Bring the right people to Australia — your team and your family
Chua Tan Associates is a family law firm, founded in Melbourne in 1990 and now in its second generation. For more than three decades, we have helped businesses and families from across Asia build their future in Australia. For employers, we make it simpler to bring skilled workers and professionals from Asia into your business. We handle sponsorship, nominations, labour agreements and ongoing compliance, so you can focus on running your company. For families, we know that a move to Australia is rarely just about a visa. It often involves a family home, a business, children's education and plans for the generations ahead. Because we are a family firm ourselves, we understand what is at stake, and we treat every family's affairs with care and discretion. Our immigration team includes two Accredited Specialists in Immigration Law. Alongside your visa, our lawyers can advise on property, business succession, Wills and cross-border estate planning, all under one roof. We advise in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Rooted in trust. Focused on what comes next
A Melbourne family firm, founded in 1990, helping professionals, businesses and families from across Asia build lasting futures in Australia.
Chua Tan Associates was founded in Melbourne in 1990 by Kin Wee Chua. At the time, few lawyers in Melbourne could advise Chinese-speaking clients in their own language and with a real understanding of their backgrounds and expectations. The firm grew by filling that gap, one family and one business at a time.
Over more than three decades, we have helped thousands of people navigate Australia's legal system. Our clients have included international students and skilled professionals, business owners expanding into Australia, and families bringing parents and children together across borders.
Immigration has been at the heart of our practice from the beginning. Kin Wee Chua has been accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria as a Specialist in Immigration Law since 1996, and served on the Law Institute's Immigration Law Committee. Chit Chua joined the firm in 2003 and has been an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law since 2016. Today, our immigration team includes two Accredited Specialists, a recognition held by only a small number of lawyers.
A family firm, now in its second generation
We are a family firm, and that shapes how we work. The next generation of the Chua family now practises alongside the founding generation, bringing fresh experience in cross-border family, business and succession matters while continuing the values the firm was built on.
Because we are a family business ourselves, we understand the pressures our clients face. We know what it means to build something over many years, to care for parents as they age, and to plan for children and grandchildren. We understand that a family's decisions are rarely made by one person alone, and that discretion matters.
Migration is rarely just about a visa
For most of our clients, a visa is one part of a bigger picture. A move to Australia connects to buying a family home, structuring a business, educating children, and protecting assets held in more than one country. A sponsored worker is often key to a growing family business.
That is why our immigration team works closely with our lawyers in property, commercial, family law, Wills and cross-border estate planning. We also provide notarial services for documents used overseas. Clients can bring their migration plans and their family's wider legal affairs to one firm, and know that each part has been considered alongside the rest.
Relationships that last
Many of our clients have been with us for ten years or more. They first came to us as students or newly arrived professionals, and later returned for permanent residence, citizenship, property purchases, business advice and planning for the next generation. Some families now come to us across several generations.
We are proud of those relationships, and we work hard to keep earning them. We aim to give clear, honest advice, to respond promptly, and to treat every matter with care, whether it is a straightforward application or a complex refusal.
Looking ahead
Australia's immigration system keeps changing, and so do the needs of the families and businesses we serve. Employers are looking further afield for skilled talent, and families are planning across borders and generations. We continue to invest in our team, our technology and our knowledge, so that we can advise clients across Australia and overseas, in person or online.
Our commitment remains the one we started with in 1990: practical, honest legal advice, in your language, from people who understand where you have come from and where you want to go.
Honest advice, even when it is not what you hoped to hear
Immigration decisions affect careers, businesses and families for years to come, so our clients deserve the truth about their options. We tell you clearly what is possible, what the risks are, and what each pathway is likely to cost in time and money. If a visa is unlikely to succeed, we say so, and we look for an alternative that may work better. If a case is complex, we explain why and how we plan to address it. We do not promise outcomes, because no lawyer honestly can, but we do promise straightforward advice, careful preparation and a clear written quote before any work begins. Our clients often tell us that knowing exactly where they stand is the most valuable part of our help.
Discretion and care in every matter
Our clients trust us with the most personal details of their lives, including their family relationships, their finances, their health and their plans for the future. We treat that trust seriously. Every matter is handled with strict confidentiality, and we take care with how and when information is shared, including with family members and business partners in other countries. We also understand that many decisions are made together by a family, across generations and often across borders. We take the time to listen, to explain things in English, Mandarin or Cantonese, and to make sure everyone who needs to understand the advice does. Whether a matter is straightforward or difficult, we treat each client with patience and respect.
Thinking in generations, not transactions
As a family firm ourselves, we know that the most important decisions are made with the long term in mind. A visa is rarely the end of the story. It leads to permanent residence and citizenship, a family home, a growing business, and plans for children and grandchildren. We advise with that bigger picture in view, so that today's application supports tomorrow's goals. Our lawyers work together across immigration, property, commercial, family law and estate planning, so nothing important is overlooked along the way. Many of our clients have stayed with us for more than a decade, returning as their families grow and their businesses expand. Building relationships that last is not just how we work. It is the reason our firm has been trusted since 1990.
Ready to plan your next step in Australia?
AU$840 · Whether you are sponsoring skilled staff or planning your family's future here, our immigration team can help you choose the right pathway. Speak with us in English, Mandarin or Cantonese.