Larissa Behrendt

Larissa Yasmin Behrendt (born 1969) is an Australian legal academic, writer, filmmaker and Indigenous rights advocate.

she is a professor of law and director of research and academic programs at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney, and holds the inaugural Chair in Indigenous Research at UTS.

Behrendt was born in Cooma, New South Wales, in 1969, of Eualeyai/Kamillaroi descent on her father's side.

Her mother, who was non-Indigenous, worked in naval intelligence, while her father was an air traffic controller and later an Aboriginal Studies academic.

He established the Aboriginal Research and Resource Centre at the University of New South Wales, Sydney in 1988, around the time when Behrendt commenced studying there.

After graduating from Harvard Law School in the mid-1990s, Behrendt worked in Canada for a year with a range of First Nations organisations.

After attending Kirrawee High School, Behrendt completed a Bachelor of Jurisprudence and Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of New South Wales in 1992.

In the same year, she was admitted by the Supreme Court of New South Wales to practise as a solicitor.

After a stint of working in family law and legal aid, she travelled on a scholarship to the United States, where she completed a Master of Laws at Harvard Law School in 1994, and a Doctor of Juridical Science from the same institution in 1998.

Behrendt was the first indigenous Australian to graduate from Harvard Law School.

Her books include Aboriginal Dispute Resolution (1995) and Achieving Social Justice (2003).

In 1999, she worked with the Assembly of First Nations in developing a gender equality policy, and she represented the Assembly at the United Nations.

The same year, she did a study for the Slavey people comparing native title developments in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Behrendt returned to Australia to become a postdoctoral researcher at the Australian National University, moving to University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) in 2000.

In 2000, she was admitted by the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory to practise as a barrister.

Behrendt is a republican, opposing the institution of monarchy in Australia.

In 2002, she was the co-recipient of the inaugural Neville Bonner National Teaching Award.

Behrendt has also written three works of fiction, including a novel, Home, which won the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, the David Unaipon Award in 2002, and the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Novel in the south-east Asian/South Pacific region in 2005.

She worked inside the NSW prison system between 2003 and 2012 in her role as Alternative Chair of the Serious Offenders Review Council.

She has also held judicial positions on the Administrative Decisions Tribunal (Equal Opportunity Division) and as a Land Commissioner on the Land and Environment Court.

she is a professor of law and director of research and academic programs at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney, and holds the inaugural Chair in Indigenous Research, a leadership position that advises the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) on Indigenous strategy.

She is also a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.

Behrendt has been active in issues around Indigenous education including literacy.

In 2005 she co-authored the book Treaty.

She was the inaugural chair of National Indigenous Television (NITV), the first broadcast television network in Australia dedicated to Indigenous programming, from 2006 to 2009.

Behrendt has been involved in several pro bono test cases involving adverse treatment of Aboriginal peoples in the criminal justice system, including appearing as junior counsel in the NSW Supreme Court case of Campbell v Director of Public Prosecutions [2008].

In 2008, she was appointed to the board of the Bangarra Dance Theatre and was chair from 2010 20 2014.

From 2009 to 2012, she co-chaired the City of Sydney's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel.

Behrendt has played an active role in creating and supporting arts organisations and initiatives and is a consistent advocate of increased funding for the arts.

Her second novel, Legacy, won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Prize for Indigenous Writing (2010).

In April 2011, Behrendt was appointed to chair the Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People for the federal government.

She also earned a Graduate Diploma in Screenwriting (2012) and Graduate Diploma in Documentary (2013) at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS), and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (2013).

She has served on the board of Tranby Aboriginal College in Glebe, Sydney and has been ambassador for the Gawura Campus (an Indigenous primary school) of St Andrew's Cathedral School since at least 2012.

She was a founder of the Sydney Story Factory in 2012, which established a literacy program in Redfern.

The Review, tasked with providing a roadmap for Indigenous university education, delivered its report in September 2012 and received a widely positive response for its emphasis on achievable parity targets and the re-allocation of existing resources to support meaningful outcomes such as "fostering a 'professional class' of Indigenous graduates".

In releasing the report on 14 September 2012, Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Tertiary Education, accepted all of its recommendations.

She was appointed to the board of Museums and Galleries NSW in 2012, a role which continues.

She was a board member of the Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) from 2013 to 2014, was a judge of non-fiction on the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards (2013–2014) and has been a member of the Australia Council Major Performing Arts Panel since 2015.

Behrendt has written extensively on legal and Indigenous social justice issues.

Behrendt has served on the board of the Sydney Writers' Festival since 2015, the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, chairing their Indigenous Advisory Panel (2007–2012).