Mary Hanna

Mary Hanna is the Principal Lawyer of Mary Hanna Lawyers, a boutique immigration law firm in Victoria established in May 2013. Mary is a passionate and committed immigration lawyer who has practiced exclusively in the area of immigration law since 2002.

Prior to starting her own firm Mary had worked in private practice in both small specialist immigration law firms and mid-tier corporate firms, the settlement services sector and not for profit organisations, all in the field of immigration law.

Mary’s experience covers all areas of administrative and immigration law and policy with particular exposure in the family and humanitarian programs, skilled migration program including general skilled and employer sponsored visas, merits review and complex cases involving health, fraud and character issues.

Mary has sat on various legal and non-legal committees and boards and is currently a member of Law Council of Australia’s Migration Law Committee Steering Group, the Law Institute of Victoria’s Migration Law Committee and a member of the Migration Institute of Australia. She has been a registered migration agent since 2002 and has contributed to numerous legal and government submissions, parliamentary inquiries and continuing professional development activities across both the legal sector and the settlement services sector in the area of migration.

Mary’s philosophy as an immigration lawyer is that of empowering her clients to understand the journey on which they embark upon in seeking temporary or permanent migration to Australia. To advocate on their behalf to the best of her ability and ultimately to achieve the best possible outcome in the circumstances. She seeks to instil the same philosophy in the Mary Hanna Lawyers professional team (or the MHL family as she likes to call them) as she understands that knowing the law is one thing, but knowing the journey, it’s pitfalls and challenges is what distinguishes her in her field.

An empathetic and strategic immigration lawyer dedicated to helping others, Mary has been recognised by her peers as one of Australia’s Best Lawyers in the field of Immigration Law with her inclusion in the Australian Financial Review Best Lawyers List 2020 and 2021.

Mary graduated from the University of Technology Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws.

Mary is admitted as a legal practitioner in the High Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of New South Wales and holds an Australian Practicing Certificate. Mary is also a Registered Migration Agent, MARN 0209443.