Managing Partner, Former MARN 9802862
Carina Ford is recognised as one of Australia’s pre-eminent migration lawyers.
She established her own practice in 2004, having previously worked as an Associate at Gadens Lawyers, Melbourne. She is a practicing lawyer and an Accredited Immigration and Administrative Law Specialist. She is a member of numerous legal boards and committees including:
Between April 2017 and April 2019 she was the Vice Chair of the Migration Law Committee of the Law Council of Australia
Fellow of the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA)
Member of the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) Administrative Law Specialisation Law Committee / past member of the Immigration Law Specialisation Committee (2003 – 2018)
Member of the LIV Migration Law Committee (chair in 2009 and 2010)
Member of the LIV Refugee Law Committee
Part of a group of lawyers who have established LIV’s refugee legacy caseload group established in 2015 to help meet the need of 30,000 applicants who have little to no legal funding
Member of the Cancellations Working Group
Part of the UNHCR Roundtable on Protection and Mental Health Concerns for the Asylum-Seeker 2016
Member of the LIV Sports Law Committee from 2016 / Co-Chair of the LIV Sports Law Committee 2019
Member of the Hockey Victoria Disciplinary Tribunal
CFIL supervises a legacy caseload clinic as part of a joint venture between the ASRC and Maurice Blackburn after hours. Carina is a regular contributor to submissions about Bills in this area for the LIV and LCA and has appeared before numerous Australian Senate Committees. She is part of a group providing assistance on split family Applications – applications by refugees under the age of 18 who wished to bring family to Australia. She also writes the Student visa section of the Lexis Nexus Migration service.
Carina is also a registered New Zealand Migration Adviser (201100036) and a member of the NZAMI. She has presented papers both in Australia and overseas and teaches both experienced and newly entered migration agents/lawyers.
Carina was also awarded the Best Lawyers ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for 2022 and the Lawyers Weekly, “Partner of the Year’ for 2022 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to her field.
