What path did you take after completing your education at St Hilda's School?
As the daughter and granddaughter of lawyers, I was primed from an early age to go into law! I had the most wonderful schooling experience at St. Hilda’s, with an incredible group of friends, brilliant teachers and access to so many extracurricular experiences. I was hugely committed to my pursuits in drama, netball and, in year 12, leading Banksia as House Captain, so I perhaps didn’t apply myself academically to my full ability, which meant I didn’t get the grades to go straight into law as I had hoped, and instead started in a Bachelor of Arts at UQ. Although I didn’t know it at the time, this was a fortunate diversion as during that year I took some incredible courses, including international relations which I later went on to major in (I also took From Elvis to Madonna, a modern history of popular music!).
I moved to Brisbane for my studies and enrolled at Women’s College, where I lived for three years (I was President of the College in my third year). I took up law in my second year of university and did an honours year of study in international relations in my fourth year. All-in-all it took me six years to finish my degrees, working alongside in various part-time jobs and enjoying all the incredibly opportunities and experiences that campus university life has to offer.
In my final years I began working as a clerk at a small law firm, Boe Lawyers, which was a very formative experience. The principal, Andrew Boe, was a passionate social justice advocate and I not only received strict tutelage on legal practice, but an eye-opening education on how issues of power, privilege and race play out through the justice system. The experience strengthened my interested in human rights law and compelled me to seek opportunities to further my exposure to human rights overseas.
I moved abroad in 2008, living in Berlin, Geneva, New York and London over the subsequent years. I undertook my Masters in International Relations at the LSE in London, and worked for the United Nations in various forms, including as a legal adviser to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, and later became the Head of International Advocacy at Privacy International, a non-governmental organisation focussing on promoting privacy rights and data governance. Through this work I became interested in the intersection of technology and human rights and have spent the last 15 years building that expertise through work for charities, international organisation, and European institutions. In 2019, I became the inaugural Director of a new research institute, the Ada Lovelace Institute, which focussed on the societal impacts of data and AI. I built up Ada over five years from a staff of one to a globally recognised centre of expertise in AI governance, with 35 staff.
In 2023, while I was on maternity leave about to give birth to my third child, I saw the opportunity to apply for the Privacy Commissioner role. My British partner and I had discussed the possibility that we might try to spend a few years in Australia at some point, so that I could reconnect with my family, friends and country, and introduce our Australian kids to Australian culture. This was an incredible opportunity to do so - and to pursue a big career ambition to move into the regulatory space - and so we seized the chance, moving our family and life to Australia in February 2024.
Were there any unexpected or unplanned outcomes throughout your journey?
Nothing about my journey was expected or planned! I think it is really important for young people to know when you’re setting out and you have big dreams, that most people who have had some measure of success in their career have usually gotten there through hard work, yes, but also a combination of luck, missteps, wrong turns and unexpected chances! I knew I wanted to work for the UN, but I did not quite know how I’d get there, and once I did get there, I realised that there were also other things I wanted to do! I have tried to stay open to the opportunities that have presented themselves to me, to say “yes” whenever I could, and to be willing to try different things out along the way.
There have certainly been a few times I felt quite lost - as my contract was coming to an end in New York I desperately wanted to keep living there, and I applied (unsuccessfully) for almost 80 jobs! The job I did get took me back to London, which wasn’t what I wanted at the time, but in the end that was what set me on the path into technology policy, which has really become the defining feature of my career. (It was also the job where I met my partner!)
After I had my first child, I was freelance consulting and was getting lots of work but struggling with the feeling that my work wasn’t sufficiently meaningful to warrant the time away from my son. The role at the Ada Lovelace Institute came my way, and it wasn’t in my plans at all, but ended up being the job of a lifetime, not only because of the intellectual creativity I got to exercise and the wonderful people I got to work with, but because it gave me an opportunity to redefine my identity in this new stage of motherhood.
Can you share a fond memory from your time in School and explain how your journey at St Hilda's has influenced the person you have become?
I had an incredible experience at St. Hilda’s. Many of the girls in my year 8 form class are still my closest friends today, although I’ve barely seen them all over the last fifteen years! For me - and I realise this was not everyone’s experience - high school was a supportive, warm place where I felt I could be myself and enjoy my teenage years. I particularly loved participating in House Musicals and all the other drama offerings the school offered; my wonderful drama teacher Amy McDonald was a formative influence during this time. I also had incredible opportunities to pursue my interests in debating, which led our team in year twelve to win the Queensland Debating Union championships, and netball, where what I lacked in skills, I made up for in team spirit! I felt that the school offered so much in terms of opportunities to try out pursuits and interests and to build the social skills necessary to connect with different types of people in different places, which have been helpful to me throughout my career.
What does being appointed Australia’s Privacy Commissioner mean to you?
It is an incredible honour, an exciting challenge and a big responsibility. I have been passionately committed to advancing rights to privacy for a long time, and this commitment has only strengthened as privacy invasions have become more commonplace, particularly in the online realm. For me, privacy is about power, and my ambition is to advance privacy rights to rebalance power, particular with respect to big tech companies. The chance to oversee the application of privacy law in Australia is incredibly exciting, in part because there are plans underway to reform the Privacy Act and enhance the powers of my office to take enforcement action against non-compliant actors.
I am also thrilled to have the chance to reconnect with Australian culture, law and politics after a long time away. The country has changed a lot, and moving back has been like moving to a new country in many ways! The job has given me that chance, and to introduce my family to the place of my childhood (not to mention the culinary delicacies, its lamingtons and Tiny Teddies and vegemite sandwiches all round!).
What are you currently pursuing and how has this changed your life as it is today?
Balancing a big job and life with three small children (aged 5, 2 and 1) is not for the faint of heart. It’s all encompassing at times, and I try not to gloss over just how hard it is. My partner Eric is essentially the primary parent in our house - despite running his own business, on UK hours! - and it is a real juggle between demanding jobs and kids who do not sleep through the night! We do have the support of my wonderful parents and friends, but there is not a lot of time for hobbies, personal pursuits or even quality time together! But it is a season of life, and I am trying to embrace that. I try to be very open in my workplace about my competing priorities and do things like “leave loudly” - openly say I must leave a meeting to pick up my kids, for example. Life is chaotic, beautifully so at some times and extremely disastrously so at other times!
