Maria is the partner and leader of the firm’s National Immigration Law Group. She is an accredited Immigration Law Specialist and a registered Migration Agent.
Acknowledged as one of Australia’s leading Immigration Law Specialists, Maria brings a unique depth and breadth of immigration law experience from her years in private and government service.
Regarded as an authority on immigration law, Maria is listed in “The International Who’s Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers” (2010, 2011 and 2012) and is nominated in the Peer Review “Best Lawyers” (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013).
She is a sought after speaker and lecturer and a prolific author on all aspects of immigration and citizenship law including employer based immigration, business skills, health and character issues, monitoring and enforcement. Her recent works include 457 Visa Law: Addressing Australia’s Skilled Labour Shortage, Thomson Reuters 2008, Immigration Law Client Strategies in the Asia-Pacific, Aspatore 2009 and Getting the Deal Through – Corporate Immigration 2012 & 2013, Law Business Research 2012, Global Mobility 2013.
Experience
Maria acts for international and Australian corporations, bringing skilled personnel to Australia to meet labour force needs. She also advises international education providers on the requirements for the National Code and regulatory compliance relevant to education of overseas students. She represents business, skilled and family migrants advising in all aspects of temporary and permanent residency and migration related matters including complex health and character cases.
Maria heads our team of lawyers dedicated to providing strategic, expert and practical advice and business solutions in all aspects of visa and migration related requirements.
Maria is the convenor of the Immigration Lawyers Association of Australasia (Law Council of Australia), a member of the executive committee of the International Law section (Law Council of Australia) and a member of the Migration Law Committee (Law Institute of Victoria).
In her current and former roles, Maria has contributed to shaping the future of immigration law in Australia having advised on government policy and legal matters at State and Federal levels.
Maria’s practice includes all aspects of Immigration Law, including:
• Employer Nomination Temporary/Permanent Residency Applications
• Business Skills Migration
• Complex matters involving health and character issues
• Federal Court Applications
• Skilled Migration
• Review Applications
• Citizenship
• Ministerial Submissions
• International Education
• Educational Services of Overseas Students Act & National Code
• Labour Agreements
• Enterprise Migration Agreements.
