneurs and small businesses to large multinational companies. Rita is recognized for her ability to understand her clients' business needs and aspirations and provide commercial solutions and strategic advice. She is known locally and globally, for her responsiveness, high quality client service and technical knowledge. Rita has been published by leading legal publishing houses including Lexis Nexis, Thompson Reuters and CCH.


Ms. Lillian Ajuria, Partner, Ajuria Lawyers
Lillian Ajuria is an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law and has practised almost exclusively in this field for over 18 years. A partner at Ajuria Lawyers the firm has become a leading practice in the field of Immigration Law with a strong focus on the corporate and entertainment sectors. Lillian was formerly the NSW Vice-President of the Migration Institute of Australia and a board member of the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre (IARC). She is also on the Accredited Specialist Examination Board of the Law Society and is a frequent presenter on Immigration Law in Australia and internationally. Lillian has been included on the Best Lawyers List of Australia for 15 consecutive years since 2009 and is in Doyle’s Guide’s list of Leading Immigration Lawyers in NSW as well as the Who is Who Legal. A fluent Spanish speaker, Lillian is the former National President of the 'Official Australian-Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Industry' and was awarded a Civil Merit Medal by the King of Spain in 2017.