MELBOURNE VIC
Migration lawyers in Melbourne
Visa Plan Lawyers acts for clients across Victoria on employer-sponsored visas, skilled migration, partner visas, ART appeals, and judicial review. We are a Melbourne-based law firm.
Melbourne migration practice
Visa Plan Lawyers is based at Level 13, 257 Collins Street in the Melbourne CBD legal precinct. We act for clients across Victoria, from the inner-city professional migration cohort through to regional matters arising under the Great South Coast and Goulburn Valley DAMAs, and we represent Victorian clients in matters before the Department of Home Affairs, the Administrative Review Tribunal Melbourne registry, and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
Our work in Melbourne reflects the structure of Victorian migration. Inner-Melbourne demand concentrates in healthcare and social assistance, education and training, professional services, and advanced manufacturing, sectors with sustained skilled-migration intake under both the Subclass 482 Skills in Demand program and the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme. Regional Victorian matters arise more commonly out of the agriculture and food-processing sectors that anchor the Goulburn Valley, and the dairy and aged-care sectors that anchor the Great South Coast.
Administrative Review Tribunal, Melbourne registry
The Administrative Review Tribunal commenced operation on 14 October 2024, replacing the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The ART's Melbourne registry, at 55 King Street, hears matters in the Migration and Refugee Jurisdictional Area (visa refusals and cancellations under the Migration Act 1958, other than protection visa matters) and in the Protection and Immigration Jurisdictional Area (protection visa decisions). Most Victorian-resident applicants have their hearings allocated to the Melbourne registry.
A lawyer-led ART matter at Visa Plan begins with a written analysis of the original Department decision: the legal grounds, the evidentiary record, and the prospects on review. Where the original decision discloses jurisdictional error, we plan the matter so that the case at the ART is also a case suitable for judicial review if the Tribunal affirms. This requires anticipating issues a Federal Circuit and Family Court judge will examine, and ensuring the record before the ART is structured accordingly.
Victorian state nomination
Victoria's state nomination program is administered through Live in Melbourne under the Victorian Government. Nomination is available for:
- the Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visa (permanent residence on nomination by Victoria), and
- the Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (regional Victoria).
Eligibility is sector-specific. Each program year, Victoria publishes priority occupations and target sectors that may diverge from the Department of Home Affairs' national core skilled occupation list. Healthcare occupations, certain teaching occupations, and selected engineering and ICT roles have featured consistently in recent years. We treat state nomination as part of an integrated skilled visa strategy: the points calculation, occupation choice, employment structure, and timing all interact with what Victoria will and will not nominate. Where Victoria is unlikely to nominate, we advise on alternative state pathways or non-nominated skilled options.
Speak with a Melbourne migration lawyer
An initial consultation gives you a written analysis of your circumstances and a clear view on cost. We act for clients across Victoria.
Book a consultationDAMAs operating in Victoria
Two Designated Area Migration Agreements operate in Victoria:
The Great South Coast DAMA covers Warrnambool City Council and the surrounding municipalities of Moyne, Glenelg, Southern Grampians and Corangamite. It supports skilled migration into the local dairy industry, aged care, food processing, and trades occupations. Concessions on age, English language, and salary may be available, depending on the occupation and stream.
The Goulburn Valley DAMA covers Greater Shepparton City Council and surrounding shires. It supports skilled migration into agriculture and horticulture, food processing (including dairy and meat processing), and supporting trades. The occupation list and concession framework are distinct from the Great South Coast.
A DAMA pathway requires both employer endorsement under the relevant DAMA and an underlying Subclass 482 SID or Subclass 186 ENS application. We act for both employers (preparing the endorsement and labour-agreement work) and the workers nominated under those agreements.
Federal Circuit and Family Court, Victorian registry
Where an ART decision contains jurisdictional error, denial of procedural fairness, taking into account an irrelevant consideration, misconstruction of the relevant statutory provision, or other identifiable legal error, judicial review lies in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Proceedings for Victorian clients are filed at the Court's Melbourne registry at 305 William Street, Melbourne. Time limits are strict: applications generally must be filed within 35 days of the ART decision being notified.
Only admitted Australian legal practitioners can file proceedings, draft pleadings, and appear at hearing in this Court. A registered migration agent who reaches this stage must hand the matter to a lawyer or barrister. At Visa Plan the same lawyer who advised on the original application, prepared the ART case, and analysed the ART decision continues into court, there is no handover, no second-time-around briefing, and no information loss between stages.
Working with us in Melbourne
For Melbourne clients we offer in-person consultations at Collins Street or by video conference. Most clients meet with us once at the strategy stage and conduct ongoing work by video. Some matters, partner visa evidence cases involving sensitive disclosure, character matters under Section 501, or detailed business visa structuring, benefit from in-person meetings. We accommodate either preference.
Our practice across Victoria is conducted under Victorian Legal Services Board regulation. We are subject to the Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules and to the disciplinary jurisdiction of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in respect of professional conduct. Client funds are held on trust in accordance with the Legal Profession Uniform Law (Victoria). These professional structures sit above the Code of Conduct for Registered Migration Agents and apply to every matter we handle.