Australian Migration Visa Lawyers - About Us

About AMVL Our Team

Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers stand by our motto of "Expert Advice. Responsible Solutions". We provide honest, expert advice to deliver the best migration pathway for our clients to follow. At all times we operate responsibly and ethcially within the MARA Code of Conduct.

Since 1996 our agents have processed over 14 000 applications on behalf of our clients who wished to immigrate to Australia. Our Registered Migration Agents are supported by an experienced team of paralegals and professional services assistants.

Registered Migration Agents (RMA)


		Byron Pugh Partner, Migration Agent & Lawyer - B.A. LL.B. Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 0107255 - MIA Member 1772
		Byron became a Managing Director of Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers in January 2005. Prior to this she was sole director and owner of a small boutique migration firm, and she uses this knowledge and experience in her role at AMVL. She has been a registered migration agent since 2001 and has been an admitted solicitor since 2000. Byron specialises in most visa categories and since returning from maternity leave has been managing special projects. She completed an Arts degree at the University of Queensland, before moving on to a Bachelor of Laws at QUT (externally). Byron gained employment with Groom & Lavers - a law firm in Toowoomba - while completing her degree, and gained experience in various areas of legal practice.


		Bill Gamack Managing Partner, BCom FCA Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 0963582
		Bill is the Managing Partner of Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers. Bill is a chartered accountant “by trade” with a wealth of business management experience which has included 10 years working overseas – in the UK and the Middle-East. He has also completed his Graduate Certificate in Migration Law at Griffith University. Bill specialises in Business Migration.


		Helen Duncan Partner, BA (Hons) Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 0003187
		Helen Duncan has been a Migration Agent for more than 10 years, and has worked in immigration since 1987 with the Department of Immigration in Canberra; Santiago, Chile; and Los Angeles, USA; where she was Vice-Consul Immigration. Helen is a professional demographer, and has served for 2 years on the National Board of the Migration Institute of Australia. She is a regular presenter of CPD, and lectures in migration law and practice at the Australian National University. She is responsible for client relations, supervision of visa work in a multitude of categories, and of course undertaking many visa applications.


		Philip Duncan Partner, LLB BEcon (Economics) Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 0427769
		Philip is an experienced Migration Consultant, having first become involved in migration in 1990. He lectures in Migration law at the Australian National University, and regularly presents professional development sessions for the Migration Institute of Australia. His professional career has included international business and consulting in Canada, USA, South America and Australia. He was previously Australia’s Trade Commissioner to Chile and maintains a strong connection with the region as a member of the Australia Latin America Business Council. Philip understands the needs of international business clients, and specialises in the Mining, Energy and IT industries. Philip is a registered agent with MARA, (Migration Agents Registration Number 0427769 ) as well as a Member of the Migration Institute of Australia.


		Heidi Ochoa BA-LLB, Post Grad Dip Leg Prac. Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 053 3317
		Prior to specialising in Migration, Heidi worked as a Solicitor in Townsville, North Queensland, specializing in Criminal Law. She moved to Brisbane in early 2005 and changed career paths to follow her passion in Migration. Being a migrant to Australia herself (born in El Salvador and migrated to Oz in 1988), Heidi has experienced the migration transition first hand and understands at a personal level what it’s like to move to a new continent!! Heidi has also travelled extensively and speaks French and Spanish fluently (and Italian to a more elementary level) and is a pretty good salsa dancer! Heidi specialises in all Skilled, Business, Spouse and Employer Sponsored visas.


		Joan Cuss B.Proc, B.A.(Honours) Overseas Qualified Lawyer & Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 0901122
		Joan is a Registered Migration Agent and an overseas qualified lawyer and was first admitted as an attorney of the High Court in South Africa in 1993. She practised as a labour lawyer until 1999 when she joined South African Airways as Senior Manager Legal Services. South African Airways sponsored her to complete her Diploma in Air Law in Geneva, Switzerland. Joan moved to Australia in mid-2007. As a registered agent she ran her own migration consultancy in Brisbane before joining AMVL. She has a B.Proc, B.A.(Honours), Dip Air Law (IATA) and a Graduate Certificate in Migration from Griffith University. She speaks English, German and Afrikaans fluently and learnt French and Latin at school and university, respectively.


		Teri Pearce Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 1169706
		Teri joined the company in February 2009 and has just recently become the Team Leader of our Recent Graduate Team. Having migrated to Australia in 2008 from the UK, Teri has a keen interest in migration law and understands the migration process from a first hand perspective. Teri completed a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degree in the UK and has undergone further study in Australia to become a Registered Migration Agent. When away from the office, Teri is a focused athlete who enjoys long distance running and having run the New York Marathon is now focusing on the Gold Coast Marathon in 2011. She has also recently joined a swimming squad to further her performance.


		Christel Dajcz Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 1066568
		Christel joined AMVL in 2005 and became the Office Manager, ensuring that the AMVL office was always running smoothly. Over the years, Christel has worked in many different areas of migration and developed an interest in the areas of Family Migration and Citizenship. She now leads the Family Residence Team in our firm, having completed her Graduate Certificate in Migration Law and becoming a Registered Migration Agent. Christel currently manages AMVL’s presence on Facebook and Twitter.


		Michael Yong Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 0964203
		In Malaysia, Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers has joined forces with a Kuala Lumpur-based Australian Registered Migration Agent – Kitson Migration Advisory. Mr Michael Yong is a partner of Kitson Migration Advisory. Michael is an Australian graduate from RMIT University, Melbourne with a Master’s degree in Business Admin and a Graduate Certificate in Migration Law and Practice from Griffith University, Brisbane. Michael is a member of the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) and member of Malaysia Institute of Management (MIM).


		Elizabeth King Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 1066924
		Elizabeth (Liz) is a recent addition to the AMVL team. Liz migrated to Australia from Ireland in March 1995. As such, she has an in-depth understanding of the issues faced by those undergoing the migration process and she especially loves working with the Irish. Liz resides in Sydney and is a very active member of the Irish community. Liz specialises in Employer Sponsored Migration and applies her attention to detail and Irish sense of humour to all aspects of her work. Her clients best interests are her number one priority.


		Melissa Perkins Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 1171553
		Having joined AMVL in January 2009 as a Client Liaison Officer in the General Skilled Migration team, Mel developed her deep compassion and understanding for migrants, with both her parents having migrated from the United Kingdom and the Philippines and marrying in Australia before she was born. In October 2010 Mel moved across to our Employer Sponsored Team to expand her knowledge and skills in migration. She then chose to undertake her Post Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice, receiving her MARA Registration and becoming a Registered Migration Agent in May 2011. When away from work Mel loves to visit local art galleries in and around Brisbane and also enjoys painting and creating artwork of her own from home.


		Siobhan Hill Registered Migration Agent (MARN) 1171440
		Siobhan has been in the AMVL team since April 2011 when she joined us as a Paralegal. It wasn’t long and Siobhan then became a Registered Migration Agent (RMA) the following month in May 2011 after completing her Post Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice and obtaining her registration. Prior to joining AMVL and becoming a RMA Siobhan had studied and completed her Bachelor of International Business which is now an asset to her role of assisting visa applicants from all over the world in reaching their dreams of a permanent life in Australia. Having traveled South America and lived in Argentina in 2009, Siobhan developed a keen interest in different cultures and enjoys practicing foreign languages including Spanish and German.

Recruitment - Employment Network

John Young
Recruitment Specialist

John joined Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers team in early 2011 and we are very proud to have him aboard. Heading up the AMVL Employment Network, John has many years experience in the recruitment industry and has an exceptional in-depth working knowledge of numerous trades and professions.

John currently lives in Queensland (he loves the sunny weather!) with his wife and children. With his fantastic insight into the Australian employment market and outstanding recruitment skills, John is always keen to discuss any aspects of the AMVL Employment Network.

Marketing & Communications

Lauren Crampton
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
B. Bus (Marketing & Management)

Lauren joined the AMVL team in June 2011. She completed her Bachelor of Business at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2006 with a dual major in both Marketing and Management.

Since graduating at university Lauren has developed a keen interest in marketing communications, branding and graphic design.

Before joining the AMVL team Lauren spent over a year traveling the world visiting Japan, Europe, Morocco, UK, USA, and Hong Kong gaining a newfound understanding and appreciation for world cultures.

Interested in a career in migrations?

We’re always on the lookout for great talent. If you are interested in working with our dynamic team, send us your resume and we’ll be in touch.