Australian Legal Practitioner · Admitted to the Brazilian Bar (OAB)
Zeolla Law serves the international community and businesses living and investing in Australia — especially the Latin community. The lawyer responsible for your matter is Daniel Zeolla — an Australian Legal Practitioner, a Brazilian advogado admitted to the OAB, and also admitted in New Zealand and Portugal. One lawyer for the problem that starts in one country and ends in the other.
Australia
Australian Legal Practitioner
Brazil
Advogado · Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil
New Zealand
Barrister & Solicitor
Portugal · European Union
Advogado · Ordem dos Advogados
In short
Four things worth knowing before you engage any lawyer — in Portuguese or in English.
Australia is a common-law country; Brazil is a civil-law one. Everyday Australian concepts — the trust, probate, the binding financial agreement — have no exact Brazilian equivalent, and the reverse is just as true. A literal translation is the most expensive mistake there is.
A divorce in Australia and its registration in Brazil. A company in Queensland and tax with the Receita Federal. An inheritance in São Paulo and assets in Sydney. Solving one side leaves the other open — sometimes for years.
Only an Australian Legal Practitioner holding a practising certificate may advise on Australian law and represent you in Australian courts and tribunals. Only a lawyer admitted to the OAB may practise law in Brazil. Daniel Zeolla is both.
A registered migration agent can help lodge a visa application. Only a lawyer can take a refusal or cancellation to judicial review in the federal courts — and stay responsible for the whole road, from the first form to the last appeal.
Business and investment
Set-up, contracts, tax, sponsoring workers, property, trade marks, disputes and exit — with a lawyer who answers for both sides of the border.
Talk about my businessStructure 1
A limited-liability company registered with ASIC. Requires at least one Australian-resident director; shareholders may be in Brazil. Comes with an ABN, TFN, GST registration where applicable and company tax at 30% (25% for smaller companies).
Structure 2
The Brazilian company operates in Australia as an extension of head office, registered with ASIC as a foreign company with a local agent. There is no separation of assets: head office is fully liable for what the branch does.
Structure 3
Settles who controls, who is liable, how profit is shared and how you leave. The shareholders' agreement is the document that prevents the dispute — and it is almost never written before one.
Structure 4
No physical presence, but real consequences for GST, withholding tax and double taxation — Brazil and Australia have no treaty to prevent it. The right contract decides where and how each payment is taxed.
Choice of structure, ASIC registration, constitution, shareholders' agreement, governance, ABN, TFN and GST — and adapting the Brazilian structure (holding company, corporate shareholders) to what Australian law accepts.
Supply, distribution, services, agency, franchising, licensing, confidentiality and terms of use — drafted and negotiated under Australian law, with a bilingual version whenever both parties need to understand what they are signing.
How profits, dividends, interest, royalties and service fees are taxed in Brazil and in Australia; withholding tax; unilateral credits; remittance structures. We work alongside your accountant in each country.
Standard Business Sponsor approval, nominations, labour agreements, sponsor obligations and responses to Department monitoring — for the business that needs to bring Brazilians to work in Australia.
Assessment of the pathways currently open to those who want to build or invest in Australia — including the National Innovation Visa and the remaining subclass 888 pathways — and the legal documentation that supports the application.
Employment contracts, awards, contractor versus employee, the Fair Work Act, superannuation, resignation and dismissal — a regime very different from Brazil's CLT, with penalties for those who ignore it.
Due diligence, contracts of sale, FIRB approval for foreign buyers, purchase of going concerns (business sales) and retail and commercial leases.
Registration with IP Australia (an INPI registration does not apply here), extension through the Madrid System, assignment and licensing of IP, and .com.au domain names.
Debt recovery, letters of demand, contractual and shareholder disputes, mediation, and representation before QCAT and the state and federal courts.
ASIC deregistration, sale of shares, voluntary winding-up — and the proper closure on the Brazilian side (CNPJ, Central Bank, Receita Federal), which is usually forgotten.
Beyond business
Migration, family, inheritance, property, tax, work and consumer matters — the issues that most often send a Brazilian looking for a lawyer in Australia, and that almost always call for someone who can also act in Brazil.
Tell us about your matterSkills in Demand (482), Employer Nomination Scheme (186) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (494) — for the worker and for the employer, including change of sponsor and the pathway to permanent residence.
Partner (820/801 and 309/100), Prospective Marriage (300), child and parent visas — including de facto relationships, a Brazilian união estável and the evidence the Department actually expects.
Skilled (189/190/491), Student (500), Temporary Graduate (485), Visitor (600) and the transitions between them without a break in status or a bridging visa on the wrong conditions.
Responses to notices of intention to consider cancellation, cancellation for incorrect information or on character grounds (s 501), breach of visa conditions and re-application after refusal.
Merits review in the Administrative Review Tribunal, judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court and the Federal Court, and requests for ministerial intervention. Time limits run in days — seek advice as soon as you receive the decision.
Citizenship by conferral, residence and character requirements, refusals and review — and, for children born in Australia, their registration on the Brazilian side.
The migration consequences of criminal and traffic charges: what a conviction, a protection order or a good behaviour bond does to your visa — ideally before the decision is made.
Divorce under the Family Law Act (after twelve months' separation) and, in Brazil, direct registration at the civil registry when the divorce is by consent and uncomplicated, or recognition by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) when property, parenting or maintenance are involved.
Registering an Australian marriage in Brazil, recognition of a Brazilian união estável as a de facto relationship, prenuptial agreements and binding financial agreements.
Parenting orders, the travel authorisation for minors that Brazil requires, international relocation with children, and the Hague Convention on international child abduction, to which Brazil and Australia are both parties.
Child support and spousal maintenance where one party is in Brazil, division of property located in both countries, and cross-border enforcement.
Protection orders, the partner visa family-violence provisions, and the protection Australian law gives to those whose visa depends on a partner — you do not have to stay in the relationship to stay in the country.
Court or notarial (extrajudicial) succession proceedings conducted under a power of attorney, distribution, ITCMD state tax, regularisation of real estate and transfer of your share to Australia.
An Australian will and a Brazilian will that work together: assets located in Brazil fall under Brazilian jurisdiction; Australian assets go through probate. A single will rarely deals properly with both.
Grants of probate or letters of administration in the Supreme Court, recognition of Brazilian documents, and beneficiaries who live in Brazil.
A Brazilian public power of attorney (executed at the consulate or apostilled), an enduring power of attorney in Queensland, and the safe revocation of either when the relationship changes.
Contract, due diligence, conveyancing, FIRB approval for temporary residents, first-home concessions and transfers between spouses.
Purchase, sale, gift, usufruct and title regularisation, through a power of attorney and local representation — without flying home to sign.
The Communication and Declaration of Definitive Departure (saída definitiva), your CPF status, taxation of Brazilian rent, investments and sales as a non-resident — and what the absence of a tax treaty with Australia means in practice.
The ATO residency tests, declaring Brazilian assets and income in your Australian tax return, capital gains and superannuation — together with your accountant.
Hague Apostille (Brazil and Australia are both parties), NAATI translations for use in Australia, sworn translations for use in Brazil, and Federal Police criminal-record certificates for visa applications.
Recognition by the STJ of Australian divorces, parenting orders, adoptions and judgments — and enforcement of Brazilian decisions in Australia.
An OAB-admitted lawyer to defend proceedings, recover debts, regularise companies (CNPJ, commercial registry) and resolve matters with the Receita Federal on your behalf while you stay here.
Underpayment against the award, unfair dismissal, general protections, sham contracting, and the specific protections Australian law gives migrant workers — including when the employer is also the visa sponsor.
The Australian Consumer Law: refunds, guarantees, contracts with schools and education agents, travel, vehicles and services — with a formal demand and, where needed, a claim in QCAT.
Letters of demand, debt recovery, residential tenancy disputes (bond, tenancy) and disputes with service providers.
Representation in the Queensland courts (Magistrates, District and Supreme Court) and the federal courts — in English, with the client understanding every step in Portuguese.
Admitted as a barrister and solicitor: visas, contracts and legal matters for Brazilians who move, work or do business across the Tasman.
Portuguese citizenship, visas (including the Golden Visa and the D7), property and succession in Portugal — for the Brazilian in Australia who holds, or wants, a European passport.
Dual admission
Many firms serve Brazilians in Australia. Few can sign in both countries. The difference shows on the day the matter crosses the border.
| Situation | OAB-only lawyer | Australia-only lawyer | Zeolla Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advise on Australian law with professional responsibility | No | Yes | Yes |
| Represent you in the ART and on judicial review in the federal courts | No | If a lawyer, not an agent | Yes |
| Sign as counsel in a Brazilian estate, lawsuit or notarial deed | Yes | No | Yes |
| Have an Australian judgment recognised by the STJ | Yes | No | Yes |
| Draft a contract that is valid and enforceable in both countries | Partly | Partly | Yes |
| Answer for the whole matter, on both sides, through one person | No | No | Yes |
| Act in New Zealand and Portugal as well | No | No | Yes |
In Australia, engaging in legal practice without being an Australian Legal Practitioner is an offence (Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld), s 24). In Brazil, the practice of law is reserved to those admitted to the OAB (Law 8.906/94, arts 3 and 4). An Australian lawyer holding an unrestricted practising certificate may give immigration assistance without registering as a migration agent — and, unlike an agent, may represent the client in court.
Before you engage anyone
Including us. Zeolla Law's answers are alongside.
Ask for proof of admission. Daniel Zeolla is an Australian Legal Practitioner and a member of the Queensland Law Society. Migration and citizenship law are federal: we act for clients in every state.
Admitted to the Brazilian Bar (OAB/SP). That means signing powers of attorney, pleadings and deeds in Brazil — not merely explaining how it works.
The same lawyer you meet at the first consultation. Zeolla Law is a principal-led practice: nothing is handed down to paralegals or junior associates.
Portuguese, if you prefer it. Documents go out in English where the recipient requires it, but the explanation, the strategy and the decisions are made in your language.
Yes. A written costs proposal before any work begins (the costs agreement required by Queensland law), with a defined scope and, wherever possible, a fixed fee per stage.
Yes — the ART, the Federal Circuit and Family Court, the Federal Court and the Queensland courts. That is what separates a lawyer from a consultant.
Ask. Eighteen years of practice across Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Brazil run from the small family business to foreign investment. When a matter calls for a specialist in another field, we say so and refer you.
Yes. A visa application with no prospects, an appeal out of time or a company that should not be opened all cost far more later. A frank opinion at the first consultation is part of the service.
Frequently asked
General answers to frame the conversation. Every case turns on its own facts and dates.
It depends on where the problem takes effect. A visa, contract, company, divorce or dispute in Australia requires an Australian Legal Practitioner — an OAB-only lawyer cannot advise on Australian law or represent you here. If the same matter has effects in Brazil (registration, an estate, tax), dual admission saves you from hiring two firms that never speak to each other.
No. A divorce granted by an Australian court must be registered in Brazil. If it was by consent and involves no minor children, property or maintenance, it can go straight to the civil registry. Otherwise it needs recognition by the Superior Court of Justice. Until then you remain married under Brazilian law — and cannot remarry there.
Yes. With a public power of attorney executed at the Brazilian consulate (or apostilled in Australia), an OAB-admitted lawyer represents you in court or notarial succession proceedings and in the transfer of the assets. Where all heirs agree and are adults with capacity, the estate can be settled by notarial deed, without court proceedings.
No treaty is in force. In most cases tax paid in one country can be credited in the other, but the rules are unilateral and limited. That is why the tax exit from Brazil and Australian tax residency need to be planned, not merely declared — ideally before the move, not after it.
Not necessarily. A Pty Ltd needs at least one director resident in Australia, but shareholders may be in Brazil. A branch of a Brazilian company needs a local agent. The choice between them is a legal and tax decision, not just a practical one.
No. Trade mark registration is territorial. The mark must be registered with IP Australia — directly or through the Madrid System, to which both Brazil and Australia belong. The same applies in reverse for an Australian brand that wants to sell in Brazil.
Not long. The time limits for review in the ART and for judicial review run in days from notification, and in most cases cannot be extended. Bring the decision letter to the first consultation — the date on it decides everything.
A contract may be written in any language, but it will be interpreted and enforced under the law and forum it chooses. If it is to be performed in Australia or involves an Australian party, it must meet local requirements — the Australian Consumer Law, unfair contract terms, execution formalities. For parties in both countries we use bilingual versions with a prevailing-language clause.
Yes. Migration, citizenship and most business and family law are federal, and we act for clients in every state — in person in Australia and by video. For matters governed by state law outside Queensland, we tell you clearly what we can do and what calls for a local lawyer.
A meeting in Portuguese or English, by video or in person, where we listen to the matter, identify which country (or whether both) is involved, tell you frankly what is achievable and send a written costs proposal. No work starts without your approval.
Daniel Zeolla · Australia
The lawyer responsible for your matter
Daniel Zeolla
Principal Lawyer · Zeolla Law
With more than eighteen years of practice across Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Brazil, Daniel Zeolla founded Zeolla Law as a multi-jurisdictional practice for people who live between two or more countries. The practice concentrates on Australian migration law — employer-sponsored visas, ART appeals, judicial review and ministerial intervention — alongside business law, international contracts, family law and estates with assets on both sides of the ocean.
Brazilian-born, he works in Portuguese, English and Italian, and personally conducts every matter from first contact to close.
Contact Zeolla Law
We reply with an initial assessment, tell you which country is involved, and send a written costs proposal before any work begins.
1300 682 007 WhatsApp +61 451 177 997 contact@zeollalaw.comZeolla Law · Suite 782, Shop 1536A/2 Hooker Boulevard, Broadbeach Waters QLD 4218, Australia
Mail: PO Box 782, Pacific Fair QLD 4218
1300 682 007 · WhatsApp +61 451 177 997
Av. Principal 331, Vidigal, Leiria
+351 304 504 673
Rua Dr. Guilherme Bannitz, 126, São Paulo – SP
+55 11 5178 5529