APAC Insider- Legal Awards 2026 | 12 Roam Migration Law is a Melbourne-based law firm renowned for transforming immigration into a strategic advantage by helping organisations move the right talent at the right time. This is a mission led by Principal Lawyer and Owner Jackson Taylor, an experienced practitioner who has made it his mission to add a human element to the world of immigration law. We heard more from Jackson below, following his recent recognition in the APAC Legal Awards 2026. Immigration Law Leader of the Year 2026 (Australia): Jackson Taylor Jackson Taylor is a Principal Lawyer and Owner of Roam Migration Law. Since taking his first steps into the field of immigration in 2008, he has developed a particular interest in the confluence of immigration and employment law, and how government policy shapes the experiences of temporary migrants in the workplace. He is also interested in policy reform in business and skilled migration, using academic research to improve migration outcomes and employer confidence. Jackson started his first career in immigration at Fragomen in 2008, Australia’s largest corporate immigration law firm at the time. From day one, he was immersed in employer-sponsored visa work, advising corporate and individual clients, liaising with the Department of Home Affairs, and developing a detailed understanding of the compliance obligations that sit alongside every sponsorship programme. This was an exceptional place to learn the craft, ultimately shaping everything that followed. Following Fragomen, Jackson moved through roles that progressively broadened his experience: from senior migration work at TSS Immigration, to founding Eventus Corporate Immigration in 2014, and then to building Hammond Taylor, where he served as Partner from 2016. Each step deepened Jackson’s conviction that the most valuable thing an immigration lawyer can do for a business is not simply process applications but help that business think strategically about the ways in which immigration fits into its workforce planning. “That conviction became the foundation for Roam Migration Law,” Jackson reflected. “When we fully evolved from Hammond Taylor into Roam in 2021, it was a deliberate decision, a chance to build something that fully reflected what we believed corporate immigration advice should look like: singular in focus, fixed-fee and transparent, technology-enabled, and genuinely strategic.” Most immigration practitioners enter this field through a single pathway, such as registered migration agent training or a generalist law degree with an immigration elective. Jackson attained a Juris Doctor and Masters of Workplace and Employment Law from Monash University, reflecting a genuine conviction that immigration law cannot be practices well in isolation from employment law, corporate law, and the policy context in which it operates. Jackson’s approach to service has been shaped by nearly two decades of watching what works, and what does not, in corporate immigration practices of very different sizes and cultures. The clearest lesson he has taken over the years has been that clients do not just want their visas processed; they want to feel confident that someone who understands their business is managing their situation, ahead of any problems, and reachable when anything urgent arises. He strives to never lose sight of the heart of each case: the sponsored worker, the employee relocating their family, or the skilled professional building a new life in Australia. He believes that these people deserve the same quality of care as the corporate client paying the invoice. Holding both of those relationships with equal seriousness is something Jackson feels strongly about, and a standard he expects of all employees at Roam Migration Law. Jackson has dedicated his meaningful career to making the immigration system work better for the people within it. From policy engagement and public debate to constructing systems and training the next generation, he has worked tirelessly to help skilled professionals navigating uncertainty, families making enormous sacrifices, and workers who have been made vulnerable by their visa status. For his significant contributions to the field, always holding himself and his team to the highest standards, Jackson Taylor has been named Australia’s Immigration Law Leader of the Year 2026. “I did not end up in corporate immigration law by accident,” he concluded. “Every decision – the academic choices, the firms I work at, the firm I built – reflects a considered view about what this area of law can and should look like. Seventeen years in, I am more motivated than I have ever been. The work is more complex, the stakes are higher, and the opportunity to make a genuine difference has never felt greater.” Contact: Jackson Taylor Company: Roam Migration Law Web Address: www.roammigrationlaw.com
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