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Law Council of Australia

Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Migration Manager John Gibson AM for the Young Australian Migration Lawyer of the Year Award

This award is conducted annually by the Law Council's Migration Law Committee. The award recognises excellence by young lawyers in the field of migration law in Australia or internationally. In recent years the event has been generously supported by Migration Manager.
 

2024 Call for nominations

The nomination round for the 2024 Migration Manager John Gibson AM Young Australian Migration Lawyer of the Year Award will be open mid-year. 
 

2023 winner - Mr Ko Ko Aung

Ko Ko is a solicitor at Ajuria Lawyers who specialises exclusively in immigration law and runs the firm's pro-bono and 'giving back' practice. Although his core work focuses on corporate migration, he run’s the firm’s program of working with organisations such as Talent Beyond Boundaries, facilitating migration pathways, relationships, and communication between displaced individuals and Australian employers. This initiative benefits the Australian community, employers, and asylum seekers, while also addressing the skills shortage that the Australian marketplace is experiencing.

Ko Ko has a unique perspective on immigration, having migrated to Australia from Myanmar at the age of 16 as a high school student. He later obtained a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Engineering from the University of New South Wales. His passion for assisting asylum seekers has been at the forefront of his work. In 2021, after Myanmar's coup d'état, he developed an accessible online guide for asylum seekers, lobbied foreign policy, and delivered workshops for Burmese nationals. He even insisted on assisting the Myanmar Student Association in Australia by developing mind-maps of the Australian Migration System and elaborating on various visa classes, extending visas, and preparing strong visa applications for temporary protection, all done pro bono in his spare time.

Ko Ko has become a pillar of the legal profession in his community. Students fearing retribution for protesting sought his advice on applying for temporary protection in Australia. Professionally, Ko Ko collaborates with fellow lawyers on a voluntary basis to lodge visa applications and serves as a volunteer advisor to the National Unity Government Australia. Politically, he reaches out to the Australian government with suggestions on enhancing foreign policy in Myanmar.

Ko Ko's volunteer and pro-bono work also extended  to helping Afghan asylum seekers. For him, the exclusive purpose of Immigration Law is to help individuals, and he is committed to fulfilling this purpose in any way he can.

The Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section conducted an interview with Ko Ko. Read more here.
 

Previous winners

Contact

Ms Chelsea De Silva
Section Administrator
T.  02 6246 3722
E. chelsea.desilva@lawcouncil.au

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